To address the auto wash issue, people may say that the scrubbers and “touch-less” car washes are safe for your cars exterior.  Say what you want but I simply don’t believe it.  Those brushes have to be sturdy and stiff enough to wash cars all day long, every day.  You can’t beat the softness of professional microfiber wash mitts and human touch.  I don’t even use a spray nozzle on my cars, just the hose.  The force of nozzle spray is abrasive, some nozzles have a “shower” setting which is acceptable as long as it isn’t held too close to the paint.

One of the most important decisions you can make is when to wash your car.  By that I mean if you wash in full sunshine, you can expect pitting in the clear coat very soon.  The beads of water act as a magnifying glass and literally bore minute holes into the paints finish.  I always wash my cars before 8am or after 4pm.  The times vary depending on when the sun comes up and when it sets.

I remember my grandma would have me wash her car sometimes with dish soap.  I cannot express enough how bad this practice is.  Dish soap is much too abrasive for a car.  For crying out loud, go to Target at least and buy the best car wash soap they have, it’s like 8 bucks and lasts almost a full year.  Always wash and rinse from the top down so you don’t risk leaving soap residue behind.  One of the most important aspects of washing your car correctly is to use a separate sponge for the rims and tires.  The reason is simply that you don’t want to be scrubbing your paint with brake dust.  This can be both abrasive and corrosive to the rest of your car.  Do not rinse the wheel sponge in the same soapy water you are using on the paint.

If you like the look of “wet” tires all the time and use those super high gloss tire treatments you can count on decreased life of your tires.  Most high gloss treatments are petroleum based and cause cracking and dry rotting over time.  Even if it boasts UV protectant, skip it and buy one that is water based.  The water based treatments aren’t as shiny, but still give your tires a deep, matte black finish and won’t ruin them.  If you already are running Ultra High Performance rated tires, you need all the longevity you can get!

Lastly, before drying the car, remove the nozzle off the hose (if you insist on using it to wash) and let a slow, solid stream of water rinse one last time, starting from the top down.  This will remove any undetectable soap residue and “sheets” the water so there is less to dry-the less contact your cars finish has with towels, chamois, etc the better.  I like to then use an old wiper blade to remove water from the windows.  I’ve always used a synthetic chamois to dry the rest but there are all sorts of products that are gentle enough and do a good job.  Try to use only towels, chamois that are used for your cars; don’t use a towel that is also used to scrub oil off your driveway.

These are the basics,  when I do the full on wash and detail I’m dedicating hours to the job.  Simple guidelines for your basic car wash can greatly extend the life of your cars exterior.  I have a 2000 Honda Odyssey that looks brand new inside and out even with 3 kids (raisins and milk are completely banned from being consumed inside the van).  It just takes a little time and effort.

At last, I was actually going to leave the house and see cars with my own eyes, feel leather with my own hands.  The first was a convertible M3, 30k miles, titanium silver with Napa gray leather interior.  It was a maunual transmission of course and for sale by private owner.  It was located about 2.5 hours away in Beverly Hills.  Fortunately I wanted to go up and tour the Gamble House in Pasedena with my family and my best friend lived in Santa Monica.  We planned a day of it and I made an appointment to see the car on a Saturday.

The tour of the Gamble House was great but all I could think of was my dream car.  After it was over, we drove west and found the location of the seller to be right off Wilshire Boulevard half a block behind the Ferrari dealership, or was it Lamborghini?  I forget except that I was temporarily distracted from the task at hand by gorgeous Italian supercars.  The man selling the car was about my age, he quickly pointed out the flaws of the car like an area on the drivers seat where some leather was worn, some nicks and such as well.  This guy was as picky as I am because it looked to be in pristine condition.  My pulse was quickening, finally after spewing forth all sorts of facts and stats on the car, we went for a drive.   The speed and agility exceeded my expectations.  He turned off the Dynamic Stability Control and roasted the tires.  For a convertible, the car felt so solid, like it was carved out a single piece of steel.  It was the visceral driving experienece I required of my dream car.  And most of all it was beautiful, fast and excessive.  The title was clean, it was still under warranty and he had all the maintenance paperwork.  He said he didn’t want to sell it but needed the money to start a business.  Maybe that was B.S. but he seemed genuinely forlorn.  He loved his M3.  We were standing next to it and after giving it another look over I turned to him and said “I’ll take it, can I write a check?”  He was a bit stunned, I was the first looker.  I was a bit stunned, this was the first Beemer I looked at.  I didn’t need time to think, I knew what I was looking for and it was right in front of me.

