As an owner of a new car, I try to keep it clean and keep the paint looking new and free of microscratches. I'm a bit weary of the Boomerang style or other automatic carwashes which "touch" your car. My last car got some scratches from going thru boomerang after a muddy truck went thru it. At this point I am trying to only use DIY car washes so I do not scratch the clear coat.

I've noticed there are a TON of dilapidated car washes here. It seems like a lot of them are poorly maintained and frequently out of chemicals. One of my favorites near 50th and meridian has great water pressure, however it seems they are always running out of the spot-free-rinse chemical, so when the car dries it has a bunch of water marks. I've been going to one out by my girlfriends house near council and NW expressway called "Palms" Carwash and it seems their spot-free is always full, however their bays are in rough shape, some of the sprayers leak and you end up getting the stuff all over your arm or clothing, it is hit or miss, however I found the 5th bay from the coin machine is the best one lol.

Other DIY washes I've been to have similar problems, low water pressure, lack of spot free rinse, leaking stuff on the car overhead, etc.

Does anyone know of any well maintained DIY car washes in the metro? I dont care if its new as long as it has good pressure, and a good spot free rinse that will not leave the car full of water marks....

First off, I completely agree with you. I have a newer car and I refuse to take it to one of the drive thru places around here. They all use obnoxious spinning brushes and the people drying your car there use dirty, crappy towels that leave swirl marks in your car. Also, as you pointed out, most of the self serve places are pretty much rubble, full of trash and broken machinery.

With that in mind, I'm surprised you were having trouble wit the place off of Meridian and 50th (I'm assuming its the place across the street from Oklahoma Station BBQ). I've generally had good luck there. Depending on what side of town you are in, the best place in the inner NW side is Clear Water Wash on 23rd and Villa. They generally have ample chemicals and its for the most part pretty clean. The downside is they can get pretty crowed on the weekends and at night seems to attract 17 year olds who want to show off their systems.

My coworker usually takes his car to a self service place off of NE 150th and Lincoln and has said good things about it. I don't know how close you are to Edmond, so it depends on how far you want to drive.

Just as an aside, I have started taking my own supplies (including a bucket, brushes, soap, and towel[s]) if I decide to take my car to a self service place. I live in a condo in midtown so no driveway for me. This has worked out fine for me. Maybe its something you ought to consider if you can't really find a decent place.

Since both of your cars depreciated $5,000 the day you drove it off the dealership, you might as well just go. I prefer the one on Meridian between NW 36th & 39th. You can run your card there now so you don't have to deposit .75 cents every 4 minutes or whatever it is. Go to Auto Zone or O'Reillys and buy some shiny tire spray, your own glass cleaner and a shamee to dry your own car off. Much cheaper to do it yourself.

save the money and invest in a good hose attachment, car wash liquid, microfiber towels, tire brush, etc....

for the price of 1 car wash you could wash your car for two years, be gentler on the paint (high pressure and commercial detergent are horrible on paint, literally strip off clear coat) in the time it would take you to drive to the 'good' car wash, wait in line and drive home.

dont get me wrong ive done it too, but next trip to a car wash use a timer to see how long it takes you and then compare it to doing it by hand. you might be surprised that your quick trip to the station takes 45-1 hour and cost you 5-10 dollars.

if you live in an apartment i apologize in advance.

There's a good one on SW 104th and S May that I use. Southeast corner next to the gas station.

I use the pseudo-DIY option at Red Carpet where you pay $6.00 and stay in the car while it goes through the tunnel (I check email & FB as I go through). The guys don't do a good job wiping it down, so after pulling out, I use one of their towels and take an extra five minutes to pick off the residual drops. I also keep another towel in the car to get the drips from mirrors, the fuel filler door, etc. when I get to my next stop.

It's a brushless option that uses their soap & water, costs $6.00 and takes about 10 minutes.