What is up with car washes??

[Princess Valiant]

So I tried to wash my car over my lunch break because it's white and looks horrible between snow storms.

I went to a newer car wash and the car wash control panel is smashed in like someone tried to break into it with a sledge hammer and the card reader is busted and half missing. So I look over into the next bay, same thing. The bay on the end had a good card reader so I moved the car over there. Swiped the card and the water started. The spray pattern was to one side because it seems someone smashed the nozzle in. NEVER got soap, 4 minutes 40 seconds couldn't get a drop of soap despite trying different settings on the turn dial.

The reason I tried this particular car wash is because I have been through very similar bullshit at 5 other ones in town.

Something is always broken, or the bays are muddy with huge potholes. One car wash I tried last month has homeless living in the bays.

What the actual hell is wrong with people. Can't we have anything nice.

I refuse to use the automatic washers, who knows what's wrong with those and this is a new car with really nice paint so forget that.

Ok, I'm done ranting

 

[RustyRatRod]

That's why I don't use them. It's not a "what's wrong with car washes" question. It's "what's wrong with people?" Those high pressure washes are terrible on paint, anyway. Stop using them.

 

[moparmarks]

I've been driving pass several other car washes to go to the same one that I've used for 40 years. Great pressure and price. They work great if you use a good one and know how to use one. My trucks have 300k Colorado miles on them and are cleaner underneath then most kitchens and pretty much rust free. My 98 Dakota still has pretty nice 25 year old factory paint. You can damage paint, trim, radiators and more if not careful.

 

[sireland67]

My favorite car wash shut down a couple years ago, it was on the way home from work, $1.00 to wash your car, good pressure, would pretty much run until you shut it off.

The guy that owned it was pretty wealthy, and a real nice guy, kept it up nice. The bad thing is the rest of the property sitting right beside it, several acres was un-developed, but nice clean mowed grass. Right in the center of town. He owned it also.
The guy got wind that the city council was going to try to do a "land grab by inodement domain" to build a new city town building.

He applied to the county, to build a new funeral home, restaurant and storage unit, basically consuming the rest of the land, before the city could grab the land.

The county granted his request and he built a really nice funeral home, small restaurant and crammed storage building on the rest of the property. So he won, no land grab, and he is making more money, but its not over.

He shut down he car wash, and let his buddy who owned a tree cutting service, drag the cut trees on the property were the car wash still is, and proceed to cut firewood up and sell it. He pretty much got almost the last FU to the city council, but it is still not over.
These hillbilly's are cutting and splitting fire wood in the middle of the town, and people love it $50 for a stacked 8' truck bed of hard-wood, the people are not complaining, but the city council is pissed.

What does city council do, get the state involved and put a bike / walking trail along the entire edge of the property, because the state owns 20' from the center of the road. And the road runs along the property. This is starting to get real good.
The city must have spent a million dollars doing this, its really nice.

I can't wait to see what the old guy does, this is starting to play out like an old road-runner cartoon. Where the city is the coyote, and the old guy is the road-runner.

 

[Workingdog1]

My favorite car wash shut down a couple years ago, it was on the way home from work, $1.00 to wash your car, good pressure, would pretty much run until you shut it off.

The guy that owned it was pretty wealthy, and a real nice guy, kept it up nice. The bad thing is the rest of the property sitting right beside it, several acres was un-developed, but nice clean mowed grass. Right in the center of town. He owned it also.
The guy got wind that the city council was going to try to do a "land grab by inodement domain" to build a new city town building.

He applied to the county, to build a new funeral home, restaurant and storage unit, basically consuming the rest of the land, before the city could grab the land.

The county granted his request and he built a really nice funeral home, small restaurant and crammed storage building on the rest of the property. So he won, no land grab, and he is making more money, but its not over.

He shut down he car wash, and let his buddy who owned a tree cutting service, drag the cut trees on the property were the car wash still is, and proceed to cut firewood up and sell it. He pretty much got almost the last FU to the city council, but it is still not over.
These hillbilly's are cutting and splitting fire wood in the middle of the town, and people love it $50 for a stacked 8' truck bed of hard-wood, the people are not complaining, but the city council is pissed.

What does city council do, get the state involved and put a bike / walking trail along the entire edge of the property, because the state owns 20' from the center of the road. And the road runs along the property. This is starting to get real good.
The city must have spent a million dollars doing this, its really nice.

I can't wait to see what the old guy does, this is starting to play out like an old road-runner cartoon. Where the city is the coyote, and the old guy is the road-runner.Too funny, wonder what the Ol' boy did for his dough, but cracks me up on so many levels. Storage business is quite the

money maker and Lord knows the racket on the Funeral biz . . .
I

 

[Workingdog1]

money maker and Lord knows the racket on the Funeral biz . . .
I

Oops !
Too funny ! Cracks me up on so may levels, wonder what the Ol' boy did to make his dough ? The storage biz is a money maker and Lord knows the racket on the Funeral biz. . . .

