I have a 2016 XJL that I’ve had washed at the dealership for the past 5 years, as they would give courtesy washes for free. They moved to a new location a few years back and they had an automatic car wash that they used. I never saw any scratches or swirls, and have a dark metallic grey paint, so the auto car wash seemed to work for me. The only thing they said they had to do different was to remove the rear license plate due to the length of the car (in fact, they forgot to one time and the plate and holder were bent). I did research how to wash the vehicle when I got it and will admit the overwhelming recommendation was to only wash by hand. I purchased all the recommended items to do this, but realized that due to age and bad back, self washing was a no-go for me. Recently, they quit providing that service, so I’m wondering if all car washes with the spinning brushes would be similar to the one at the dealership, and thereby be okay to use, as long as I take the license plate off.

 

Delayed reply. We have a local chain of automatic car washes. I use it for my black Acura MDX. One time it ripped off my rear window wiper. And I know it has been putting swirl type marks in the paint. Think about…someone comes in with mud on their car and it gets on the foam brushes, and scratches your car. It’s convenient but I wouldn’t think about using it on my nearly flawless Gray XKR.