RS SUPERSOAKERS

Thisisn’t your mother’s car wash or maybe it is. Over the decades, we’ve seen the emergence of spot-free rinses and foot-off-the-ignition tunnel conveyors, making car washes quicker and more convenient than ever. But as it turns out, oldfashioned customer service still trumps new-fangled technology when it comes to suds.

Every neighborhood car wash has a slightly different flavor determined by its ingredients — self- service stalls or full-service detail, longtime favorite or ambitious newcomer, WiFi while you wait or pine tree-shaped scents to-go. Each one also has its devotees who will preach the virtues of their car wash to anyone who will listen. Even if you prefer to clean your car with a squeegee and a bucket of suds in your driveway, you’ll be surprised at what we found as we studied the ins and outs of each car wash, and got to know the characters behind the daily grind.

Rain Checks

No one wants to spend his hardearned money on a car wash and then have all of the shiny newness washed away by rain the next day. Thankfully, some car washes now have rain checks, meaning that if you purchase a car wash and it rains soon afterward, the business will wash your car again for free or at a discounted price with rain check warranties usually ranging between a day and a week.

Customers have to be able to prove that they received a car wash within the time allotted, so hold on to the receipt. Also, check the fine print because some car washes provide rain checks only with their more costly washes. Tunnel washes tend to provide the service, as most self-serve washes don’t provide receipts, and some are without employees.

Take advantage of rain checks at these neighborhood locations:

LAKEWOOD AUTO DETAIL: 7days on all washes

CARMEL CARWASH: 48 hours with full-service wash

WAVE WASH: two days on $7 wash and over; seven days on $15 wash and detailing packages

SPARKLES CARWASH: 24 hours on professional wash

WATER WORKS: 48 hours on all washes

Wave Wash

Frank Memegheppi grew up in the Lakewood/East Dallas area, and in 1997 opened Wave Wash as a self-serve car wash. It wasn’t long, however, before the tunnel car wash concept launched in Dallas — the kind in which drivers shift into neutral gear and let their cars be pulled by a conveyor. Memegheppi seized on the growing trend in 2001, becoming the second tunnel car wash in the Dallas area. Many car washes have since followed suit. “What a tunnel does is allow for more equipment to be in one space, so it allows for more cleaning and more drip time,” Memegheppi says. Small touches are a big part of the business over at Wave Wash. “We always give candy to children when they come with their parents through the wash,” Memegheppi says. “We give dog biscuits to dogs, and we always wash Dallas Police cars for free. We are very supportive of the Dallas Police, and that is something that we are very proud of.” —RACHEL RICE

SELF-SERVE

If money is more valuable to you than time, the selfserve options in our neighborhood typically cost a dollar or two for the initial few minutes, and quarters can be inserted for additional time if you’re not quick enough with that scrub brush. In our neighborhood, the self-serve options abound, including:

THECLEAN SCENE / 11340 Jupiter

GASTON AUTO SPA / 4484 Gaston

GARY’S GEM CAR WASH / 2419 N. Fitzhugh

GLASGOW CAR WASH / 5825 Live Oak

WAVE WASH / 12050 E. NW Hwy