I used to go to the one of the car washes where there's folks washing your car until the last time I went, one of the workers dinged up my new paint job with the sprayer. Then they tried saying that none of the workers could've done it. I'm not taking my car there or my fiancee's car again.

And I would wash my car at my place, but we're not allowed to wash our cars at my apartment complex.

 

I don't add the frills at the car wash, just basic wheel / undercarriage / wash / rinse / blow dry = $6 then I spend another hour with towels to finish drying and drying off the nooks and crannies, under the hood, door sills, inside the trunk, wheels, exhaust tips, etc...

I heard some of the waxes they use in the car washes will have an effect on the vinyl stripes? Not sure if it is true though.
I had a black Dodge Ram pickup that I took to one of those drive thru car washes (where you put the car in neutral and it pulls you thru) with the big brushes. DON'T GO THERE! It left permanent swirl marks all over the sides of my truck!

 

I pulled mine off because I've always thought that they look cheeap.

 

oh my...i just washed, claybar and waxed my car....wow...never knew the claybar would make such a diff.

woops, guess its kinda off topic...