Where on the southside can i get my car washed and dried?

Cyrus

I look after the car prety well, but i only have room to wash, polish etc at my parents place in wexford and lately i dont go down as much.

where in south dublin can i have my car washed (with a lambswool mitt and clean shampoo not a dirty bucked and sponge) and dried while i wait? nad what would i be looking at cost wise

demanufactured

wtf lol , just buy a sponge and go nto one of the jet wash places and do it yourself

GreeBo

pay extra at the machine and it will blow it dry for you

MarkN

Beacon Valeting in Sandyford.. they've moved to under Dunnes Stores there now for a bigger premises, was out there yesterday, serious set up.

Crystal Clear are in Dundrum Town Centre, Ever Ready in Donnybrook.. I'm sure there's more.

Jack Bauer999

Cyrus wrote:

I look after the car prety well, but i only have room to wash, polish etc at my parents place in wexford and lately i dont go down as much.

where in south dublin can i have my car washed (with a lambswool mitt and clean shampoo not a dirty bucked and sponge) and dried while i wait? nad what would i be looking at cost wise

i was going to start a thread and ask the same question!
does anybody know where near sandyford,leopardstown is there a good car washing/garage facility??

Cyrus

MarkN wrote:

Beacon Valeting in Sandyford.. they've moved to under Dunnes Stores there now for a bigger premises, was out there yesterday, serious set up.

Crystal Clear are in Dundrum Town Centre, Ever Ready in Donnybrook.. I'm sure there's more.

wheres the dunnes in sandyford mark, could i just drop in a get it done if i was early?

ALso wheres ever ready in donnybrook?

nialler

I get mine washed and dried for 15 euro in Ever Ready in Donnybrook while I wait on a saturday (behind the shell station opposite bective) also have her booked in there for a full valet on monday, so don't leave it in monday ;-)

Cyrus

what do they use to wash and dry niall?

do they use mitts or sponges and do they use towels to dry or a blade

nialler

for the 15, they spray the car with some sort of shampoo, give it a jet wash and dual sponges, then dry it off with chamois, very good and shiny considering I was paying 8 euro in shell next door and handing the chinese guy 6 euro tip for a dirty sponge and a bucket.

225 for full valet and machine wax/polish, so hopefully the cream carpets will look a bit healthy again.

TomMc

Valeting crowds in Ireland spend a pittance (per vehicle) on their cleaning supplies & equipment. Trust me, everything is done on the cheap. I know someone in the trade and the stories he told me would make you cringe. I have seen it first hand myself and that is with main dealer garages & valeting companies who take it seriously (or so they think) just because they have fitted out bays and the like.

Sponges for washing (or using a mop handle of sorts) are the norm and a leather chamois at best used for drying. And they are all used over and over and over again. Cotton cloths for removing polish or wax residues but some even use old pyjamas (I kid you not, they come in coal bags). Your car will probably be washed with a TFR which will do that Jetseal you put on, no good at all.

I would never recommend anything but a hand wash myself, but I think Belgard motors (who are a shower themselves, excuse the pun) have a touchless car wash in Tallaght with either reverse osmosis or filtered water so little or no spotting. But don't take that as a recommendation either.

http://www.belgard.ie/aftersales/valeting.aspx

fletch

TomMc wrote:

http://www.belgard.ie/aftersales/valeting.aspx

How can they do all this for €30?
"Express Valet - €30.00
Car power washed, including wheels, wheel arches, tyres, spare wheel and tyre, door and boot jams, mudflaps, dried using our blow dryer and special spot free rinsing finish, tar removed, dress tyres, mud flaps and trims, hand wax and polish"

TomMc

Looking on their site I would say it is a splash & dash as it says it takes 30 mins. I would not let them near a car with a polish/wax & dressings allowing such a short timeframe. If they just washed and dried the car, using proper equipment well then may be, but just that alone.

The price kind of highlights the state of the whole valeting industry in this country. They have probably the most expensive fit out / premises in the country and yet it is clear that atttention to detail does not matter much.

Cyrus could always bring his own buckets, mitts and towels for whoever, to use. Might give them a wake up call but since most of the general public do not know any better, they cannot be arsed to learn or up their game either. With these crowds it's about making money for the boss, so maximising the return on every vehicle for minimal effort & expense. That means cheap products, a slave labour force and a real rush job.

maidhc

Dry your car on the southside?

May I recommend Biarritz?

TomMc

Good one.:D

Nice place, but I nearly drowned over there back in the summer of '85. I was glad I stopped off in Lourdes the day beforehand.

The waves & current were unlike anything I ever experienced anywhere else in Europe, at least at a seaside resort.

MarkN

TomMc wrote:

Valeting crowds in Ireland spend a pittance (per vehicle) on their cleaning supplies & equipment. Trust me, everything is done on the cheap. I know someone in the trade and the stories he told me would make you cringe.

