Touchless is certainly the lesser of the evils though. Personally, I cannot hand wash very often due to living at an apartment with no access to a hose, so I take it to a touchless in the winter. I try to hand wash at least once a month though.
I have a coating on my car and it has lasted over a year even after going through a touchless in the winter. Technically I coat my car once a year, then seal it twice a year, once in spring and once in fall, then wax 2-3 times a year.
I find this works VERY well. The touchless never gets all of the grime that is stuck on the paint, but it gets the salt and crap off the paint which is what you want. If I cannot make it to the touchless, I stop by a coin op wash and just powerwash the underside of the car as well as getting all of the salt and crap off the sides and wheel wells.
Either way, a hand wash is ideal. I usually hand wash in summer and do touch up washes with my Ultima Waterless Wash. The chemicals in the touchless isn't great, but if you have protection on the paint, you should be fine as long as you keep protection on there.