Why do some people just not care?

[Station]

The 250 quid 300ZX Z31 I bought last year. The woman had owned it for 20 years and had spent the past 10 years using it to transport her two alsations to the park.

It had never been cleaned in this time! The whole interior was covered in mud and fur.

[maxpower]

I used to work with a guy who had a transit that had nothing except empty B&H cig pkts all stacked in rows along the dash

 

think the only reason he never cleaned the van was that his fuggin lungs wouldn't have lasted that long.

[hairymel]

 my ..cars are rarely seen without tyre shine

 

 

i hate tyre products.

 

I always recoil in horror if i am looking at a future purchase and its tyres are blackened - i know that the tyres will also be bald

 

 

much prefer to buy a slightly dirty car, where you can see it in a more natural state.

 

 

my cars are usually a mobile skip though

[jonny69]

I rarely clean mine (Ford Anglia). I polish it up for something like RRG but otherwise it might get 3-4 washes a year and I hoover it out once or twice. Anyone who thinks I drive an immaculate Anglia around all the time is completely mistaken

 

I won't touch her car though (59 plate 207 SW). I think it's been washed and hoovered twice in the three years we've had it. I have no connection with it whatsoever; I can't even service it myself. It's just a tool at the end of the day and I'm not that proud that I have to keep it looking immaculate all the time.

[explosive-cabbage]

Whilst we are on this topic I thought I would stick my dirty oar in.

 

Tip: Never use a Chicken as a cleaning product.

 

When I was 18 and stupid and had a 205 TD my friend thought it was funny to stomp a packet of Maryland cookies into the rear carpet. My response to this was to stick one of my pet Chickens in the car when I got home, to eat the crumbs.

Alas, I forgot.

2hours later - no crumbs, but big sloppy hen-poos.

Nice.

 

The worst thing was, after OMGHGF a few months later, being sat closed up in the sun for a couple weeks, blue mould started growing where the Chicken had pooed, even though I had done my best to clean it at the time.

[Lord Sterling]

i hate tyre products.

 

I always recoil in horror if i am looking at a future purchase and its tyres are blackened - i know that the tyres will also be bald

When were a small child, we had a nieghbour who was and polished his car every week, he always kept his car immaculate. Everything from his Capri, the Blue Montego GSi and the White/Grey Rover 216 GSi he had were always kept in tip top condition, and he wasn't an old geezer either, probably similar age to my Dad.

 

One of the things that stood out for me was that his tyres were always dressed in tyre shine, it just complemented the shiney bodywork of his cars and finished things off. To me as a young lad, tyre shine then, was some sort of magical stuff that only blokes sho knew about cars could get. It was certainly better than just washing the car which made it look probably a little bit cleaner than before, but not noticably.

 

Interestingly, I once splashed a bit of tyre shine onto the Micra without washing the car, the did look absolutley immaculate and clean but I knew up close the car hadnt been washed for weeks.

 

On the woman car cleaning thing, I only ever remember my Mum getting the soap and bucket to wash the Micra once, she probably did wash it few times before I noticed but this was back around 2001/2. Obviously its now down to me to wash/hoover it out and keep it maintained.

 

Funnily enough, once when I was cleaning it back in 2002 a couple of years before I passed my test I managed to get the Micra stuck on an abrubt bit of step at the end of the our driveway. There was a deep step at the end of the driveway which decended quite abruptly as I moved the Micra forward instead if stepping on the brake I stepped on the accelerator and got the car stuck on the edge of the step, the front wheels couldn't touch the decended bit, just a bit after that was the kitchen which thankfully I didn't hit.

[hairymel]

i don't have an issue with you keeping your cars smart Mo

 

i just have a long standing hatred of the wankers who get a shitty motor and instead of giving it a service they apply a bucket load of shiney sprays and polishes to fool the  prospective punter.

 

i have also observed a direct correlation between the amount of tyre dressing and the lack of tread on the tyres of this type of car.

