CAR WASH COMPARISONS IN SOUTH RENO

A trip to a car wash is not high on my list of fun things to do, but sometimes it's a necessary evil.  Especially because we have hard water — and because putting soapy water into storm drains is bad for the environment — my family does the right thing and uses commercial car washes. 

Since moving to South Reno, we have mostly relied on Squeaky's Car Wash, 550 S. Meadows Pkwy., to keep our vehicles' exteriors clean, while vacuuming the interiors ourselves.  

Squeaky's uses high water pressure to blast the dirt and crud off your vehicle.  Instead of your car being dragged along on a conveyer belt, it sits inside the washing bay while the water-pressure contraptions move back and forth.  The same machines apply a bit of wax.  When the washing and waxing have commenced, you pull forward slowly through a giant blower drawer.  It's quick, efficient and cheap.  A basic wash with light wax usually costs $6 or 7. 

But then I found a coupon, in one of those ValPack mailers, for a free basic wash at Hutch's Mission Car Wash, 6355 S. McCarran Blvd. in South Reno.  (It's behind Bank of The West, at the corner of McCarran and Kietzke.) 

The coupon made it seem like this would be an upscale car wash, perhaps along the lines of the fantastic Rose Hill Car Wash in Kirkland, Washington.  http://rosehillcarwash.com/

Around Seattle, Rose Hill Car Wash was known as "The Nordstrom of Car Washes," and deseverdly so.  You could select from a number of car wash packages, with a basic exterior wash priced at $8.95.  I was always pleased with Rose Hill's Gold Wash package ($21.95). This was an interior/exterior package with tire and rim cleaning, Blue Coral Treatment and air freshener.  It was a thorough wash with soft brushes, waxing, hand drying and some detailing.  The waiting room at Rose Hill also had a gift and snack shop with funny greeting cards and hard-to-find candies such as Chunky bars. 

So, off I went to Hutch's Mission Car Wash.  

I learned that Hutch's basic exterior wash-and-dry stuff was done by hand and that there was a very quick wipedown of the dashboard, too, for $9.99.  I didn't have to wait long for my car to be ready and the results were pretty good.  I also was amused to see that the gift and snack shop at Hutch's featured opportunities for staredowns with giant animal heads. 

However, when I asked at the counter for a list of other car wash packages (meaning with interior and exterior cleaning and waxing), the cashier said she didn't have one and that I could find that info online.  I noticed a sign outside of Hutch's that said a wash and wax package costs $49.  Yikes, that's not cheap.  And when I looked online, I did not find a Web site for Hutch's but found a number of negative reviews from people who'd splurged on the $49 package and wished they had not. 

Unless I can find South Reno's answer to "The Nordstrom of Car Washes," I will probably stick with using Squeaky's Car Wash and my own trusty vacuum cleaner.