Types of Car Washes

I usually go for the touch-less kind where the big arm moves over your car and the bright helpful lights tell you what is being done, although I feel a bit cheated if I paid for the cheaper wash and now all the lights don't come on.

The ones that put your car on a conveyor belt and drag it through the wash are also good, but I'm always fearful that I'll be in the wrong gear, or heaven-forbid, touch the brake. Are these things really okay on your tires? I once watched my antenna get folded into a tiny mass of scrunchy metal as it was shredded and mangled in one of these, and I always think about that as I go through.

Every once in a while, the old fashioned "hand-wash," where actual humans put wire brushes to the tires and use cloths and soap on the car are great, but I never know how much to tip.

And now one more to try. I wonder if they dry the car with their tails?