OHHHH MY HELL I LAUGHTED MY ASS OFF READING THIS!!!! i have never washed mine "during" a rain storm but have as the clouds rolled in and had neighbors comment "thanks alot for doing the rain dance" LOL

 

I was washing my car then it started to rain so I finished soaping it up then drove around the block five times and bam a perrfectly rinsed car lol

 

You are not alone! There are alot of us just like you. I show my 2007 so keeping it clean and in good shape is just something you do. I did wash it a few weekends ago before a really big show in the rain, rinsed it off and then into the garage to get it dry. Yup, neighbors thought I had lost it too. The guys at the dealership always tease me about how clean the engine bay is and I won't take the car to the dealership unless it is cleaned up. New disease --- Fititus????

Cat :x

 

nice call. i like it. and i am self diagnosing myself.

 

I have a microfiber towel in the driver's side door pocket and I dust off the dash while at a long red light, etc.

After any major stain on the paint (bird, big mess of pollen, mud puddle) I think about washing the car until it is done.

I'm obsessed with detailing products. Polishes, waxes, sealers, fabric protectors, sprays, etc...

My neighbor regular asks me if if rubbed the paint off yet - he sees me detailing so often.

I know that I am sick, lol. I just want my car to look like it did when I got it, and to last as long as I want to keep it for looking as good as it can. I also have a dog, who rides on a nylon "ballistic" seatcover that has prevents everything but the hair blowing around. Really fun to get hair out of a black interior. I have 3M pet-hair remover pads with tiny little fingers on them.

Like I said, I'm sick. If it were still the 1970s, I'd be one of those people raking my shag carpet.

I do allow drinks in it, though. One long trip in that little greenhouse on a hot day and one needs something cold.

Put a napkin in your lap, though.

 

Monterey has a constant spray if salt from tge ocean - the day after you wash it, it'll already be dirty again, covered in a hazy film.

In addition, within the first three months that I had it, someone hit the rear bumper in SFO short term parking and scuffed it up. I put some touchup paint on it, and it's not too noticable. But that basically put a quick end to any obsessing over detailing! (That, and I just don't have the time and energy for it these days - the bike begs for detailing love as well!)

 

OP you are definitely not alone. I obsess over all my cars to be clean and the best condition. I am a car detailer on the side so it justifies my obsession .
I get paid to be picky and meticulous. I have now trained my wife to be the same way. My wife and I both park our cars way out in BFE so we do not get door dings. She likes to keep the car clean just as much as I do. Even though I'm am the one who cleans it (She has me trained as well then).
I usually correct,polish,and seal my cars twice a year. In the Fall before winter, snow and salt see my paint. Then again in the Spring to correct and protect against rain, bugs, and UV rays. Of course all through out the year both cars get washed every week at least. Every weekend I am usually doing paint correction and paint protection on a clients car so I always keep my cars in the best shape. You can think of it as advertising.

Here is some of my clients rides that I have done.
Premium Auto Detailing by Bradly Schaefer - Photo Gallery

 

I have had my car a month shy of 4 years and it has been thoroughly washed and waxed once.... I am to old and arthritic to suffer through what all is involved in keeping my car looking good and I live at the end of a dirt road..... It is otherwise well maintained, much faster and better handling than it was when I got it..... If all of the fat redneck kids around here weren't so lazy I'd gladly pay them to do what I can't but they only show up when their ATVs and dirt bikes aren't running right and need to be sorted out.

 

Seriously guys? Get over it, it's just a car!

I'm just kidding. Shit I also washed my car and it rained a couple hours later. I try to move it if some clunker is parked too close to it. Friends sometimes think I'm insane. After parking it, I look back and smile. Yeah I'm obsessed. But I'm a typical case because this is my first car and it's new....but damn it feels good.

 

It's been tough to keep the Fit clean this year. The powers that be have been redoing water mains in the village where I live, and all the streets have been dug up and patched with dirt since the end of March. The dust is horrible. I can wash the car, park it in the garage, close the door and before the day is out the car will be covered with dust again. I want to wax the car, but I have to wash it then wax it immediately, or wax the dust.

 

Here right now it is pollen. 10 minutes and the car's covered in yellow haze.

Oh, and tar. This is like the land of constant road construction and pothole-filling. Don't even get me going about winter. In college I had a Tercel that I named Old Salty. Road salt practically ATE that car.

I do miss the heavy-duty black rubber bumpers. In the city, you could hit just about anything and the worst you got was a white mark that would wash off.

The Fit's my first brand-new anything in a long while. I guess I just want to keep it looking nice as with anything new that I like...

 

I ran a vacuum cleaner over the front seats yesterday, and hosed down the front floor mats too.

First time since I bought the car, 15 months ago.

I do get to the car wash once a month at least, to keep it looking sparkly!

I've put about 44k miles on it since new, so I obviously would much rather drive it than clean it!

 

This how My Fit looks almost every day. I look forward to maintience and cleaning and this is the first car I've been so clean about! xcpt my Chargers
thnz Chris

 

I knew a guy that spent over 9 months on a psychiatric unit for the same type of obsessive compulsive behavior about his Corvette.

 

*pant pant* I just rushed home from work and pulled the Fit out of the garage to rinse off all the pollen. My heart rate is now slowing and life is beginning to resume normalcy. Of course since the car was out, I Armour All-ed the dash and doors and came up with an easy way to clean the hard to clean black seats.

 

Ditto. I've had a ton of cars but I'm pretty anal, and 100% more when it's new. You are lucky if you ever buy a car I've owned.