# Are high-end car washes springing up like mushrooms anywhere else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494 "2021-03-09T02:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494/41 "2021-03-23T18:04:16Z")
You mean the car washes that aren’t the cheapo ones that you get with a free tank of gas, or the ones where you wield the wash wand/brush yourself? I suppose I’d call them mid-range, in that they’re not the cheapest version, but nor are they the kind of thing where people go and hand-wash/wax your car with expensive name-brand stuff as well as detail the interior and exterior either. We had a flurry of openings about 6-8 years ago of those sorts of car washes- they all seem to be the sort where you put your car in neutral and it’s pulled through the wash system, and then the dryer system and a small army of people go over it and dry whatever didn’t get dried by the hot air blowers. As far as I know, they’re all still open. They seem to have filled the void produced when a lot of the older spray-wand ones were shut, or newer gas stations were built without them. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494/42 "2021-03-23T18:22:17Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Vaguely erotic. Today I learned about a new fetish. Who says reading the Dope doesn’t pay off. > [@Spoons](#): > > Back in the day before nearly all cars had remote lock/unlock capabilities via fobs, a quick hack for a frozen lock was to always carry a cheap Bic lighter. If the lock was frozen and wouldn’t turn, you’d heat up the key with the lighter, and insert it. It wouldn’t turn on the first try, and it might take five or ten tries, but eventually, the hot key had melted enough inside that it would turn. This, in my experience as the owner of a place that sold lock de-icer, seemed to be used by young males. They would come in and buy a .69 lighter and freeze their ass off trying to heat up a key in 35 mph winds. All that when $1.29 would have bought the lock de-icer. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I always had garage parking at home while I lived in snow country. Big yes to this. I would not live in snow country without a garage. Learned my lesson early on this one. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494/43 "2021-03-24T02:46:06Z")
Fortunately, I found some de-icer on clearance at a nearby resale store, so I bought some and kept it in my purse until a couple weeks ago. Even more fortunately, I didn’t have to use it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494/44 "2021-03-24T02:46:30Z")
Did that cover your repair costs? ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494/45 "2021-03-25T01:27:29Z")
The “Midas” brand here used to write on your windshield; now they carry an iPad and take a picture of your license plate with your order information. Pretty slick. Or you can buy the monthly pass and get a barcode sticker for your windshield. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-end-car-washes-springing-up-like-mushrooms-anywhere-else/937494.md?page=2)