Decided NOT to use the automatic car wash after much of your input on my 95 740i /& Vandalism

["Stephen Robinson" <stever@xxxxxxxxx>]

It's me here in Maryland again, with the snow, salt and grime of 2
different storms.  After posting my indecision over using an automatic car
wash (Flagship Carwash, Rockville Md - I think it's about the best we have
in our area) or not, I got lots of private emails about other people's
qualms about using this method to rid of the mess when the hose is frozen
outside!  Some people said they have used the new "touchless" washes and
had been happy with them, but they'd have to go home immediately to "finish
the job".  With this method the car is never subjected to a dirty felt
thing OR a brush of any sort going over the car which might still have grit
from the previous car in it.  It's just massive doses of water jets.  I
don't know of any of those in my area... Other's had said they tried these
automatic washes, the really high end ones, and found them to be OK, as
long as it's only in the dead middle of winter, and there was no other good
alternative... It was with this information I took the car last week to
Flagship Carwash and decided to give it a whirl on my 95 740i.  When I got
there, after waiting a while, I was next in line and just plain chickened
out and decided to go over to their "self serve" area and use that, after I
spied a young guy in a new blk/blk 540i with those hot 18" wheels cleaning
off his car.  He was even using the "foaming brush"!  I decided to forgoe
using the brush, as I didn't want to risk the grit that might be left on it
from the previous person using it.  I WAS able to spray the living sh*t out
of the dirt that clung to the car from days of salt and sludge after the
snows we've had.  It even did a heck of a job on the wheels, and I never
lifted a finger to wipe anything - just sprayed it with that high as heck
pressure hose (lucky I have any paint left after using that thing), then
used the soap setting, then rinsed it.  I was overjoyed at getting alot of
the grime off of it.  

The twist of this story is that I came home to find out that my fiancee (I
told her to get her beautiful green 95 540i done at the automatic wash too
that same day) had her car keyed while she was at work in Wheaton, Md and
is just sick about it!  Some vandal keyed the whole side of the car, as
well as some other girl's car who works with her in her dental office... 
She really noticed it after the car was cleaned - at the automatic car
wash, which, incidently, did a great job!  We worry so much about grit
getting in a sponge or a cloth, then someone does this.  It's pretty bad. 
She's even thinking of moving to a different office, thinking maybe it's
the neighborhood, but there's just too many uncertainties to really know
for sure.    

------------------------------