We have a very nice “touchless” car wash that does a fantastic job. And I have a nice 2024 car that I like keeping “new looking.” However, there is usually quite a line, so I only dart in for a wash when the line isn’t long. Probably 2x per month. I’d buy the unlimited service if I could get in routinely without a wait.
A couple times in the spring & summer. The pollen sticks to everything and the car turns yellow, and I cant see out the windows. I only have a carport, so I doesnt get rain to wash off, but not isolated from the pollen.
I never wash my truck, but I do rinse it with some frequency. I do a lot of surf fishing, and when I come home from a day of driving on the beach I rinse the salt and sand off - particularly the underside. Usually the truck gets parked on the grass while I hose it down so the lawn benefits too.
I don’t think there’s enough salt to damage the lawn 
Once a month at most, but I drive my car only a few times a week, usually only a few miles. Both car washes near me are associated with gas stations. I don’t like either of them very much, and the one I used to like often has lines. The last wash I got was when I took the car in for service. They are washing it for free again.
I live in California so I don’t have the salt problem in the winter. It gets dusty a day after I wash it, but big deal. If I wanted a fancy car I would have bought one.
We all have our own ideas of fun …
I retract my damage speculation assuming gentle wash methods used.
The warm feeling of car washes for me is the childhood memory of Sundays washing the cars in the driveway with my dad, using the “shammy” (chamois) and the Turtle Wax. Of course this was a man who shined his shoes at least once a week. Does anyone still wash their cars in their driveways anymore?
I do on hot summer days. It’s fun.
Does anyone still shine their shoes? It was part of my chores to shine my father’s shoes periodically. Not a great chore, but not terrible either. It was one thing he usually complimented me on, so I guess I have some warm memories.
Poll needs an “other, explain” option.
Once a year, we give our cars to a professional detailer. They are meticulously washed and cleaned. We’re talking q-tip meticulous.
Other than that, we never wash them.
So, annually by timing, but on that annual visit, it’s a lot more than “washed.”
I’ve done that in the past. The guy did it in his driveway, and basically did it as a hobby on weekends. He claimed to love it, and didn’t even charge much. I added a bottle of whiskey as a tip.
Can I wash your car?
You’ve got a car with volcanic dust all over it, maybe a carwash isn’t your biggest problem right now 
Also a yes rarely.
Clearly fewer of us feel the need to shine our shoes or wash our cars as frequently as many of our parents did.
Probably some of that is cultural? The statement made by a shiny car or a buffed pair of shoes is just not as important to as many.
But especially for cars, I think the need is less? I suspect car finishes are tougher now.
Ha. Perhaps I should explain. A professional detail in this area is probably $250 or so. This guy did a great job, and charged around $100. So I bought him an $80 bottle as a tip. Still came out ahead, and he’s the nicest guy so I was happy to do it. (we also had a nice conversation about whiskeys, so I knew he’d appreciate it)
But hey, at least it saves on heating costs…
I’m in the very infrequent, say 2-4 times a year, and that’s UP from the previous 1-2 times a year. Until 2024, we were driving fully functional, but quite old cars, which are garage parked overnight, so it wasn’t a priority. Sure, we’d normally do one wash including undercarriage in the spring (salt on winter roads MUST go). And another in early summer (because spring doesn’t mean the end of the snow!). And that’s about it. When we got the new cars, we became a bit more careful, so after a long roadtrip filled with bug-splatter, we washed it again, but doubt we’ll be doing much more than the 4 a year.
I shine my shoes every weekend.
But I’m the OP, so I’m an anachronism.
It just rained, so- car washed!
Those in the rarely, like once or twice a year, to never group -
Do you feel your car has aged adequately in terms of its finish, or is that just not on your radar as something you care about? Or both? Other?
For me, it was the age of the cars, with accumulated dings and damage. A 2002 and a 2007 weren’t going to look perfect, but by virtue of being kept in the garage, they were fine. The wash wasn’t about aesthetics (mostly) but getting the salt off.
Now that there’s the 2024 and 2025, it’s more of an issue, but Colorado Springs summers tend to be punctuated by thunderstorms, and winters with snow. And that leaves out the windstorms! So there’s too much darn climate throwing dirt and funk at them to justify the time/money in washing them frequently.
YMMV, etc.
Depends on the car.
My daily driver (an early 2000’s Buick) rarely gets washed.
My early 2000’s Jeep is my bad weather vehicle. I wash it in the spring to make sure I get all of the road salt off of it. I don’t wash it again unless it gets really dirty.
My 1926 Model T and 1968 VW Bug are kept spotlessly clean. I hand wash both of these. There is no way in hell that I would take either one through a mechanical car wash. I don’t drive them all that often though so I don’t need to wash them that often either.
My 1953 MG TD is a bit of a rust bucket. It’s all original paint, and it definitely shows its age. I wash the dust off of it a couple of times a year. Otherwise it’s not worth bothering with.
I have never washed my mid 90’s F350 pickup truck.
My Harley motorcycle gets washed about once a month in the summer. It doesn’t get ridden or washed in the winter.
My Buick has a bunch of scratches and dents on it, so I really don’t care if it gets a bit dirty. If it gets too bad then I’ll wash it, otherwise it’s not worth the bother. It’s just a daily driver that I picked up cheap. It’s very comfortable to drive, but it’s not a show car.
My pickup truck’s purpose in life is hauling things or towing things. It hauls firewood, tows campers and trailers, and has all kinds of miscellaneous junk thrown in its bed (including literally a ton of bricks - it turns out that a pallet of pavers from Home Depot weighs almost exactly 1 ton). It tows a 10,000 lb. trailer like it’s almost nothing. Its purpose is to work, not to look pretty.
If I want to drive around in something fancy, that’s what I have the Bug and the Model T for. The other vehicles aren’t for looks, so they don’t get washed so often.
Basically when Mrs. Martian says the car looks dirty. Actually after about the fourth or fifth time she says the car look dirty.