Blew $60 on a drive-thru car wash last week and it didn't even get the bird poop off

Stopped at that flashy car wash on 5th street near the mall because my car was covered in tree sap and bird droppings from parking under a magnolia tree. They had a sign saying "premium wash with wax" for $18. Figured I'd treat myself. Get to the end and half the sap is still there plus there's new streaks everywhere. I was so ticked I drove right back through and paid again thinking maybe it was a fluke. Nope. Same result. So I drove home and had to hand wash it anyway basically flushing $36 down the drain for nothing. Has anyone else had better luck at those automatic places or are they all mostly a scam?

2 comments

2 Comments

williamm8212d ago

You're not wrong at all, @hunt.nora. I had basically the same thing happen at one of those tunnel washes by the grocery store. Paid for the top tier package, watched the big spinning brushes go over the hood, and when I pulled out there were still big patches of mud from a dirt road I'd taken the week before. Dry mud too, not even stuck on that bad. Drove home and spent twenty minutes with a garden hose and a sponge to finish the job. They're really just a light dusting kind of deal, like you said. I've found that if you can't get the wash done by hand, the touchless spray-it-yourself bays with the pressure wand actually work a lot better for anything stuck on.

hunt.nora12d ago

Honestly, you said "blew $60" but then you only mentioned paying $36 for two washes. That math doesn't quite add up unless you counted gas or something. But anyway, those automatic places are pretty much a scam for anything stuck on like sap or bird poop. They're designed for light dust and rain spots, not actual grime. Tbh, you're better off spending that money on a good bucket of soap and a microfiber cloth.