Washing the Panamera

With two young children—and my younger daughter, still a baby, not yet in daycare—finding time to wash the Panamera myself during the day isn’t easy. I could probably grit my teeth and try washing it while carrying her in an Ergobaby carrier as my older daughter is at kindergarten, but there’s a very real chance she’d get splashed and start crying.

I’m also usually short on sleep, so I’d rather take it easy on weekends. Add catching up on housework, and somehow there’s never time to wash the car(or so I tell myself, haha).

So I’ve decided that the best option is to take it to a gas station that offers hand washing. But even then, there are a few things I need to consider:

Condition 1: Go at a time that still lets me pick up my daughter from kindergarten
Condition 2: Choose a gas station with somewhere nearby to pass the time while the car is being washed
Condition 3: Make the trip part of another outing, rather than going out just to get the car washed

That makes it easiest to get the Panamera washed when I’m already heading out with my younger daughter for work or a meeting. Lately, my favorite gas station for this is Dr.Drive Umeda, ENEOS Frontier, in the Shibata area of Umeda.

Back to Get the Panamera Washed

I was impressed the first time I had the car washed there. The finish stayed sparkling for two months(even after driving on the highway, it didn’t pick up many bugs), they held onto the car for two or three hours after the wash(saving me the cost of parking), and the location—just a three-minute walk from central Umeda—made it easy and convenient to pass the time. So yesterday, I brought it back. They don’t take reservations in advance, so if they’re full, you’re out of luck—but I got lucky and they had space! After leaving the Panamera with them for just under three hours, I went back to pick it up, and…

Wow, it’s sparkling! ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)!!

It looked as shiny as a brand-new car. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the Panamera felt lighter on its feet on the drive home, eager to get going and pulling along with real enthusiasm. Even a car seems to have a soul. It reminded me that I should make a point of giving it a proper wash regularly.