 

 

 

 

saying that i do have find it a bit unsettling that people clean their cars regularly - it highlights to me my trebus tendancies

[barefoot]

 

i just have a long standing hatred of the wankers who get a shitty motor and instead of giving it a service they apply a bucket load of shiney sprays and polishes to fool the  prospective punter.

 

:

I remember a bloke I used to know, bought a mk1 Cavalier coupe in metallic green, looked shocking. Him and his mate hoovered like nuts, poured t cut onto the thing and scrubbed it for about an hour, sprayed the wheels silver without using masking tape and painted over the overspray with tyre black.

Car sold from his forecourt the very next day.

[Lord Sterling]

I know what you mean Mel. I've seen a fair few cars like that. One car was an 827 Coupe. Overspray everywhere, badly fitting trim, badly sprayed in parts and wobbly wob in corroded areas. Horrible, the lad wanted something like £750 for the car because it had 'Dualfuel'.

[overrun]

Personally I like my cars as clean and presentable as I can get them, my cars are rarely seen without tyre shine and a freshly hoovered interior and wiped down interior plastics

 

I washed and dried the outside of my dads again today, dressed the plastics, and of course added tyre black.

Then I cleaned out the interior on my Mondeo, dressed all plastics, jet washed rubber mats and boot liner etc. Conditioned the leather and cleaned the glass.

 

It is such a nicer place to be now. Great, given I have an airport run to Manchester, early doors.

 

I also washed and dried the exterior, plastics dressed and tyres shined.

 

As you say Lord Sterling, tyre black is like magic. It makes the whole car look cleaner.

I think of it like a picture frame.

 

It did surprise me how long it took to clean the interior of my own car. It wasn't filthy as such, just there was a large area to do.

 

The interior hasn't been cleaned for probably four months. In my defence, there was a building site opposite the house, and directly were I park, so aside from the numerous punctures, (thank you plaster board screws...) I was constantly bringing dolomite dust etc into the car.

 

So all it has been getting is a shake of the floor mats every now and then.

 

I also done a job I have been meaning to since getting the car. I shaved the Alcanatra seat insert on the drivers seat, to get rid of the bobbles. Rsum.

 

It feels almost like a new car now.

 

People who never clean their cars miss out on this 'experience' imo.

[Mr Livered]

Why do some people just care? What on earth is wrong with grot (up to a point, I suppose)?

 

I'd rather spend my time buying them and keeping them running, I don't really find Mrs Livered's Marigold gloves very comfy anyway.

[overrun]

Why do some people just care? What on earth is wrong with grot (up to a point, I suppose)?

 

I'd rather spend my time buying them and keeping them running, I don't really find Mrs Livered's Marigold gloves very comfy anyway.

 

it depends what the 'point' is imo. A little dust on the dash, a few blades of grass in the footwells etc, then that's fair enough.

 

If you have to clear a pile of balled up snotty tissues, old notes, empty tin cans, ice scrapers in July etc just to be able to see the seat, then surely anyone can see that is not right.

 

Noone has to keep their car immaculate, but what everyone should do (if they ever give anyone else a lift) is at least keep the car habitable, for others benefit, if not their own.

 

I am no DW obsessive. I do not own a M.O.P a rotary or any of that. What I clean my cars with generally comes from Halfords or the pound shop.

It doesn't cost much time or money, if you keep on top of it.

 

Maybe it's because I don't own half a dozen or more cars, and tend to hang onto them? This gives me time to drive them and keep them sound, both mechanically and cosmetically.

[makum101]

[beko1987]

Ha!

 

I also use odd cleaning to its advantage. Swmbos car has been machined, glazed, waxed and then regularly washed and its so easy to clean now. Due to the good base the dirt fucks off with the pressure washer, the snowfoam cleans the crannies then chuck the washmitt over it all, rinse, dry the windows so they don't streak and done.

 

Can get it done in under 3 hours sometimes.

 

XM on the other hand, that's a project still, and won't stop looking like white for a while

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I hate cleaning cars. I like eating food while driving though

[overrun]

French sticks make a proper mess.

[Guest Breadvan72]

OMG WKD DETAILIN CRU thread.