FLAGSHIP CAR WASH & LUBE CENTER

The words “car wash” and “gift shop” are not often conflated. Flagship Car Wash might be considered a pioneer in the genre. Inside the shop, the waxy smell of decorative candles mingles with the pungent perfume of hot black coffee. Customers can browse shelves of bottled car fresheners, and run-of-themill convenience store fare is available for purchase, as is a selection of birthday cards. The gift shop doubles as a waiting room with typical perks such as comfy seating, television and complimentary beverages. Hidden in the corner is another novelty: two arcade games, which appear to be a big draw. Children — both the standard 8-year-old sort and the even less elusive 30-year-old male type — happily play Pac-Man while waiting for their rides to roll through the tunnel.The low hum of Pac-Man’s voracious appetite is constant … occasionally interspersed with a little smack talk. —RACHEL RICE

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:

JC’S CAR WASH: 48 hours on all washes

FLAGSHIP CAR WASH: 48 hours on all washes

WATERWORKS: 48 hours on all washes

Wave Wash

Frank Meneghetti grew up in Lake Highlands, and in 1997 he opened his first Wave Wash on upper Greenville 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. Meneghetti seized on the growing trend in 2001, and his Greenville location became the second tunnel car wash in the Dallas area. In 2004, Meneghetti opened another tunnel wash, this time in his former neighborhood on Northwest Highway. “What a tunnel does is allow for more equipment to be in one space, so it allows for more cleaning and more drip time,” Meneghetti 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,” Meneghetti 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