That's a load of bull to say everyone is like that because it's simply not true.

I'm not even going to justify your reply with a defense as it's not needed - like anything in life, you get what you pay for.

Cyrus, go past Fosters etc on your left and there's now a new turn to the right (it's well signed and Diamond Living is on the edge now), drive in and down into the underground car park.

I wouldn't send you to the place if I thought they were not 110% - there was an out of the box 911 waiting to be valeted there yesterday. Try get there for 8.30/9 in morning if you can.

TomMc

MarkN wrote:

That's a load of bull to say everyone is like that because it's simply not true.

I'm not even going to justify your reply with a defense as it's not needed - like anything in life, you get what you pay for.

Cyrus, go past Fosters etc on your left and there's now a new turn to the right (it's well signed and Diamond Living is on the edge now), drive in and down into the underground car park.

I wouldn't send you to the place if I thought they were not 110% - there was an out of the box 911 waiting to be valeted there yesterday. Try get there for 8.30/9 in morning if you can.

I'm sorry but I very much doubt your standards & knowledge on car presentation would ever measure up to mine. But then your probably a yuppie and a car snob of sorts, easily impressed by life's affectations. One without the discrimination to discern between a showroom and a concours-look finish.

Valeting companies are like franchised motor dealers, the fancier the premises usually the poorer the service and quality of workmanship. They have high rents and as the business principal wants a return on their investment, they have to cut costs every which way they can. Cheap chemicals and immigrant workers usually are the end result. Only owner operated firms can offer that bit more in terms of quality and service, if they know better or indeed bothered to care. The franchised valet outfits are a joke. But with valeting it's location, location, location that gets the fancy cars in first & foremost, not any extra special workmanship over another. People who let a valeting company near their vehicles paintwork usually have got very limited ability or talent, otherwise they would do the job themselves (Most probably to a superior standard). Only a master craftsman would have an eye for attention to detail at the highest level. I would say many Porsche owners & badgeheads in D4 & the Southside would be the type easily led by glamourous premises and the trappings/perception of success.

I know someone in the trade and he knows what everyone is using, it's his business to know. He visits all these places in a sales capacity. So take it as fact, they are not using any high tech products or special accessories, just generic ones. The general public will not pay for top of the line stuff, because it would run to hundreds upon hundreds of Euro. They just pay for the basics and convenience. Some fall for the marketing spin and pay a little extra for certain miracle treatments (except they are sham), but then these people do not know any better.

MarkN

TomMc wrote:

I'm sorry but I very much doubt your standards & knowledge on car presentation would ever measure up to mine. But then your probably a yuppie and a car snob of sorts, easily impressed by life's affectations. One without the discrimination to discern between a showroom and a concours-look finish.

I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you are actually for real.

I was laughed at by people when I told them how much I spent on Swissol wax for my car, same goes when I tell them I am not free for the next 8 or so hours as I am cleaning the car, so please don't speak to me like you are some superior 'car clean king' as all you sound like is a knob.

Fact is, you can't back up your claim that there is not one good valet company in the whole of Ireland and if you are that small minded then you're even worse than you sound.

"One", might take that on board :rolleyes:

unkel

TomMc wrote:

I'm sorry but I very much doubt your standards & knowledge on car presentation would ever measure up to mine

/Coughs

A tad arrogant there, TomMc?

TomMc wrote:

I nearly drowned over there back in the summer of '85. I was glad I stopped off in Lourdes the day beforehand.

The waves & current were unlike anything I ever experienced anywhere else in Europe, at least at a seaside resort.

I can confirm that. When I was there, I was very fit* and strong and an experienced swimmer. I could manage, just. My mate who was fitter and leaner, but less physically strong than me, nearly drowned. I would not have been able to do anything for him had he not made it back on his own

Nobody else was swimming as far as they eye could see to either end of the beach

* long time ago

TomMc

MarkN wrote:

I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you are actually for real.

I was laughed at by people when I told them how much I spent on Swissol wax for my car, same goes when I tell them I am not free for the next 8 or so hours as I am cleaning the car, so please don't speak to me like you are some superior 'car clean king' as all you sound like is a knob.

Fact is, you can't back up your claim that there is not one good valet company in the whole of Ireland and if you are that small minded then you're even worse than you sound.

