How often do you wash your car? Do you clean it inside and out? With a busy life and busy schedule, car maintenance is not always on your mind. And waiting around for the rain to come isn’t really recommended. 

Did you know that typically you’re supposed to wash your car every two weeks? You can skip the car wash and go straight to a detailing, however it’s more costly to do so.  Just like anything that requires cleaning,  a bit of maintenance goes a long way. If the car’s cleanliness isn’t too out of control, then the detailers would focus more on interior and exterior touch-ups. 

Washing your car regularly also preserves the body of the car. Contaminants and pollutants can damage the paint and finish of your car. You can take your car to the shop to restore the paint, however if you aren’t washing your car and preserving the work done, then you’re going to have to get the paint restoration job again. And it’s way more cost efficient to get regular car washes than multiple paint jobs. 

Let’s do the math: 

Average Cost for an At-Home Car Wash (Materials) = $20-$30 

Average Cost for an Automatic Car Wash = $5-$15 

Average Cost for a Detailing = $100-$400 (Recommended to do at least three details per year) 

Average Cost for a Paint Restoration Job = $300-$4000 (depends on the amount of coats you get) 

Now, let’s say you’re busy so you do the automatic car wash every two weeks, all year round: 

$8 (median cost of the average) x 2 weeks = $16 bi-weekly 

$8 x 26 weeks (for the whole year) = $208 

Three details in one year: 

$350 (median cost of the average) x 3 = $1,050 

Average Automatic Car Washes & Details (One Year) = $208 + $1,050 = $1,258 

So on average, you can spend up to $1,258 on a car wash and detailing in a whole year. The median cost of the average paint restoration job is $2,150. 

What does all this math prove? It shows the fact that preserving the paint, by regular car washes and maintenance is a lot more cost efficient, than getting a paint job. When you have the time, try your best to control proper car care by washing it as often as you can.