[PatienceWins]

This is a welcome change. I had experienced the same equipment in MRF service center in Chennai way back in 2004. The pricing looks cheap. Do they clean the under body as well?

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

I'm curious to know how the quality of wash at this place compares with 3M.

Well the quality of wash is good. While my car was being washed the owner Waseem was there and I was chatting with him. This guys has invested almost a crore on this setup. The equipment has been sourced from Italy and he has plans to completely makeover the place.

Interestingly he is a avid super biker and owns a couple of them! He had attempted to become part of TBHP a couple of times however was not able to get thru. This place appears to be promising however various factors also needs to be considered in the long run.

BTW he also uses 3M products for detailing.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by denver85

Great finding mac187
The prices looks cheap, and I am planning to try this in the coming weekend.

I am not staying in HSR. When I visited there last weekend, I have seen some similar kind of set-up(Remember seeing the automated washing platform) in the 24th main road. It was called something like 'Express Car wash'. The exact location is here: http://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=12.9...t=m&gl=in&z=16
Anyone have any details about this ???

Thanks Denver85.

The pricing is just right. Unlike manual wash place, automated wash reduces the major pain of finding and retaining labour not to mention their tantrums. The best part is this place has a faster turnaround than manual wash centers. Hence better ROI.

The place you have marked has only half the machine setup and it is used to dry the wash cloth Doesn't look like it would be working soon.

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

This is a welcome change. I had experienced the same equipment in MRF service center in Chennai way back in 2004. The pricing looks cheap. Do they clean the under body as well?

The machine has jets to clean the underbody but it was not working when I had visited on day one of their operations. They just hosed the underbody that day. Sumanthindra visited them recently, he can tell us.

[praful]

Have been wanting to try out this place since the time they opened up.

This is place very similar to http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangal...bangalore.html in JP Nagar. But I believe that had shut down after a while.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by rhenius

The first Automated Car Wash was done by MRF at the Tyredrome in early 1990s in Chennai - Cathedral Road, It was such an unique experience those days to see the cars being washed by a machine.

Just thought I would correct the Pronto Owners perception.

Note from Support - Please avoid quoting an entire lengthy post as it inconveniences our mobile and small screen users.

Ah yes! Amazing that old MRF car wash was!

Now this Pronto's pricing looks quite tempting. May try them out soon as they are rather close to home and I have been peering in interestedly whenever I drive past.

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by rhenius

The first Automated Car Wash was done by MRF at the Tyredrome in early 1990s in Chennai - Cathedral Road

Ahh, i remember that, did multiple washes at that place. It had a wonderful lounge at the top for waiting as well.

Where is this Prunto Automated Car wash located in HSR, i tried googling but only got links to this thread. It would be good to update the first post with contact details of the guy.

Excellent find, thanks a lot.

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Where is this Prunto Automated Car wash located in HSR, i tried googling but only got links to this thread.

Mayankji.
If you are coming from HSR BDA complex towards pratham motors, it should be on your left hand side near HDFC bank.

Hope it helps .

Cheers

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Ah yes! Amazing that old MRF car wash was!

Now this Pronto's pricing looks quite tempting. May try them out soon as they are rather close to home and I have been peering in interestedly whenever I drive past.

Yes they have plans of expansion across Bangalore, not sure though on the timelines.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Scratches: I am still not very comfortable leaving my car to massive automatic brushes all around it. What if one of the bristles is hard ? Do I have a risk of swirls ? Yes, I think so.

Exactly! I am not at all comfortable with such a wash center!

For all the people who have visited the place, what material this brush is made of? And how soft is it?

Also - any idea what kind of water is used? If its the usual borewell water - do they do softening before spraying it on the car?

[Coolman]

Originally Posted by mac187

...
Step 5: The machine sprays wax on the vehicle. This is a nice touch.
...

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

...
Pricing (Including Waxing):[/u] Pricing is good. I have a Hatchback and my neighborhood car wash station charges Rs.300 (Full Body Wash) for all the tasks listed above, except the waxing. So I am fine paying Rs.49 more for waxing. Pretty cheap I think.
...

Query on waxing.

I have read elsewhere in Team-BHP that frequent waxing is not good for the car's body paint.

Say, a car uses this service once every month, getting waxed every time. Isn't the frequency high for waxing? Every time you wax the car body, a micro level of paint goes off, or is that not the case? Maybe an option without waxing and priced slightly less would be welcome!

Thanks,
C_

[mac187]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Exactly! I am not at all comfortable with such a wash center!

For all the people who have visited the place, what material this brush is made of? And how soft is it?

Also - any idea what kind of water is used? If its the usual borewell water - do they do softening before spraying it on the car?

I think they use bore water. Not sure if it is softened before using it. The brush was made of soft material. But you may have a point with the whole principle of method used to clean. But is there anyother way? Manual washes too leave swirl marks on the paint.

