How to choose a car wash package
Each step up the Fast Lane menu adds specific stages rather than a better version of the same wash. Pick based on which of those stages your car needs today.
What each package adds
Quick Wash is the base: a shampoo wash, a high-pressure rinse and a dry. It is $12.99, or $10.99 with a qualifying fuel purchase.
Full Wash adds one thing, an under-car spray, for $14.99, or $12.99 with fuel. That is the whole difference, and it is the one that matters most in winter.
Luxury Wash, at $16.99 or $14.99 with fuel, keeps the under-car spray and adds four more stages: a rust inhibitor, Tri Foam conditioner, a second high-pressure rinse, and Shine Guard Plus protectant before the dry.
So the real choice is two questions. Does the underside need washing? And do you want the extra rinse, conditioner and protection on top?
Look at where the dirt is
Walk around the car before you go. If the dirt is on top, meaning dust, pollen, honeydew from trees or a light film from rain, the Quick Wash handles it. Nothing about that dirt is underneath.
If the lower doors, rocker panels and wheel wells are grey or crusted, the same is true underneath where you cannot see. That is what the under-car spray is for, and it is worth the extra $2 any time there has been salt, slush or mud on the road.
Some common situations
These are how I would choose, not rules.
- A dusty week in July: Quick Wash
- Spring pollen on everything: Quick Wash
- The first dry day after a snowfall and salted roads: Full Wash at least
- After driving on gravel concession roads or a muddy construction detour: Full Wash
- A few weeks into winter with no wash yet: Luxury Wash
- The first mild spell in March, when the salt season is winding down: Luxury Wash
- Late fall before the salt trucks start: Luxury Wash, for the protectant going into winter
Do not overbuy in summer
There is no point paying for an under-car spray every week in August if the roads are dry and you have not been on gravel. A Quick Wash every week or two is plenty for most cars in summer, with a Luxury Wash now and then if you want the protectant topped up.
In winter it flips. If you only pick one thing between December and March, pick a wash that does the underside. Salt sitting on brake lines, the exhaust and suspension parts does more long-term harm than anything on the paint.
When the fuel price changes the choice
With a qualifying fuel purchase, each package costs the same as the one below it at the regular price. A Full Wash with fuel is $12.99, the same as a Quick Wash without. If you are filling up anyway, that is a reasonable moment to move up a level.
In short: Look at the lower doors before you choose: if they are grey with salt or mud, the underside is too, and you want at least the Full Wash.
