[shapiros]

Just ordered my G80 and am incredibly excited to get it, hopefully at some point in the next 3-4 years

I unfortunately don't have the time or the inclination to spend 2-3 hours a weekend hand washing my car (no offense to those that do, I admire you) and was hoping to get some thoughts on what measures I should take to try to keep my car in as good of shape as I can reasonably expect.

One issue that makes this harder is that I don't have a garage at my house, so the car will be parked outside (I live in southern California so the weather isn't terrible). So far, I am thinking that prevention might be the best thing here - I am willing to invest in full PPF and ceramic coating on day 1 if that will make things easier down the road. There's a self service/open bay car wash near me that I can go to weekly to spray the car down to keep things at bay, obviously won't be letting any of their brushes touch the car. And then can invest in more significant detailing 3-4x/year as well. I could also invest in the equipment for doing washes myself in my driveway if it was significantly better to do so, but I've got little kids and finding free time on the weekends is tough.

What's a reasonable car care regimen for someone in my situation?

[m4ml]

Originally Posted by shapiros

Just ordered my G80 and am incredibly excited to get it, hopefully at some point in the next 3-4 years

I unfortunately don't have the time or the inclination to spend 2-3 hours a weekend hand washing my car (no offense to those that do, I admire you) and was hoping to get some thoughts on what measures I should take to try to keep my car in as good of shape as I can reasonably expect.

One issue that makes this harder is that I don't have a garage at my house, so the car will be parked outside (I live in southern California so the weather isn't terrible). So far, I am thinking that prevention might be the best thing here - I am willing to invest in full PPF and ceramic coating on day 1 if that will make things easier down the road. There's a self service/open bay car wash near me that I can go to weekly to spray the car down to keep things at bay, obviously won't be letting any of their brushes touch the car. And then can invest in more significant detailing 3-4x/year as well. I could also invest in the equipment for doing washes myself in my driveway if it was significantly better to do so, but I've got little kids and finding free time on the weekends is tough.

What's a reasonable car care regimen for someone in my situation?

I too live in SoCal. My F82 has Ceramic Pro Gold. My car care routine is once a week, or once every other week, take it to the local self-spray wash. Once there, pass #1 is low pressure suds, pass #2 is high pressure wash, pass #3 is high pressure rinse, pass #4 is low pressure "no spot" rinse, and finally there is a hand dryer in the stall that I use to blow dry the car. After that I touch it up with detail spray and microfiber cloth and I'm done.

From a maintenance and depth of paint point of view ceramic coatings are where it's at.

PPF on the other hand is used to protect the paint from impact/scratch damage (something that ceramic coatings don't really do well) and provide a great finish. But, from what I understand PPF doesn't do much to reduce maintenance. I don't have personal experience with PPF yet, but when my G82 gets in I'll be doing a full stealth PPF for paint protection and full ceramic over the PPF for easy maintenance.

[shapiros]

Originally Posted by m4ml

I too live in SoCal. My F82 has Ceramic Pro Gold. My car care routine is once a week, or once every other week, take it to the local self-spray wash. Once there, pass #1 is low pressure suds, pass #2 is high pressure wash, pass #3 is high pressure rinse, pass #4 is low pressure "no spot" rinse, and finally there is a hand dryer in the stall that I use to blow dry the car. After that I touch it up with detail spray and microfiber cloth and I'm done.

From a maintenance and depth of paint point of view ceramic coatings are where it's at.

PPF on the other hand is used to protect the paint from impact/scratch damage (something that ceramic coatings don't really do well) and provide a great finish. But, from what I understand PPF doesn't do much to reduce maintenance. I don't have personal experience with PPF yet, but when my G82 gets in I'll be doing a full stealth PPF for paint protection and full ceramic over the PPF for easy maintenance.

Thanks, this is both helpful and encouraging. How long before you need to get the ceramic coating reapplied? Also, any shops in SoCal you'd recommend for PPF + ceramic coating?

[Gfit]

I hand wash my car and my wife's at least once per week. Takes no more than 30 minutes to do a decent job and worth it. I think the key is to not let it go too long and of course no eating or drinking in the car.

[m4ml]

Originally Posted by shapiros

Thanks, this is both helpful and encouraging. How long before you need to get the ceramic coating reapplied? Also, any shops in SoCal you'd recommend for PPF + ceramic coating?

Ceramic Pro Gold has a lifetime warranty. With that warranty you have to take your car back for annual maintenance. During that maintenance the sacrificial layer of the Gold package is removed and a new layer applied. It's about $250-$270 once per year.

Polished Protection in Anaheim (they also operate out of Signal Hill) did my F82 and I have nothing but praise for their work. I now live in San Diego and I'll be going to Auto Armor for my G82's PPF and ceramic coating.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by shapiros

Just ordered my G80 and am incredibly excited to get it, hopefully at some point in the next 3-4 years
//snip//
What's a reasonable car care regimen for someone in my situation?

