How OCD are you about keeping your car clean?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

How clean do you keep your car

  • Looks like the day I bought it

  • Looks like its used

  • Moving trash can


Results are only viewable after voting.

ZipSpeed

Golden Member
Aug 13, 2007
1,302
169
106
Living in a winter city, as much as I'd like to keep it clean, it's hard. I just wait till spring before I give it a good vacuum and the mats hosed down to rinse off the salt.
 

thescreensavers

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2005
9,916
2
81
I wash it weekly or bi weekly if I am lazy. Wax every month. I vacuum every time I wash my car. And treat and condition the interior every other wash.

And park far far away, and in corner spaces..ect

How clean does it look? :O This was last sunday

Free Dyno at the dealer ftw :)
P1070415.jpg
 
Last edited:

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
18
81
i have a friend who is totally crazy about his mercedes and washes it regularly and details it, clear bra etc.

i keep the inside pretty clean, but the outside is usually pretty dirty. my last car was an acura tsx and i would wash it every 6 months or so, because i did a lot of freeway driving and it would get dirty all the time. my new car i like ot think ill be better about, but i already know ill get lazy.

dont get me wrong i dont like having scrapes or rock chips on my car (actually this bothers me quite a bit especially when its a newer car), i just dont care to much if there is dirt on it.
 

DVad3r

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2005
5,340
3
81
Yup. I made my ex gf walk 5 blocks when I drove her home because I didn't want to get my car muddy since her house was in a new development area.
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
0
Mess in the winter (hate HATE cold), washed regularly in the summer.

White doesn't show dirt that much:
 
Last edited:

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
My car is always dirtier than I would like. I don't know how you guys find time to wash and clean the inside and outside once a week. It just takes too long, I never have the time to do it that often. Then in the winter, well, it goes weeks and weeks without anything because too cold to vacuum (don't like freezing) and too cold to wash (freeze the car shut, no good).

This summer I'm hoping to really fix up the exterior, once I do that, I'm going to try to keep it cleaner.
 

AdamK47

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,675
3,529
136
The one thing that helps keep my cars clean is not driving them during the Winter and not driving them when it rains. Seems to work out well.
 

amdhunter

Lifer
May 19, 2003
23,332
249
106
Extremely. If I get a scratch or ding, its fixed immediately. My interior looks unused except for the drivers seat, and even that is not bad at all.
 

ayabe

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
7,449
0
0
I wash it weekly or bi weekly if I am lazy. Wax every month. I vacuum every time I wash my car. And treat and condition the interior every other wash.

And park far far away, and in corner spaces..ect

How clean does it look? :O This was last sunday

Looks good, please tell me you're not the homie smoking the cigarette with the gold on.
 

CRXican

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2004
9,062
1
0
I don't let junk pile up in the interior because that's where I have to be.

On my daily driver beater the paint sucks so I rarely wash it. On my garage queen it's often washed and parked so it's usually clean inside and out.

Also, I curbed a couple wheels on the garage queen. It cause me so much anguish and I could not drive the car in that condition so they were repaired the very next week.
 

CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
5,401
2
0
I'm usually pretty clean myself, so it really comes down to what my passengers do. My girlfriend is notoriously messy... her car looks like a trash can. :( You literally can't see the carpet in any spot except for the driver's (thank God). Her 5 year old makes things a bit more interesting too... anyone who has or had kids knows the joys of trying to get crushed gold fish out from the crevices in the seats. :p

Fusion = don't leave trash in my car, but the odd water bottle on the back floor or soda can left in the cup holder doesn't bother me too much. I don't worry about people tracking dirt or mud in, as long as it stays on the floor mats and off the seats. I only wash and wax it in the Spring / Summer, and usually let it go for a month or two between washes. It's covered in sand, salt, and other debris right now, but there's no point in washing until Winter is over.

Mustang = if I can see dirt on my white glove, you're in trouble. ;)
 
Last edited:

WhoBeDaPlaya

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2000
7,414
402
126
06 Lincoln LS. I give it a quickie wash (hose down with water + wipe) once a week or so and a proper wash every 3-4 weeks.

06&
 
Last edited:

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
0
I'm usually pretty clean myself, so it really comes down to what my passengers do. My girlfriend is notoriously messy... her car looks like a trash can. :( You literally can't see the carpet in any spot except for the driver's (thank God). Her 5 year old makes things a bit more interesting too... anyone who has or had kids knows the joys of trying to get crushed gold fish out from the crevices in the seats. :p

Fusion = don't leave trash in my car, but the odd water bottle on the back floor or soda can left in the cup holder doesn't bother me too much. I don't worry about people tracking dirt or mud in, as long as it stays on the floor mats and off the seats. I only wash and wax it in the Spring / Summer, and usually let it go for a month or two between washes. It's covered in sand, salt, and other debris right now, but there's no point in washing until Winter is over.

Mustang = if I can see dirt on my white glove, you're in trouble. ;)

CDX&
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
36
91
Let's put it this way, the last time I washed the Porsche was probably 6 months ago.

I keep my cars tidy, but I have no problem with people eating in them and I'm not obsessive about the paint or keeping them perfectly clean. I'd rather drive them than polish them.

ZV
 

SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
My winter truck and Cobalt are a mess. Never washed the truck in the three years I've had it and probably won't the Cobalt, either. My Z06, though, looks brand new for a 2002 because it is my baby.
 

thescreensavers

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2005
9,916
2
81
Flush with the fenders, but still sorta jeep mode with the OEM sport suspension heigh. Gotta grab some coilovers when it gets warmer out.

ah ok well they look like they are sticking out pas the fenders lol.

Flush ftw, just looks weird at that angle I guess
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
Car: see sig

# of times washed per year? 0, unless someone else does it because they are tired of me taking to to shows dirty.