 

[sireland67]

Not sure, but the old guy is super nice, and completely down to earth.
Just don't piss him off.

 

[Workingdog1]

Gotta love it, I'd love to see how it plays out.

 

[67Dart273]

It's probably all beat to hell because it didn't work and never got fixed. We have an older wash here that I always used to go to, but pretty soon more and more crap didn't work, and stuff like you got screwed when selecting a wash (the cycle would leave stuff out, like, you know, SOAP. Called their phone number and there's no option to leave a message. They don't care and not payin attention

 

[diymirage]

 

[Cope]

I know I'm getting old when I agree with rusty...

It's a people problem.

Any who, I saw this the other day and thought of you.





Stay well Sister.

 

[RustyRatRod]

My favorite car wash shut down a couple years ago, it was on the way home from work, $1.00 to wash your car, good pressure, would pretty much run until you shut it off.

The guy that owned it was pretty wealthy, and a real nice guy, kept it up nice. The bad thing is the rest of the property sitting right beside it, several acres was un-developed, but nice clean mowed grass. Right in the center of town. He owned it also.
The guy got wind that the city council was going to try to do a "land grab by inodement domain" to build a new city town building.

He applied to the county, to build a new funeral home, restaurant and storage unit, basically consuming the rest of the land, before the city could grab the land.

The county granted his request and he built a really nice funeral home, small restaurant and crammed storage building on the rest of the property. So he won, no land grab, and he is making more money, but its not over.

He shut down he car wash, and let his buddy who owned a tree cutting service, drag the cut trees on the property were the car wash still is, and proceed to cut firewood up and sell it. He pretty much got almost the last FU to the city council, but it is still not over.
These hillbilly's are cutting and splitting fire wood in the middle of the town, and people love it $50 for a stacked 8' truck bed of hard-wood, the people are not complaining, but the city council is pissed.

What does city council do, get the state involved and put a bike / walking trail along the entire edge of the property, because the state owns 20' from the center of the road. And the road runs along the property. This is starting to get real good.
The city must have spent a million dollars doing this, its really nice.

I can't wait to see what the old guy does, this is starting to play out like an old road-runner cartoon. Where the city is the coyote, and the old guy is the road-runner.

That 20 feet is called the county right of way. I JUST BET if he looks into it deeply, the city has violated the law there. The right of way is supposed to be untouched.

 

[Car Nut]

Car washes are a great place to launder money.

 

[YY1]

Around here, there's been a recent boom in building "light touch" automated washes.

We had one about 10 years ago, and I LOVED it.

In the past 2 years I've seen at least 8 new ones go up, just on the roads I'm on most of the time.

That first one went out of business about 5 years ago, then went up for sale with asking price of 1.1M.

I really want to know what the water and electric bills are on a place like that, plus the machinery maintenance costs.

It's gotta be lucrative or there wouldn't be 8 new ones that I can see almost daily.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Many of them recycle their water.

 

[Ironracer]

My favorite car wash shut down a couple years ago, it was on the way home from work, $1.00 to wash your car, good pressure, would pretty much run until you shut it off.

The guy that owned it was pretty wealthy, and a real nice guy, kept it up nice. The bad thing is the rest of the property sitting right beside it, several acres was un-developed, but nice clean mowed grass. Right in the center of town. He owned it also.
The guy got wind that the city council was going to try to do a "land grab by inodement domain" to build a new city town building.

He applied to the county, to build a new funeral home, restaurant and storage unit, basically consuming the rest of the land, before the city could grab the land.

The county granted his request and he built a really nice funeral home, small restaurant and crammed storage building on the rest of the property. So he won, no land grab, and he is making more money, but its not over.

He shut down he car wash, and let his buddy who owned a tree cutting service, drag the cut trees on the property were the car wash still is, and proceed to cut firewood up and sell it. He pretty much got almost the last FU to the city council, but it is still not over.
These hillbilly's are cutting and splitting fire wood in the middle of the town, and people love it $50 for a stacked 8' truck bed of hard-wood, the people are not complaining, but the city council is pissed.

What does city council do, get the state involved and put a bike / walking trail along the entire edge of the property, because the state owns 20' from the center of the road. And the road runs along the property. This is starting to get real good.
The city must have spent a million dollars doing this, its really nice.

I can't wait to see what the old guy does, this is starting to play out like an old road-runner cartoon. Where the city is the coyote, and the old guy is the road-runner.

I hope he kicks their collective asses!

 

[Workingdog1]

Many of them recycle their water.

I'm sure that's the Law here. My local Spray Wash stopped me from rinsing clods off the Work Truck here in 2021. year, Of course there is a ton of mud from trucks from The Lake Isabella Dam Modification Project ongoing the last five years. Lol

Poor Son Of Gun trying to shovel mucho mud=mucho work. If I made 4 washes @ $ 2.50 a pop=not worth work instead of EZ $$$ !

Of course it is part of the Only Coin Laundry in town, what great Tax deal as all cash. ? ? ?