Washing your own car might seem pointless when you can get it professionally valeted for less than a tenner. But the Sunday-morning car-wash is a great British tradition that could save you a lot of money. A good wash takes less than half an hour, and can cost as little as 20p. Those savings can quickly add up – especially if you’re washing off mud and dust on a regular basis.
Doing your own wash also means you know the job’s being done thoroughly and carefully, using the most suitable cleaning products. That starts with buying a decent car shampoo, designed to cut through layers of road grime and leave your paintwork gleaming.
Here are ten of the best car shampoos, any of which will give you an effortless shine - along with our buying guide tips that’ll ensure you get the best from your shampoo.
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The best car shampoo to buy
1. Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner: Best overall car shampoo
Price when reviewed:£10 (1 litre) – Buy Now from Amazon
Autoglym’s green goo left our car positively gleaming. It’s superbly effective at cutting through dirt, and it also contains an extremely effective water repellent, which doesn’t allow liquid to settle: after we’d rinsed off the suds, just a few drops of water remained to wipe away.
The price might seem on the high side, but you only need to add two small capfuls to ten litres of water, so the bottle should last you for a year or more, at a very reasonable 20p per wash. Combined with its exceptional cleaning performance, it’s a winner.
2. Power Maxed Shampoo & Ultra Wax: A good-value shampoo for a shiny finish
Price when reviewed: £8.65 (1 litre) – Buy Now from Amazon
With excellent performance and a cost per bucket that’s even lower than the Autoglym shampoo, this Power Maxed product is another strong choice. It wasn’t quite as effective at clearing off grime as the Autoglym, but again it provided a water-repellent finish that dispersed water effectively, leaving just small beads on the bodywork. That’s partly thanks to the carnauba wax that’s included in the formula, so if your priority is a deep, glossy shine, this is definitely one to try.
3. Angelwax Shampoo: Gentlest car shampoo
Price when reviewed: £10.39 (500ml) – Buy Now from Amazon
The fruitdrop aroma of this product is divine, and its pH-neutral formula is meant to be kinder to paintwork. It also impressed us with its super-fast drying time, which was close to the Autoglym’s. The only catch is the price: a small 500ml bottle costs more than an entire litre of other products, for an average cost of over 6p per wash.
Angelwax Shampoo - Superior Automotive Shampoo, pH Neutral, Wax Safe, Thick, Concentrated (500ml)
4. Bilt Hamber auto-wash: A super-concentrated option, but not the most effective
Price when reviewed: £14.90 (300ml) – Buy Now from Amazon
The bottle looks like something you might pick up from a pharmacy, and the contents are extremely concentrated: even though you only get a small quantity of auto-wash, it goes a very long way, working out to a cost of just 17p per bucket. Unfortunately, while Bilt Hamber is a respected name, the potency of its formula seems to have been reduced in recent years. Even though it was effective, the product left the surface of our test car slightly less water-repellent that the best-performing car shampoos.
5. Halfords Car Wash: Best cheap and cheerful car shampoo
Price when reviewed: £5 (2.5l) – Buy Now
There’s no fancy design or gimmicky name here. Even the bottle is a no-nonsense affair, with a built in handle, chunky cap and not a nod to aesthetics. But don’t be put off: this is a very effective shampoo. After use, water ran straight off our paintwork, leaving just a few neat beads dotted across the surface, and the speed of drying was close to the best on test. You do need to slosh it about, with 50ml needed per bucket, but even so, it works out to a very economical 10p per wash.
6. Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax: Good for shine, but not the fastest to dry
Price when reviewed: £13.60 (1.42l) – Buy Now from Amazon
It’s not cheap, but the Meguiar’s bottle is larger than average. You don’t need to use a great deal either - the recommended dose is 28ml, although confusingly the label also talks about mixing four capfuls into your bucket, which would be a larger measure. Stick to the 28ml dosage and you’ll be spending about 27p per wash for a lovely shiny finish - although it takes a bit longer for the water to assemble into beads than the best, increasing the drying time.
7. ValetPRO Advanced Poseidon Car Wash: An upmarket shampoo that claims to protect your investment
Price when reviewed: £9.49 (500ml) – Buy Now from Amazon
The name certainly makes a statement, and this shampoo did a reasonable job of cleaning our test car, with neat water beading on the surface, even if the water-repellent surface wasn’t as effective as the best. The price of 38p per wash is on the high side, but the shampoo is claimed to be gentle to protective wax and sealants on the car - even prolonging their life. You’d have to use it for years, versus other shampoos, to test the veracity of that claim, though.
How to pick the best car shampoo
Why do I need special car shampoo?
Car shampoo is designed to leave your car with a shiny, water-repellent finish that’s easily rinsed off at the end of a wash. A nice aroma is a bonus, as is a reassuringly thick layer of foam in the bucket.
What ingredients should I look out for in a car shampoo?
Many shampoos contain carnauba wax, which is extracted from palm leaves and helps give your paintwork a shiny, showroom-style finish. Even if your shampoo contains carnauba wax, however, it’s best to properly wax your car after washing to provide optimum protection from the elements.
Is it worth paying a premium for expensive shampoo?
Not always. Some of the best-performing products work out much cheaper than more mediocre rivals. But when you compare prices, don’t simply look at the cost of the bottle: check how much you’ll need to use per wash. Some extremely concentrated shampoos require just 5ml to be added to a bucket of water, while others need ten times the quantity, so they work out much more expensive in the long run.
What’s the best way to use car shampoo?
Start by rinsing your car thoroughly, to remove as much dust and grit as possible. This will reduce the risk of scratching your car when you apply the shampoo. Next, dilute the shampoo - making sure to follow the instructions, since (as we’ve mentioned above) the recommended quantities can vary significantly.
Now use a quality sponge or microfibre mitt to apply the shampoo from top to bottom of the car. Leave the wheels until last, to ensure you don’t accidentally end up picking up grit with your sponge and scratching the paintwork. Wring the sponge out into a separate bucket, so the collected grime doesn’t get transferred back onto the car.
Once your vehicle is fully lathered, rinse it thoroughly with clean water and then dry it with a chamois leather. Finally, a layer of car wax will protect the newly-washed sheen and make it easier to clean. Buy an aqua wax that’s applied to the car once it’s rinsed and you can cover both jobs at once.
If you have sensitive skin, consider wearing latex gloves or Marigolds. Car shampoos contain tough degreasing agents, designed to shift caked-on dirt: they aren’t kind to skin.
How often should I wash my car?
During winter, it’s worth doing once a week, as the salt that’s laid down to prevent icy roads can build up and damage your paintwork. In the summer, you can happily stretch it to a fortnight, particularly if it’s regularly waxed.
However, don’t wait until your next wash to remove bird’s mess: clear it off as soon as you can. This substance is not only unsightly, it’s extremely corrosive, and just a few days baking in the summer sun can be enough to damage your paintwork, potentially necessitating a costly respray.