Car Wash Subscription

[stomachmonkey]

So I learned something today from our community Facebook group.

You can buy subscriptions / memberships to car washes.

Apparently some of my neighbors pay anywhere from $29.00 to $50.00 a month for I assume X number of washes which prompted me to ask, "how often are ya'll running your cars through a car wash?"

One woman replied 3x's a week. Basically every other day.

Granted it gets dusty here and pollen season is no joke but it struck me as excessive especially considering car washes aren't known for being kind to paint.

Does that strike anyone else as maybe a bit too much?

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

"how often are ya'll running your cars through a car wash?"

For me it's "How often does it rain."

I guess , in reality, once a month outside with a hose and a bucket. That's about it.

[craigster59]

We pay $30 per month at Dapper Dan's Carwash. It's drive thru. There's an RFID sticker on your windshield that lets you go in the "Fast Pass" lane and you can wash your car once a day.

A normal carwash there is $13.95 so it's a great deal.

[WPOZZZ]

I wash my car at least once a week. A new car wash took over an automated wash that went belly up. They are offering the same unlimited washes for $59? It is only for one car and not a fleet. The previous owner said the Uber/Lyft drivers would come in everyday.

[A930Rocket]

I pay $14.95 per month for unlimited car washes. I generally go once a week.

[red-beard]

Plans start at 14.95 and go to $29/month unlimited.

I wash a couple of times a week. It has not hurt the paint on my F250 or BMW X5

[stevej37]

I would think the detergents used in a an full automatic touch-less car wash would be stronger than the drive-thru car washes.

Of course with the drive-thru ones you take the chance of contaminated brushes or those rags they drag over your car.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Wow, everyday is a learning day, what a genius idea!

Please tell me there are companies out there that offer a 'Dog Wash Subscription' service too.

[Nickshu]

I wish I could use automatic car washes. The zero swirl tolerance car guy in me just can't do it. Hand wash only.

[rfuerst911sc]

Is water being recycled at these car washes ? Or is water being wasted and going down the drain ?

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Is water being recycled at these car washes ? Or is water being wasted and going down the drain ?

Recycled

[t6dpilot]

Former car wash owner here. 100" tunnel that had the latest and greatest equipment at the time. I had a water reclamation system installed that reused something like 80+% of the water. It had six tanks for post wash reconditioning. First two let particulate settle and the clean water overflowed to the next tank. The third tank ran the water through a cyclonic filter that reduced particulate down to less than 5 micron. The fourth tank had a honeycomb structure that let the bacteria that normally live in our water supply a place to grow. That bacteria fed on the liquid oils, chemicals, etc that remained in the recycled water. The clean water would overflow into the 5th tank where the dead bacteria would settle and go to the sewer. The clean water would overflow into the 6th tank which was reused in the wash for certain stations.

Pretty amazing system that cut down fresh water usage (cost) and did not smell like sulfur. Many of the recycled water systems at the time were filtered and while that did the job adequately, the resulting water smelled like sulfur.

[Scott Douglas]

A neighbor was over yesterday telling us about how she paid her grandson to wash her car. It sits outside and is never garaged. She said she paid him $10. Then she told us how the car wash her husband used to go to charges $28 for a basic wash.
I wash our cars on the front lawn since you aren't allowed to have water from washing a car go into the street. It's the only watering our lawn gets because of the drought, unless it rains which hasn't happened in a while. As I like to tell my wife when she complains about how bad our lawn looks, you can't drink green grass. When the water supply is hit hard enough that all our neighbors with green lawns will be the first to complain about not having anything to drink I'm sure.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

I wish I could use automatic car washes. The zero swirl tolerance car guy in me just can't do it. Hand wash only.

I get it...there is a "touchless" wash in town I use to get the grime off between detailings and add some layer of protection.

I am lazy

[Scott Douglas]

I used to wash our cars once a week, religiously.
Now I tend to keep them in the garage as much as possible and use a California Duster to get the dust off between washings. Anything more than dust gets a wash job.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by t6dpilot

Former car wash owner here. 100" tunnel that had the latest and greatest equipment at the time. I had a water reclamation system installed that reused something like 80+% of the water. It had six tanks for post wash reconditioning. First two let particulate settle and the clean water overflowed to the next tank. The third tank ran the water through a cyclonic filter that reduced particulate down to less than 5 micron. The fourth tank had a honeycomb structure that let the bacteria that normally live in our water supply a place to grow. That bacteria fed on the liquid oils, chemicals, etc that remained in the recycled water. The clean water would overflow into the 5th tank where the dead bacteria would settle and go to the sewer. The clean water would overflow into the 6th tank which was reused in the wash for certain stations.

Pretty amazing system that cut down fresh water usage (cost) and did not smell like sulfur. Many of the recycled water systems at the time were filtered and while that did the job adequately, the resulting water smelled like sulfur.

So was it as great of a money making machine as some make it out to be? I've always heard carwashes and laundromats are great at producing income flow with minimal supervisory participation.

[t6dpilot]

Originally Posted by craigster59

So was it as great of a money making machine as some make it out to be? I've always heard carwashes and laundromats are great at producing income flow with minimal supervisory participation.

It was probably the worst decision I made in my life. Sucked me dry physically, emotionally, and to some degree financially. They can be huge money makers, but you have to hit it out of the park with location and access. I did not. And you have to be on site all the time to prevent theft, loss, keep up with maintenance, and ensure a quality product. I owned mine and had to keep my corporate job to keep the bills paid, so I could not be there during the week.

I call it the "lost 10 years." Happiest day in my life when I sold it. It also has to be the absolutely correct setup to run with minimal supervision. Mine was not. It has since been modified to that style of wash and those guys seem to be doing well. Even self serve washes need you there all the time.

[Rick Lee]

There was a car wash owner in our local PCA back east who was killing it and I think he only had one location. He towed his 993TT to the track with his Cayenne Turbo, seemed to have more than he could spend. He said he got 1000 cars through on a good day. At $14 each back then, that's a good day.

[stevej37]

There are numerous 'touch less' car washes in my area. Last year. They built one of the latest generation of them. That one does a far superior job than the older ones and wash/wax/under body flush choice is only $7

I will also say that even though it's all automatic....I see a serviceman there every time I use it.

[SCadaddle]

Originally Posted by craigster59

We pay $30 per month at Dapper Dan's Carwash. It's drive thru. There's an RFID sticker on your windshield that lets you go in the "Fast Pass" lane and you can wash your car once a day.

A normal carwash there is $13.95 so it's a great deal.

I know a guy. Small independent used car dealer. He moves the "sticker" with his wallet in his pocket with each and every used car he has to sell. I'd say that's taking advantage of the "subscription".