Friday, March 11, 2011

Why You Shouldn’t Complain About the Price of A Car Wash (at least not in Tucson)

OK, so everyone’s pinching pennies these days … we get it. And OK, so everything seems to cost too much for what you actually get … understood. We’re all in the same boat: we’re tired of increasing prices accompanied by decreasing service and quality. It stinks. It isn’t right. And yet it’s prevalent.

Only wait, wait, wait! Let’s not completely jump the gun here. There are some places where your money still purchases real value – where it can go a long way, and where you can really get a bang for your buck. It’s not all doom and gloom out there, really. And while you may find this hard to believe, a professional car wash is one of those purchases (at least in Tucson … and OK, at least at Metro Car Wash).

First of all, I’d like to point out the results of a little research I did. I took a look at what prices have done for various products since the year 2000 (around the time Metro Car Wash just got rolling in the Old Pueblo). The information is eye opening, but it can also give you stomach cramps too. In just 10 years …

The average cost of a movie ticket went from $5.39 to $7.89 (an increase of 46%).

The average cost of gas increased by 70% per gallon.

The average price of eggs increased by over $1.50 per dozen (who knew chickens had this type of bargaining power?).

The price of milk increased by 11%, a US stamp by 33%, and coffee and tea by 100%.

What makes matters even worse, is that the Median Household Income only increased by 26% in that same time (making these prices even more expensive on a relative basis).

Not news to jump for joy about, obviously. Actually, rather depressing. The kind of thing that might really be a buzz kill … unless, of course, you spend money at Metro Car Wash (you just knew I’d get back to this).

Since 2000, here’s what we’ve done:

The price of our Express Wash (exterior only) is still $3.99. In 10 years, it hasn’t changed one single bit.

The price of our Uptown Metro Wash (your car cleaned inside and out, tire shine, clear coat protection, etc.) has gone from $17.99 to $12.99, a decrease of 28%.

And the average price of a Metro Detail is now $35, down 22% from where it was 10 years ago!

And to be fair: most of the other car washes in town have kept their prices low too. As a Tucson service, getting a car wash is cheap. It’s cheap compared to other places in the country and it’s cheap compared to prices of 10 years ago (something that is rather amazing when one considers increases in Minimum Wage, power costs and utility costs).

Put simply, a car wash is a great value.

OK, you say, But I still need to pinch pennies, and a car wash isn’t necessary.

In defense of this, I’ve already written a blog about why washing your car is important (you can link to it here), including protecting the resale value of your auto investment. But assuming you understand that keeping your car clean is actually important (like brushing your teeth and washing your clothes), you might be inclined to say you can still do it yourself (and save money).

Here’s what we have to say to that:

The average time that it takes for a person to wash their car in their driveway is between 1 to 1 ½ hours. It should also be noted that this task is most often undertaken when you have 1 to 1 ½ hours of free time, like the weekend (which means this is 1 to 1 ½ hours of your precious weekend not spent playing with the kids, watching the game, or golfing).

At Metro Car Wash, our Uptown Metro Wash takes 15 to 20 minutes and we offer free coffee and free Wi-Fi while you wait (free coffee, even though its price has increased by 100%!). Not only this, but you’ll be getting specially formulated soap and wax that protects your paint, something you aren’t getting in your driveway (unless you spend more time and money).

Additionally, the average driveway washer uses 77 gallons of water to wash a single car (hard to believe, I know. But true). The average professional car wash, on the other hand, uses almost half of that (approximately 45 gallons per car). And at Metro, we actually recycle this water and use it to irrigate landscaping and wash more cars.

So, this is good news, right? At least we like to think it is.

Sometimes its good to step back and think about the value in the products you buy, to slap yourself on the back for not wasting money and being a savvy buyer. And if you’re a user of a professional car wash, then slap yourself on the back again because:

You’re maintaining the resale value of your investment, while looking good at the same time; you’re doing this while spending at levels less than ten years ago; and you’re managing to save time and the environment simultaneously.

How can that not be a valuable purchase?

Feel good about your purchase, folks. And stay clean my friends!

--DJ DripDry