I had to wait two weeks to pick it up, I needed to get a certified check and some other matters needed to be taken care of but the day finally came, my wife drove me up from San Diego, picked up my friend and dropped us off at the sellers house.  His friend was there too, I gave him the check, he gave me the title.  We got in, put the top down and started it up.  What an exhaust note!  As I pulled out of the carport, I heard the regretful mans friend say “Are you going to be all right?”

I was so excited: I was driving my E46 BMW-gonna-drop-the-hammer-and-smoke-all-y’all-M3.  I looked at the rpms rev and noticed the fuel guage stated I had 4 miles worth of gas left.  F-ing great.  My freind navigated us to the closest filling station with 0 miles left.  After that, we headed straight for Malibu and the PCH to let it run wide open.  It was February, the top was down and it was cold but that didn’t even matter.  The sun was setting over the Pacific and I could not have imagined a better scene: cruising a coastal highway with my best friend and my dream car.

Ten years of driving the Sentra was enough, I was ready for my dream car-a car I really wanted. With a 160,000 miles I said goodbye to my old friend. Still running great but a little tired I gave it to a college student in need of some wheels. When I set out to find my dream car, I realized I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted. I started by outlining my greatest desires first and then seeing which potential candidates fit. Having lived my whole life in the Midwest and now living in sunny SoCal, I knew I wanted a convertible. I wanted it to be sporty and fast. Reliability was a concern but I didn’t put it before the overall driving experience I was looking for. I was planning on buying a used model that was still under warranty so if something went wrong, I had an insurance policy of sorts. The search began.

Choosing a convertible eliminated a lot of cars right away. I started out researching the Corvette, Mustang, Porsche Boxster, (911 was out of my pay grade) BMW M3, Saab 9-3 and Jeep Wrangler soft top. I quickly eliminated the Saab and Jeep, both nice rides but not fast enough. I decided against the Mustang as I remember a friend’s that rattled like crazy after awhile. The Corvette and Boxster didn’t have back seats which would be a hard sell with the wife as our family was growing and didn’t seem practical enough. I know, practicality is the last thing on the list when it comes to a dream car but I didn’t want to have any regrets. That left the BMW.

I quickly realized that the convertible version of the M3 was a little bit more than I could spend. I actually settled on the hard top version as the car was too cool to pass up. I searched for about 2 months in Autotrader, the paper and eBay motors. I eventually found a convertible that seemed too good of deal to be true: the pictures looked good, the title was clean (getting a subscription to one of those car title reporting agencies is a great idea when looking for used cars, most let you examine the titles of an unlimited number of cars for a given period of time, like 90 days) and it was for sale by a private party. I wanted to buy from a private owner as it seemed like a better idea, you can look the guy in the eye and tell if he loved his car. Men who love their cars take care of them. With buyer beware mentality, you don’t want to buy an expensive car from some sleaze ball.

So with auto reviews, title reports and check book in hand I was ready to go and see some of the M3s I favored. I began setting up appointments and the first one would be the aformentioned convertible. I’ll give the full details next time, but I wanted to let you know what ended up happening with the Sentra. The girl I gave it to drove it to about 200,000 miles and one day she woke up to find it stolen. Fortunately she had theft insurance. It was recovered but deemed totaled by the insurance company, the car was found essentially intact but the airbag unit was removed. She received a check for $1,500. I had no idea the car was worth that much money, I think she made out pretty good. She liked the car so much she used that money as a down payment for another Sentra!

So my dream car became a Nissan Sentra. I scowered over the paper every day, looking intently for a car in my price range. We looked at many and by the end of July I found a 1991 E model with standard transmission, no AC, no power locks, entry, windows or steering. A woman about my age at the time had been convinced by her hippie boyfriend that it should be sold so that she could buy a car “without computers and stuff; a car that I can actually climb into the engine compartment to work on”. How someone can be convinced to give up a car that doesn’t break down in the first place for one that will just so you can work on it yourself is a mystery (the boyfriend wanted to buy a late 50s, early 60s Ford pick-up). My grandpa loaned my 5k to buy it, my dad freaked out when he learned it had no power steering or air conditioning, and I loved it.

So end of the summer came, I bought a Rand McNally guide book and plotted my course. My girlfriend at the time flew out from Chicago to make the trip back east with me. I can’t tell you how great that trip was, I had never been to Yellowstone National Park before, I had never seen the Rocky Mountains or the Badlands of South Dakota. My little red Sentra had fascilitated a great adventure and I will always remember her for that. That car never broke down, not once in the 10 years that I owned it. My dad changed the fuel filter at 125,000 miles and remarked: “I’ve never seen a fuel filter that packed with a car still driving”. He actually cut it in half with a bench grinder just to see the insides for himself. I drove it until March of 2005, the time had come to set nostalgia aside for a car that I really wanted and did not need.

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