Riddle me this... I need help from the Auopia brain trust! To wash or not wash?

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ferrariguyma

New member
I just took deilvery of a relatively rust free Alfa Romeo Berlina sedan. The car lived in California most of it's life and had a few years in Kansas. I bought the car from a guy in Kansas. I had the car shipped from Kansas and the shipping company delivered the car last night before the snow started falling.



The car was delivered via open carrier and it is covered in road salt. The car is 100% dry just covered with a think layer of roadsalt. It is presently stored in the garage underneath my Townhouse. I shut the heat off in the garage so there is no worry of humidity levels or moisture.



I know I should get the salt off the car but where we are looking at freezing temps for the rest of the month and the car will not be registered or on the road until the summer I will not be able to nor would I want to drive it to a car wash.



I was quoted $150. for a mobile wash company to come to my house and hose the car down top and bottom with hot water. Then I would roll the wet car back into the garage where it will sit for the rest of the winter months.



I know if I can wait 6-8 wks temps will rise enough that I can use a hose to wash the salt off in my driveway. My question is how bad would it be to keep my Alfa in my dry garage covered with salt for that long? Or should I spend the $150. get the salt of and deal with the car drying slowly in my garage?



Sorry for the long winded question! And THANKS IN ADVANCE!



Andrew
 
Correct. They normally do big jobs and told me the min. they would charge is $150. to bring their heated, softened water truck to my house and rinse off the salt on the car. No soap no drying just bring their heated water and truck and rinse off my car in my driveway.
 
That is the most outragious price I have ever heard for a rinse. I am sure there is some one in ur area that will wash it and wax it for less than that price. Or just go and buy u a pressure washer and do it ur self or rent one.
 
sparklescarwash said:
That is the most outragious price I have ever heard for a rinse. I am sure there is some one in ur area that will wash it and wax it for less than that price. Or just go and buy u a pressure washer and do it ur self or rent one.
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It's been 15 degrees here in the NE for almost a week and this morning it was -8, pressure washing companies typically shut down and winterize their equipment at the end of November. I have to keep my van in a heated garage just to avoid blowing the pump seals on the pressure washer at night. I'm not agreeing with the price, but a business offering mobile service during this season with the appropriate processes and equipment can charge a premium- supply and demand.



rexrock said:
Turn the heat back on for a bit and use ONR?



Just a thought.
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I wouldn't and don't use ONR on our salt covered vehicles, this Alfa should get a pre rinse to remove the debris from a 1500 mile trip in addition to the different anti-snow and ice materials used by each region along the way. When it's built up from heavy travel the combination is like sandpaper.
 
jdoria said:
There has got to be a local shop that can wash this indoors for you.



I'd guess a flatbed to and from the shop includeing the hand wash would cost you the same $150.
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I might flatbed it *to* the shop, but I'd want it returned via something that'll protect it from subsequent contamination.



If that were mine, and I were stuck in that situation [insert lecture here about having it delivered on an open carrier...next time pay Horseless Carriage or somebody to ship it enclosed] I'd be calling around and I'd just bite the bullet and pay whatever it costs to have this done properly or to do it yourself (if you can do it properly). What's a few hundred bucks compared to the cost of rust repair?



Get *all* the salt out of nooks and crannies and I do mean *all* of it. This isn't a small job but if you don't do it right that wonderful car will rot away before your eyes over the next few years.



Letting it sit will rely on the cold temperature and lack of humidity being sufficient to preclude the corrosion process. I've done that once with the Jag, but it only sat for a few weeks in a very controlled environment and it wasn't all *THAT* awfully salty (but I guess that's a mighty subjective assessment). I don't think I'd risk it on this car. Keeping the heat off might not result in the minimal humidity you'd expect.



Gee, sorry if the above sounds really pessimistic :o
 
Thanks for all of the replies. Right now as of today I am just going to have to wait out the thaw and wash the car myself in my driveway. I am keeping the garage heat off and the car is 100% dry albeit coated in salt. I was hoping for a 37 degree sunny day on Saturday but watching tonights News that is not in the forecast any longer. This sucks! The company who will come here to wash the car for $150. I would assume would not want to do it in freezing weather anyway. Doing this would leave the car coated in soapy salty wet ice. And then putting the car in the garage I will have humidity and wet contaminating the other two cars in my garage. I am leaning towards leaving it dry and salt coated until I know I can do a through job and dry the car as well as possible.
 
ferrariguyma- Hope it works out for you as well as it did for me with the Jag (and hey, Jags like mine tend to rust out pretty easily so maybe you'll do OK).



If you get a chance, post back so we know how it turned out.
 
ferrariguyma said:
I was quoted $150. for a mobile wash company to come to my house and hose the car down top and bottom with hot water. Then I would roll the wet car back into the garage where it will sit for the rest of the winter months.
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Rusting away as the pooled water sits in places the overpriced car washer didn't remove it from....I'd either ONR it or wait. A couple of months isn't going to hrt anything. Congrats on the Alfa - Please post some pics!!!
 
David Fermani said:
Rusting away as the pooled water sits in places the overpriced car washer didn't remove it from....I'd either ONR it or wait. A couple of months isn't going to hrt anything. Congrats on the Alfa - Please post some pics!!!
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perfectly said
 
Good choice. Nice looking Alfa btw. Although the paint looks a bit on the faded side, it should be able to be brought back to life w/o a problem.
 
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