Ask the average person what the purpose of a car wash is and their first answer is likely to be “a place to clean your car.” While this answer is not wrong, cleaning your auto is far from the only reason for a car wash. Provided below are five solid reasons why a person might use a car wash.
You Want to Protect Your Car’s Paint Job
Cars are regularly exposed to all sorts of debris from speckles of dirt and mud to bugs splattering on the windshield, rock salt from driving in the winter, bird droppings, etc. Give this debris enough time to linger and you can expect to see it take a toll on the finish and paint of your vehicle because you will be able to notice the metal. By running your car through a car wash, you can easily clear away those nasty deposits long before they even become a serious problem that destroys your car’s presentation.
Better Fuel Efficiency
When a vehicle takes on a sufficient layer of dirt, there is a noticeable increase in the level of drag it experiences when you drive it about. This extra drag occurs because the buildup of dirt and grime reduces the default aerodynamic state of your vehicle, meaning air is less able to breeze past your vehicle. Because fuel efficiency is calculated with your vehicle’s aerodynamics, more drag means more fuel is consumed to keep up speed. When you consider all of the issues that come with allowing dirt and mud to linger and collect on your vehicle, it only makes sense that washing it away with a trip to the car wash is just the thing your car needs to run at optimal fuel efficiency.
Your Well-Being
Very few people are content enough to allow their public-facing possessions, like their home or their car, to draw negative attention for being broken or unsightly. Indeed, most car owners tend to feel a variety of negative emotions upon returning to their dirty car in a parking lot and seeing that someone has written “wash me” into a mud- and dirt-spattered rear windshield. You should treat your car like you treat your home; once things get filthy enough, especially if your vehicle is more grime than whatever color it is supposed to be, it is time to break out the tools available to you at a car wash.
Car Washes Help You Preserve Your Vehicle’s Resale Value
Other than just giving you a positive feeling about your car, routinely taking trips to the car wash can do wonders for maintaining both the appearance and net resale value of your vehicle. While you may love your car and treat it with all the spoiling you might give to a loved one, there may come a day when some new vehicle comes onto your radar that you will go to great lengths to acquire. Whether that urge to trade up is because the new vehicle would be considered an upgrade to your current ride or it would be a lateral shift to something greater, regularly washing your current car is a relatively cheap way of keeping it looking good enough for a dealership’s showroom.
Going to the Car Wash is Quick and Easy
If you need to purge your vehicle of dirt, bugs, and grime, there are a few more expedient and simple approaches than driving it over to a car wash. Unless you want to spring for luxury services like hot waxing and undercarriage work, a basic car wash experience is relatively inexpensive and you can be in and out in as little as 10 minutes. Honestly, taking your car to a car wash is one of the cheapest forms of preventative vehicle maintenance you can find.
The Final Polish
While a car wash is great for keeping your car clean, there is more to its usefulness than that basic function. A good car wash service is cheap and easy, keeps you thinking well of your vehicle, and preserves your car’s resale value, fuel efficiency, and even the paint job. Whether you have bug corpses on your windshield or excess mud clinging to your wheel wells, do you and your vehicle a favor and send it to the wash.
