DON'T MISS A THING

You’ve just taken delivery of your 210,000 USD 2025 Range Rover, or your 525,000 USD Rolls-Royce Spectre. And it’s sitting there parked in your driveway looking all premium and amazing. It’s basically a piece of art. A statement piece that tells others that you’ve made it in life.

But then you drive it around a couple of times, it rains a bit, you park it in town, and it gets a dent, and the whole vibe is suddenly ruined.

So, for this article, let’s use a brand-new Range Rover as the go-to car. But whenever you see RR, you know it can be pretty much any car you paid over 100k for.

Why ‘Standard’ Care Isn’t Good Enough for Luxury Vehicles

Well, this one starts out obvious, but quickly becomes more complex. The gist of it is that what we consider standard car care is mostly made in a way that’s cost-effective and efficient. In other words, it’s designed to do the job with the least amount of resources spent.

But, it’s more complicated than just that.

Self-Serving Car Wash

When you have a Range Rover (or any other expensive car), you can’t really go to the nearest car wash. In fact, not only should you not go, but you should avoid it like the plague.

Why? 

Car washes typically use sodium hydroxide (lye) because of how easily it strips wax and grease. But it also dries and damages plastic and rubber on your car. Some even go a notch stronger with hydrofluoric acid or ammonium bifluoride, which is highly corrosive and can etch clear coat and even glass. Especially if left for too long on the car’s surface without being rinsed off.

Even ‘better’ ones will still usually opt for cheap petroleum-based detergents, which will do the cleaning job, but they’re still very aggressive.

That’s probably the reason why you’ve never seen a Lambo or a Porsche in a self-serve car wash.

Verdict: Run away!

Automatic Car Wash

So self-serving car washes suck. But then, automatic ones must be amazing! Well, no. These ones are arguably worse.

Automatic car washes are the ones where you park inside a tunnel, where there are a bunch of gigantic spinning brushes, and then the conveyor belt takes you through an automated washing sequence where your car comes out sparkly clean on the other side.

Fun!

Well, it is fun until you realize you’ve just paid a lot of money to get a ton of swirl marks on your car’s paint.

On top of that, automatic car washes still use those cheap/aggressive chemicals to clean your car. So it’s not just swirl marks you have to deal with. Sure, the damage mightn’t be THAT visible on the first run, or even after a few. But it’s there. And it’s accumulating. Once you do see it, it’s already too late. At that point, you’ll need a very expensive polishing job to get rid of all the imperfections on your car’s paintwork. And that is only if the clear coat hasn’t deteriorated too far down.

Verdict: Please don’t.

Hand Washing at a Detailing Shop

This is your best bet. However, it’s VERY important to check the shop’s reputation before you commit. If they aren’t using pH-neutral car soaps/shampoo, or if they aren’t using microfiber towels – things like that – you’ll get a clean car, but there’ll still be swirl marks. And if they use dirty towels, then you’ll also get scratches on the paint.

So, here’s a quick checklist to see whether you want to go there:

• Check reviews/testimonials 
• Check their previous/current clients (they usually have Instagram profiles; if they’re cleaning other expensive cars, then your car is most likely in good hands
• Check if they’re using pH-neutral car shampoo/soap
• Check if they’re using microfiber towels and/or mitts
• Check that they aren’t using circular motions when cleaning
• Check whether they’re using the two-bucket method

What is the two-bucket method? You’re using two buckets (hence the name), one with soapy water and one for rinsing. This way, you’re making sure of two things. The first is that every time you get fresh soap onto the towel/mitten, the water is clean. The other is that all debris (regardless of how small) will stay in the ‘rinse’ bucket, preventing scratches.

If they tick off on all of the above, then your car will be washed nice and clean, and it’s still going to look as new as when you bought it, even after years of washing.

Verdict: Yes, please! (but do a bit of investigating before :S)

Is There Anything I Can Do Other Than Being Super Safe And Paranoid?

Yes! There definitely are a few things you can invest in to keep your new car looking as opulent as ever, even after a long time. There are far too many detailing shops that cut corners, all of which get reflected in your car not looking as crisp as when it was first delivered. But not all is bad, there are some amazing, trustworthy ones. 

Once you find a good, reliable car wash, you’ll be happy with it. So stick to that. If you’re looking for next-gen washing, you can look for one that provides touchless washing. This basically refers to foam being sprayed all over your car. And then as the foam slides off your car, it takes all the dirt along with it. That’s also very popular with showcars. 

But this only covers the cleaning part.

What you need is paint protection. Basically, a sacrificial and/or protective layer is designed to keep paint undamaged.

Here, you’ve got a couple of options. You can always use car wax or a car sealant. These usually don’t last too long, plus they offer very little in terms of protection. They do help with their hydrophobic properties, so that’s nice. But you want something that’ll last you a long time, and you want that paint as good as new, all the time. 

So it boils down to two options really. You can either go with ceramic coating or with paint protection film (PPF). 

Super tip: Vinyl is too thin, and while it does offer some protection, it’s not designed to protect. 

It’s up to you to see which one you like more. But if you do have the money, then do both. 

First, have PPF installed (go for a thicker one), and then install ceramic coating on top of the PPF. This way, you’re getting the best of both worlds. And unless you crash your car or you get a nasty key scratch (or something similar), your paintwork will look as luxurious as ever.

Tip: Get a PPF that has regenerative properties. This way, even if you get a minor scratch, you can use a heat gun or leave it in the sun, and the scratch will go away.

Wrapping Up

Regardless of how cool and opulent your new car looks once you buy it, it’s only a matter of time until it gets dirty. And then, it’s up to you to see how you want to deal with that. If you choose wrong, your car will start looking worse and worse.

So, it’s important to do some proper research to get a detailing shop that will clean properly. Or get a detailer recommended by a neighbor or a friend.

Pro tip: check their car and its paintwork to see if you’re happy with the results. If their car looks good, then chances are so will yours.

But definitely think about investing in paint protection. This will make the whole cleaning process easier and stress-free. This way, a year, two years, heck even ten years into the future, your luxury car will still look.. Luxurious!

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