I think the regimen you lay out in your post is a good one. Ceramic coating up front and a quick wash down pretty frequently, then let the pros who did the coating give you a full detail every few months and the annual inspection.

[merlin3008]

To be honest, I wouldn't use any of the chemicals that are offered by the self service car wash. There's a reason why they get the dirt off of your car without much agitation. They are overly strong and as a result can damage your expensive coating. Not only that, but the detergents in them can dry out your rubber seals and trim and make the car looked "washed out." I only use the plain water at those places to remove surface dirt, but that's it.

[luckylingy]

Originally Posted by merlin3008

To be honest, I wouldn't use any of the chemicals that are offered by the self service car wash. There's a reason why they get the dirt off of your car without much agitation. They are overly strong and as a result can damage your expensive coating. Not only that, but the detergents in them can dry out your rubber seals and trim and make the car looked "washed out." I only use the plain water at those places to remove surface dirt, but that's it.

Same here; otherwise, the regimen recommended by m4ml should work well in SoCal.

One extra step your schedule may allow is a quick detailer spray on a dry, clean car (in the shade). These have hydrophobic properties (i.e., they repel water), such that the next wash and dry is made easier. CarPro Reload is one example; there are many others. It's as easy as spray on, spread around with one microfiber, and polish off with a second microfiber (one panel at a time). I do it every second wash.

[KiloCo]

Originally Posted by shapiros

Just ordered my G80 and am incredibly excited to get it, hopefully at some point in the next 3-4 years

I unfortunately don't have the time or the inclination to spend 2-3 hours a weekend hand washing my car (no offense to those that do, I admire you) and was hoping to get some thoughts on what measures I should take to try to keep my car in as good of shape as I can reasonably expect.

One issue that makes this harder is that I don't have a garage at my house, so the car will be parked outside (I live in southern California so the weather isn't terrible). So far, I am thinking that prevention might be the best thing here - I am willing to invest in full PPF and ceramic coating on day 1 if that will make things easier down the road. There's a self service/open bay car wash near me that I can go to weekly to spray the car down to keep things at bay, obviously won't be letting any of their brushes touch the car. And then can invest in more significant detailing 3-4x/year as well. I could also invest in the equipment for doing washes myself in my driveway if it was significantly better to do so, but I've got little kids and finding free time on the weekends is tough.

What's a reasonable car care regimen for someone in my situation?

Shapiros, I just wanted to give you my 2.0 cents. Since, I also live in Southern California.

I'm a first-time owner of a BMW G82 M4 and I wanted to maintain the "Luster" of the car... and decided on PPF and Ceramic. So, I drove to a couple of places in Orange County and San Diego County during the 7 month wait for the car. And decided on the two shops listed below:

(After you decide on the shop to use. Keep them up to date on the arrival of the car in Oakland. Because you need an appointment, and you may have to wait a couple of weeks to bring the car in....... after the car arrives at the dealership.)

I had Xpel Ultimate Plus for the exterior of the car. Even though my M4 is garage and its only 2 1/2 months old and driven only on the weekends, (Never in the rain) the car still has a showroom look.

Additionally, I had "Windshield skin" placed on the windshield. I was told by my sale associate... I only get One Factory installed windshield.

I hand wash my car once a week and the wheels take 30 minutes to clean.

"Stay away from the self-service car wash"...





https://autoarmour.com/

https://www.ultimateshield.com/windshield-skin

[shapiros]

Originally Posted by KiloCo

Shapiros, I just wanted to give you my 2.0 cents. Since, I also live in Southern California.

I'm a first-time owner of a BMW G82 M4 and I wanted to maintain the "Luster" of the car... and decided on PPF and Ceramic. So, I drove to a couple of places in Orange County and San Diego County during the 7 month wait for the car. And decided on the two shops listed below:

(After you decide on the shop to use. Keep them up to date on the arrival of the car in Oakland. Because you need an appointment, and you may have to wait a couple of weeks to bring the car in....... after the car arrives at the dealership.)

I had Xpel Ultimate Plus for the exterior of the car. Even though my M4 is garage and its only 2 1/2 months old and driven only on the weekends, (Never in the rain) the car still has a showroom look.

Additionally, I had "Windshield skin" placed on the windshield. I was told by my sale associate... I only get One Factory installed windshield.

I hand wash my car once a week and the wheels take 30 minutes to clean.

"Stay away from the self-service car wash"...





https://autoarmour.com/

https://www.ultimateshield.com/windshield-skin

Thanks for the detailed response - I think I am sold on PPF + Ceramic, and may go ahead an invest in the home supplies so I can do it at home. Seems like the safest option

[KiloCo]

Originally Posted by shapiros

Thanks for the detailed response - I think I am sold on PPF + Ceramic, and may go ahead an invest in the home supplies so I can do it at home. Seems like the safest option

U tube "PAN The Organizer" He has a 2021 Car Products award. Very detail.

"Rag Company" for towels / get them on Amazon
https://theragcompany.com/

Pan covers car towels on U-tube very detail

"Bead Maker" as a drying agent. Pan Covers this also.