"One", might take that on board :rolleyes:

If you care to read my posts fully, I did not say there is not one good valet company in Ireland. What I actually said they (as an industry) do things on the cheap. Therefore if your quite fussy don't expect anything too fantastic. If you look at Beacons Web Page they use SuperGard crap as their top-end treatment, which only proves my point (for those that know better). Anyway, what's good in the eyes of the average Joe, would not cut it with those who are perfectionists. Mediocre work impresses mediocre minds. Your friends laughing at you is simply down to ignorance because the public have been brainwashed into thinking that Turtle wax and Auto Glym are high end products. The trouble is most of the valeting trade think the latter are too. So what a consumer pays 20 quid for in the shops for a 500ml bottle, they can get 5 Litres for circa 40.00 - 50.00 (Ten times the amount for 2-2.5 times the price). That is what I call cheap as chips and the standard in the industry. Otherwise they mainly use Concept or AutoSmart products which are more of the same. The very best products are manufactured for the connoisseur only, in consumer sizes with boutique packaging, never in trade volumes at huge discounts. In fact one person I know who use to use Swissol had to give up valeting altogether at least as a commercial venture as the public were not prepared to pay for quality, nor was he prepared to dumb down his work to the level of others. It's all well and good but the general public in Ireland are not sophisticated enough so niche markets are too small over here to operate in their own right.

Also do not think that having a few nice motors about the place must mean someone is the leader in their respective field. If they happen to just be in an affluent area this is greatly heightened. Many prestige dealers/garages farm out valeting to the nearest operator and most pay them peanuts. But they need volume to be commercially viable so take on the work. For the same reason most valeting crowds are in supermarket car parks, in or near multi-franchise motorparks like Sandyford or Airside or then there are filling stations. The public want convenience. In fact I see the only Aston Martin ever (an 07) in my area put through the local brillowash frequently along with countless Mercedes CLS. In fact I am beginning to think the flashier the car, the more clueless the owner.

---

If my previous post sounds arrogant, it is only because I am passionate about the whole subject having picked-up special skills from my father who was a master craftsman. I also take a keen interest in the actual chemistry of the products themselves and the various technologies involved with same.

Swissol's products are very good, at least the "Best of Show" wax and the range above it. The ones below this in the line up are nothing special. A waste of money but they sell by association and with all the marketing hype. However you could put the best wax in the world on a car but the preparation beforehand is 90% of the work and the cornerstone in achieving a concours finish. Without the right prep, a top wax only highlights the flaws even more.

---

Cyrus posted a while back about the work he did on his car, if I recall correctly he spent two days sorting it out. I know the products he used first hand and was just giving him some friendly advice. Valeting companies tend to use heavy duty TFR's (not mild ph balanced shampoos) and this would not be ideal for his cars finish. Why undo some of his hard work. Forewarned is forearmed.

maidhc

In fairness, even people who buy cars like Mercedes CLSs buy them to drive them. Why spend €200 getting your car clean and shiney when it will be destroyed in 5 minutes after driving it down to road!

optiplexgx270

Des Cullen Motors uses the Beacon crowd and i'm fairly sure they wouldn't let a croud of chancers anywhere near €150-250K cars if they were not good.

MarkN

Tom that's fine that you are passionate - I just think it's funny the way your attitude changed when I started telling you I wasn't your typical Autoglym customer

Your post was directed at me "I'm sorry but I very much doubt your standards & knowledge on car presentation would ever measure up to mine", so naturally enough I'm going to have a reply for you when I'm clearly not your average 'valet enthusiast' with a valet bucket from B&Q for 20 quid!

I've spent hours using clay bars, paint cleansers, terry towels that cost more than your luxury bath towel in Arnotts to "rub on a car" as one friend put it so I'm not disagreeing with what you say but I am saying you shouldn't assume you're out on a limb there and nobody else cares for their car.

Whatever Beacon use, it's a business aimed at the public - like your own friend found out, the public will only pay a certain amount to have their cars cleaned, it doesn't take away from the skill of the person doing the work. The Aston Martins, Ferraris and Lambos they work on do speak volumes though.

TomMc

Well we will have to agree to disagree. Anyway, I was comparing your standards to mine, not to Joe Public. Different kettle of fish altogether. Just because you use better quality products than the average person does not automatically make you any more skilled than they are or an expert. Some people just buy into all these top-branded boutique products based upon their snob value, or because they have more money than imagination. When you start mixing products with special lubricants, chemicals & bonding agents, then you are stepping up to another knowledge league entirely.

If I recall correctly, you posted details about your new car earlier in the year, where you also mentioned it had a few marks which you wanted put right and where to go to or what to do. Well that told me all I needed to know about your own limitations. So I was forming an opinion based on facts.

As for Des Cullen & Co, at the Toys 4 Big Boys show or whatever it is called (show before last), I saw his various exotica and most were swirl city. Kerbed wheels all round too on the main display car - a newish Ferrari. But then shows in Ireland are an embarrassment at times, next to the standards elsewhere in Europe.

MarkN

I'll try not to lose too much sleep over the fact that I can't take swirl marks out of a car as well as you can so Tom.

I just hope the OP finds somewhere to clean his car.