The Joy of Washing My Car
No really - I enjoy washing my car. Yes, it is partly because I love cars and love my car specifically (the Batmobile - 2004 Celica GTS, but that's another story). But the neurotic part is because I'm never quite satisfied with the job that the Pay-Per-Wash places do.
When I first owned a car that I bought with my own money, I spent the $20 and took it to a place where someone else would labor and wash it. However, I would always notice that they didn't quite scrub hard enough on the front bumper or the backs of the side mirrors to get rid of all the smashed bug guts that collected there since the last washing. I never felt that it was worth my hard earned $20.
So when I bought my next car (a 1999 Mitsu Eclipse RS), I decided that I loved it so much that I was going to clean all the bug guts off myself. I had that car for about 4 years, until "routine maintenance" cost me about $1500. (As an aside, I feel like "routine maintenance" should only cost a few hundred dollars, so you can SAVE the cost of an expensive repair that would be upwards of $1k.) Anyway....I decided to get a new car and ditch the Eclipse.
So I crunched my numbers, and decided that i could finally afford my dream car, a Toyota Celica. So I picked up a 2004 GTS with leather seats and a fin (not the big hoopty-gang fin, but a nice small sleek looking one). The only way that car has been washed is by my hands. I have never taken it to a car wash place (because of the bug gut reasoning listed above). It takes me about an hour, give or take. I enjoy doing it because I like the tangible benefits of a clean, bug-gut-free car. For at least a few days after the wash, I always imagine my car is in a clean "bubble" while I'm driving, and nothing can get it dirty! (Totally dumb, I know, but I'm being honest!)
The big bummer about washing my own car, though, is that I notice all the new nicks and scratches in the paint that weren't there last time I washed the car. That's always annoying. And I keep meaning to go to a Toyota dealer to get a little bottle of touch-up paint so I can fix the little scratches and nicks. I know it won't look perfect, but it will be better than the black spot from the underlying metal.
So that's my neurotic thing to share with you today....I enjoy washing my car because no one does it good enough for my perfectionistic personality. And I hate smashed bug guts on my bumper.
When I first owned a car that I bought with my own money, I spent the $20 and took it to a place where someone else would labor and wash it. However, I would always notice that they didn't quite scrub hard enough on the front bumper or the backs of the side mirrors to get rid of all the smashed bug guts that collected there since the last washing. I never felt that it was worth my hard earned $20.
So when I bought my next car (a 1999 Mitsu Eclipse RS), I decided that I loved it so much that I was going to clean all the bug guts off myself. I had that car for about 4 years, until "routine maintenance" cost me about $1500. (As an aside, I feel like "routine maintenance" should only cost a few hundred dollars, so you can SAVE the cost of an expensive repair that would be upwards of $1k.) Anyway....I decided to get a new car and ditch the Eclipse.
So I crunched my numbers, and decided that i could finally afford my dream car, a Toyota Celica. So I picked up a 2004 GTS with leather seats and a fin (not the big hoopty-gang fin, but a nice small sleek looking one). The only way that car has been washed is by my hands. I have never taken it to a car wash place (because of the bug gut reasoning listed above). It takes me about an hour, give or take. I enjoy doing it because I like the tangible benefits of a clean, bug-gut-free car. For at least a few days after the wash, I always imagine my car is in a clean "bubble" while I'm driving, and nothing can get it dirty! (Totally dumb, I know, but I'm being honest!)
The big bummer about washing my own car, though, is that I notice all the new nicks and scratches in the paint that weren't there last time I washed the car. That's always annoying. And I keep meaning to go to a Toyota dealer to get a little bottle of touch-up paint so I can fix the little scratches and nicks. I know it won't look perfect, but it will be better than the black spot from the underlying metal.
So that's my neurotic thing to share with you today....I enjoy washing my car because no one does it good enough for my perfectionistic personality. And I hate smashed bug guts on my bumper.
posted by g at
2:52 PM
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