Washing the BMW 320i

At the end of May, my very first car, a BMW 320i, arrived at our home. Since then, I’ve been driving it almost every day, but mostly for city driving, so the mileage has just barely passed 1,500 km.

And during that time, I have not washed it once… (–_-)

My husband would probably be shocked if he heard that, and he might scold me for not treating my beloved car properly…

It’s a total excuse, but every time I thought, “I’ll wash it this week,” a sudden downpour would hit, oddly making the car a bit cleaner, or I’d think, “I want to wash it, but now it’s the rainy season, so maybe next time…” and time just slipped by.

Lately, I’ve been saying, “Even if I wash it myself, it’s been over 35 degrees Celsius, plus there are mosquitoes, so I really don’t feel like washing it myself,” and two months have passed just like that.

But after two months, the dirt on the wheels got seriously bad.

…Do wheels really get this dirty (ﾟдﾟ)!?

For this 320i, I think the wheel dirt started showing up quite early after delivery. I read online that “sports models use brake pads that produce more brake dust to prioritize braking performance,” but this is just way too dirty.

Maybe I’m just a bad driver.

Heading to the Automatic Car Wash with the BMW!

So, finally the other day, I decided to wash it. Looking again, not only the wheels but the body was pretty dirty too.

For washing, I usually go to a nearby gas station. The staff are very kind, and while they wash the car, I can wait comfortably in a cozy waiting area with a single sofa and wifi. Plus, they offer coffee and juice.

This time, I thought about asking for a hand wash, but since it costs over 5,000 yen, I decided to first try the automatic coin car wash to see if it could remove the wheel dirt. (Though I thought it probably wouldn’t work…)

Come to think of it, when I just graduated from being a paper driver, I was so nervous coming to the gas station alone that I always had my husband come with me… Now I’m driving a manual and coming to wash the car by myself (laughs).

For this wash, I chose not only the regular shampoo but also added a course with high-pressure washing and thorough undercarriage cleaning. It cost 1,000 yen.

It’s expensive for a coin wash, but it’s two months’ worth of dirt after all.

And finally, the wash begins.

While inside the car during the wash, I always think this:

“If I opened the window now, it would be a disaster.”

Of course, the engine is off, so the window won’t open even if I press the button, but I always imagine what it would be like if I accidentally opened the window. I think if I were around the Plus-Minus Iwahashi area, I might actually give in to the temptation and open it (lol).

The wash finished in about three minutes, but sitting inside the car with the engine off under the blazing summer sun, sweat instantly started pouring out. Meanwhile, my eldest daughter was so excited about the car wash that she was having a blast all by herself.

After the wash, I checked the wheels to see how they looked…

Well, they’re a bit cleaner but not perfectly shiny (of course). Also, it looks like there are lots of fine brush scratches. I think next time I’ll ask for a hand wash.

That said, the body is sparkling clean!

By the way, I asked on Twitter about how to remove wheel dirt, and got the following advice from everyone:

There are detergents that dissolve iron powder on wheels, and ways to coat wheels to make dirt easier to remove. The biggest shortcut is making the wheels matte black so you don’t notice the dirt lol.

European cars all get dirty. I wish someone would develop a detergent that just sprays on and washes the dirt away.

The genuine wheel cleaner is pretty good. Please give it a try.

I use dish soap and gloves! Works like a charm.

BMW genuine products are expensive but actually contain Sonax wheel cleaner. So Sonax is cheaper and just as good! Also, Sonax wheel coating is great! Super water-repellent and dirt-resistant! But if you touch it even a little, the coating comes off, and it turns a bit white, which is a downside. Still, it’s a great product!

Clean it before the dirt hardens. My car, even though it’s Japanese, has the worst dust problem ever. I don’t want to wash too much and cause scratches, but I also hate the dirt. The struggle continues…

And so on…

Everyone seems to share the same concerns, and they really know their stuff. Very educational. I think I’ll buy some cleaners and detergents based on this advice and try to find which suits me best.

I might leave the hand wash for later.

The heat and mosquitoes are a concern, but I think I’ll give it a try once.