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Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

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Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#61

Post by nytesky »

elwell wrote: post #40
nytesky wrote: post #7

I would have assumed its from the rise of gig workers using private cars. Uber/Lyft need to keep cars pretty clean to not be dinged stars, and even package and food delivery can create more mess which may require cleaning (but mostly taxi service I think). I skimmed the article and don’t see mention of that?

But if I can avoid buying a car because Uber, then number of washes goes down or is at least balanced.

If you can get by without a car where Uber makes sense, you likely didn’t need a car anyways nor drive it often enough to wash more than seasonally.

You aren’t commuting daily in an Uber, nor driving kids to school and activities with all their gear and car seats. Those are the activities which might have moved the needle on needing Uber level frequency of car washes (but even then, I assume an Uber is washed every other day or so, or perhaps I just have a cynical view of humanity keeping the inside of taxis clean).

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#62

Post by jghn »

guessmyname wrote: post #36
bluefirebrand wrote: post #5

In my city you're not allowed to wash your car in your driveway I guess it's too hard on the storm drains to have soap and dirt and stuff going down them Or maybe city council is just in some kind of racket with car wash owners or something But either way, that's why we have so many car washes here... And it sucks ass

[flagged]

Not everyone wants to provide geolocation data about themselves

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#63

Post by raisedbyninjas »

diogenescynic wrote: post #17
FrustratedMonky wrote: post #8

Year after Year, I kept thinking this was a fad and would crash. But years go by, and now they are calling it a 'boom'. 14 billion dollar market. For Car Washes? Isn't this an indicator that economy is fine, people are fine, since they can spend this type of money on car washes? How can something this worthless be booming, if people are struggling.

My local car was has a $20/month subscription for unlimited washes. These aren't exactly luxury services--they're priced similar to a Netflix plan. If you have a car, it's worth it if you value our time at all.

In the time it takes to drive to one, wait and drive back, you've already spent the same time as washing yourself at home.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#64

Post by guessmyname »

jghn wrote: post #62
guessmyname wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Not everyone wants to provide geolocation data about themselves

Ha!, I knew someone would come back with this.

Consider this: If I were to say, “In Tokyo, people stand on the left side of the escalator and walk on the right side, opposite to Osaka,” would you automatically assume I'm a Tokyo resident? Probably not, right?

Had the initial commenter simply replaced “In my city […]” with the actual city name, it would likely have been interpreted as general knowledge they picked up along the way. Sure, some might mistakenly assume they hail from or currently reside in said city, but in reality, it’s not a big deal. Take me, for instance—I live in Copenhagen and I’m 100% sure no one will be able to do anything useful with that information.

Providing context is key, especially in online forums like this. Simply stating the city name would have enriched the discussion far more than leaving it ambiguous.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#65

Post by dleink »

diogenescynic wrote: post #13
malfist wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like storage units?

Absolutely. I can think of a few storage units that are in prime real estate locations that make no sense--like right across the street from Oracle Park in San Francisco. Has to be some of the most expensive real estate in the entire city/state and it's being used for storage units...

Are the rates comparatively expensive?

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#66

Post by raydev »

guessmyname wrote: post #64
jghn wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone wants to provide geolocation data about themselves

Ha!, I knew someone would come back with this. Consider this: If I were to say, “In Tokyo, people stand on the left side of the escalator and walk on the right side, opposite to Osaka,” would you automatically assume I'm a Tokyo resident? Probably not, right? Had the initial commenter simply replaced “In my city […]” with the actual city name, it would likely have been interpreted as general knowledge they picked up…

Tokyo is fine because it's a major city with millions of people.

If the commenter says "in [small town in South Carolina] for example", then likelihood for them living there skyrockets.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#67

Post by xenospn »

diogenescynic wrote: post #15
socar wrote: post #11

Money Laundering, rings a bell ?

I thought that was what all the mattress stores were for.

Mattress stores and Psychics. Seriously, there’s thousands of both all across the United States - and I’ve never seen anyone set foot in either.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#68

Post by dilyevsky »

mewpmewp2 wrote: post #22
dilyevsky wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The show was written in eary 2000s - I seriously doubt many people pay cash anymore

But people don't have to pay cash, the "pretend people" pay cash.

If you do too many cash transactions compared to legit carwashes in the area i can imagine it will attract attention

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#69

Post by Ekaros »

phillc73 wrote: post #52
lowkj wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if you value your time, why would you wash your car multiple times per month?

That's perfect. I do not wash my car, because I value my time. I thought I was just lazy!

It is so simple to come up with excuses. It is raining. No need to go. We are in spring and here it means the dirty season, no need to go. Or it is negative temperature outside, it probably does not dry...

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#70

Post by mmh0000 »

dilyevsky wrote: post #10
polonbike wrote: post #3

Did the serie Breaking Bad inspire a trend, showing a seemingly innocent/efficient way to clean money ?

The show was written in eary 2000s - I seriously doubt many people pay cash anymore

John Mulaney | Venmo Is For Drug Deals[1]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBpDvCu8yYI

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