Originally Posted by Coolman

Query on waxing.

Thanks,
C_

I too was intially impressed with the package and pricing considering that waxing is done as part of it. But here it not the conventional type of waxing that we know of. Once the machine blow drys the car, it sprinkles wax on the car. To make it effective one need to rub the car with a soft cloth, which was not done during my visit. This wouldn't pose any harm to the paint.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Coolman

Query on waxing.

Every time you wax the car body, a micro level of paint goes off, or is that not the case?
Thanks,
C_

Waxing will not remove any micro level paint! Its the rubbing compound that will cause removal of the paint, to be specific, removal of the clear coat!Waxing is harmless to paint. Infact it adds to the protection

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by mac187

I think they use bore water. Not sure if it is softened before using it. The brush was made of soft material. But you may have a point with the whole principle of method used to clean. But is there anyother way? Manual washes too leave swirl marks on the paint.

Manual washed leave swirl as well, but microfibre cloths help to a great extent. From the pictures i am not able to judge the kind of material these brushes are made of. (Looks like plastic in pics which I'm sure is not the case ). Hope I'll be able visit someday soon to check it out.

Bore water (from what I've heard from Bangalore guys) is not good for paint, hence my question. Someone visiting their facility again could please ask if they treat the water before washing the car. I believe facilities like 3M centers do that. (But true that Pronto prices are lot cheaper).

[shankar.balan]

Treated the Dirty Yeti to a Pronto wash half an hour ago at HSR Layout.

The owner was there and he and his pal are decent blokes overall.
He said he was having severe problems with staff and that trained staff are tough to get. Being the kind of staff they are they keep vanishing too.

This was like a "disclaimer" before the process started but was mentioned to me in the manner of a friend.

First the young cleaner took a soft pressure hose and washed my vehicle's engine bay - this is pretty much a similar process to what is done by 3M and at the Skoda service station too.
Then he dried the engine bay nicely with a pressurized air hose.
Next it was time to get the wheel wells and wheels, tyres etc cleaned as well as to spray off the worst of the muck from the body of the car, roof downwards...
Once that was done, they opened up all the doors, pulled out all the mats and washed them nicely.
Simultaneously the car was vaccuumed inside properly and they cleaned all the surfaces using a surface polish and a dirty cloth...

Next the vehicle was parked in the washing bay and the Super Seven Minute Auto Wash process began.
I must say that was a thorough process and I enjoyed watching it and using it.
The car was nice and clean once the process was over.
Then they got to work on the glass and other surfaces with clean paper towels which I appreciated.

Unfortunately they let theirselves down terribly by getting to grips with wiping the insides of the door wells and door/ window frames etc with a dirty cloth.
I asked why they did not use a micro fibre cloth and the owner bluntly said it was too expensive at 400 bucks a pop.

The charge for this full clean job is Rs 450 for an "SUV" type vehicle.
No bill was given to me when I paid up. Indeed they didnt even offer me a bill.

The above is my "balanced" report of the experience.

Next please find the positives.
1. Decent bloke of an owner
2. Good process for external cleaning of the vehicle
3. Fast, smooth and efficient for external cleaning.

The below are the clear negatives:
1. Dirty service area
2. Lack of trained staff
3. Interior cleaning and general cleaning not of top quality
4. They do not clean the underside of the vehicle at all because they cannot.
5. Dirty cloth and other general materials used are very off putting
6. I dont like multifarious grubby paws groping my Yeti - most irritating indeed.
7. I was generally not pleased to pay Rs 450/- for this job because to me the Yeti is like a large hatchback and is NOT a full size SUV. However I paid without demur as, in my opinion it would have been churlish to argue the point. Noblesse oblige and all that...

My nett take on PRONTO.
1. Get only your external car washing and body cleaning done there - especially when you are in a hurry and your car is DIRTY like mine was today!
2. Dont bother with getting the interiors done there - either do them yourself or go to 3M Services.
3. Overall I would like 3M to clean the interiors of my car and would like to use their ramp and get the car washed too there - the only hassle is that it takes a good amount of time at 3M.

This is it folks

Cheers!

[mac187]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Then they got to work on the glass and other surfaces with clean paper towels which I appreciated.
Unfortunately they let theirselves down terribly by getting to grips with wiping the insides of the door wells and door/ window frames etc with a dirty cloth.

So this is the report post one month of operations. When I had been there, no one cleaned the glass. I too spotted it on the way back, hence did it myself. Also, the door wells and door frames were cleaned before the automated wash and they didn't wipe down the same after the wash.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The below are the clear negatives:
4. They do not clean the underside of the vehicle at all because they cannot.

There are jets in the machine, when I had been there they told me its not working yet. Wasn't the same fixed when you had been there?

Below is the pic of the jets. The jets are supposed to be high powered swivelling types. I imagined that it would good a decent job if it was working.