EVERY night i find myself cleaning my E! Wiping down the tires/rims, wiping any spots on the headlights, cleaning the glass, wiping down the body. And I love doing it!

Am I sick or what? :P

[quote:60f6cc89ce="tapestry"]EVERY night i find myself cleaning my E! Wiping down the tires/rims, wiping any spots on the headlights, cleaning the glass, wiping down the body. And I love doing it!

Am I sick or what? :P[/quote:60f6cc89ce]

No more then the rest of us!!!

Whew! :D

I was like you Tapestry for the first 2 months but after awhile i learn to just let go :D No car will stay perfect!

I figure I (and my wife) can only handle about 2 more months of this anyway!

It just looks SOOOOOOOO good all cleaned up. :)

I'm at the 2 month mark with my E and the desire to keep it spotless has not faded at all. In fact, while my wife and I were out yesterday, it started raining. I actually had the thought that I was glad it was raining because it would give me a reason to wash the E again. Yes, many of us are obsessed.

did my first real wash today. wow! it looks so good now - and it was so easy!

i started on the top and *washed* only the metal panels and hosed/wiped down the composite panels. only took 25 minutes and that includes the tires/rims!

I know what you mean. I find myself looking forward to weekends just so I can wash it. Like to keep it sharp!

Would that I had time to wash it every weekend. (But I got time to drive it!!)

Ger

From another E owner your normal.
:)

I find myself obsessing over the inside. The outside hasn't had any more than an occasional car wash wash.

As to whether or not you are sick, I will share one of my favorite quotes.........."It is not a sign of mental health to be well adjusted to a sick society". :wink:

We'll have had our little E a week tomorrow. We've washed her once (a little tree sap) and rinsed her once (birds!) and today I took a swifter wand to the dash panels (a little dusty), and I need to go vacuum her out. She's just soooooo pretty. So do I think we're weird....nah. Just proud parents.

I bought mine to haul moutain bikes inside. I find myself not wanting to put a dirty bike inside! I recently spend money to have a hitch installed to carry by bike! To me this defeats the purpose of the Element, but I can't scratch or dirty up the inside. I love my Element, but I need a Toyota Pickup to go along with it!

I have a couple of questions. What do you do/use to keep that shiny look to the tires? Also, since I bought my E, it has had this horrible film on it. I have washed it three times and the ugly film is still there. Apparently that's how it came from the dealer. I use the Classic Gold wash. Any suggestions? I guess the dealer used junky car wash techniques or is this film a "new car" phenomena.

I tend to take moderately decent care of all my cars, but I do indeed seem to be a bit more obsessive with the E.
Oddly this just extends to the exterior. Hiking and mtn biking pretty quickly adds a pretty good layer of dirt on the interior that I don't seem as concerned about. Although I do have the flipped up seat covered when the bike is lashed to it, and a cheap carpet runner I can easily shake out under the bike and I have some heavy duty cordura nylon "outdoorsy" seat covers on the front seats.

Now getting TWO door dings within TWO days in a row at work, while I was parked in a WIDE spot with ample room on either side of me did send be BALLISTIC. I now park a bit farther out and straddle two spots, which is something I never thought I would do. But rudeness breeds rudeness and I have been "bred". :evil:

The exterior sure does sparkle up nicely with Eagle One wax as your dry. Dogbox, have you tried that stuff to get rid of the murky look? It is REALLY EASY to apply and works on the plastic and metal alike.

Thank you. You gave me a new thought re the filmy substance. So today I washed the E again and applied the Eagle wax as I dried it. Still pretty filmy. Now it has wax swirled in with the film. But I strengthened myself up and started rubbing like heck, and I think I might have made a little headway. Started getting dark, but I hope it looks better when I see it tomorrow. I also used paper towels instead of just towels on the windows. Rubbed will hard and they definitely look less filmy this time around. I could tell as I drove it around tonight.

That "filmy" problem just doesn't sound "Normal". Maybe you need to strip off the old stuff before putting ANYTHING new on? Others here may have ideas on that. Seems like your dealership owes you a "detailing" for free, just as good advertising for them. Pretty sad statement about them to let a car leave the lot looking filmy. The dealership I went to, and any others I know about usually detail the car immediately before you go home with it, figuring that is when you are going to be showing it off most and its good PR for them.

My Element is mirror like with Eagle One and all the other pictures on this forum attest to the possibilities. I would push back at the dealership. At least give it a shot.
YMMV

I am now washing/waxing my E once a week, its a year old now,... and the time it takes to detail it,.. 8) :lol:

Do U use detail Spray and Microfiber towels to keep it looking great. great stuff

HB

I really feel out of my "element". I have owned my E for 6 months and have only washed it once. I cleaned the interior once, when a cicada exploded inside the vehicle. Other than that, i toss stuff in the back, scratch it up, let the dirt cake on the outside, kick the pebbles to the side of the floorboards, and get on with my business.

Its a completly utilitarian vehicle for me, and its why i love it. I know when i go to clean up the inside eventually, it will be a breeze b/c of the flooring. :?