Have spray gun, will travel

Monday, June 30, 1997 | 4:39 a.m.

Every morning, Tom Elgas loads up his 1995 Toyota truck and trailer with the tools of his trade -- water, cleaning chemicals and rags -- and sets off for customers' homes and businesses to wash their cars.

He is one of a growing number of enterprising businessmen who, for a relatively modest investment, is making a career off a mobile car wash and detailing business.

"I think it is a social thing -- people are so busy today that they don't have time to go to a car wash and wait," said Elgas, 34, who as a teenager worked at an automatic car wash.

"The service I provide allows people to just enjoy extra free time."

As part of his daily routine, Elgas, owner of Splash & Dash, fills his 110-gallon tank with soft water (enough to wash eight cars) mixes his chemicals and cleans his rags, all in an effort to provide that personal touch for what is many folks' No. 2 investment.

After all, that is why auto owners pay a premium price for such a service instead of saving a few dollars by driving to the nearest automatic car wash and waiting for assembly line-type service.

Bob Burglin, who has been in the car wash business since 1956 and owns two local Bob's Car Wash locations, says he feels no threat from the mobile businesses and believes the old-fashioned car wash will never die.

"If a car wash business does a good professional job, it can get a car done and out of there in 12 to 13 minutes," said Burglin, who in 1973 was inducted into the International Car Wash Association Hall of Fame.

"People who go to a car wash don't mind the wait because it gives them an opportunity to relax -- it's a fun thing."

Others call on mobile car washes for status reasons.

"For many people it's the prestige," said George Quintel, the 30-year-old owner of Mobile Oasis car wash. "But it's not just rich people who use this service. It's also people (of more modest means) who have invested in nice vehicles and want to keep them in great shape."

Elgas charges $20 for a car wash and $89.95 to $190 for a "detailing" -- the industry term for a top-of-the-line service that cleans the car inside and out and returns a luster to the finish.

Quintel charges $17.50 for a wash and his detailing service starts at $110.

Jim Player, owner of Player's Car Care, runs a stationary car wash business that operates like a mobile car wash. He sends his workers out to pick up clients' cars and bring them back to his shop at 2075 Palm St. for detailing.

"We charge $40 for a car wash because we want to discourage it," the 50-year-old businessman said. "We go after the detailing business, where we include the car wash as part of the price."

Player's detailing starts at $125 and can go much higher depending on the size of the vehicle. His clients include the numerous auto dealerships along Boulder Highway. It is a rather large scale operation that employs 15 workers, compared to Elgas' and Quintel's one-man businesses.

On top of that, Player sells car cleaning chemicals to operators like Elgas and Quintel, who he says provides a good service at a fair price.

"You take your car to an automatic car wash and spend $9 to get it done -- but, that doesn't include the few bucks you spend in the convenience store or in the slot machines," Player said. "And, that also doesn't include the value of your time that you will spend there."

"When you are done, you have spent in time and money what you could have paid Tom or George to wash your car at your home or business."

For just a wash, Burglin charges $4. His full-service wash, including vacuuming the interior, costs $7. Application of a tire cleaner costs $2 extra. Wax is $1 extra. Detailing costs $69.95.

Burglin respects his competitors who go out in the field to wash cars.

"The mobile car wash offers people an opportunity to start a small business with about $15,000 to $20,000 for the equipment," said Burglin, who in 1976 co-invented and marketed the Wax Master Orbital Polisher. "To start a full-service (stationary) car wash costs $500,000 to $600,000."

Competition is keen in the car wash business. AutoLaundry News Magazine, a trade publication, says in a survey in its May issue that 80.9 percent of all car washes have at least one competitor in the area -- and that does not include the mobile businesses.

Burglin, who often allows charity groups to use space at his shops at 2310 E. Lake Mead Blvd. and 1615 N. Pecos Road to raise money, says there is room in the industry for a variety of car wash businesses.

Ironically, Elgas and Quintel both got started in the mobile car wash business under the same circumstance. Both men's wives hired mobile car wash services to wash their spouses' cars for their birthdays.

"When I saw the job that was done on my car, I figured I could do just as good or even better," said Quintel, who also had worked at a traditional car wash. "I had been washing my own car for many years, so this business was natural for me."

Elgas said the guy who washed his car "did a poor job," and he figured he could provide a much better service.

One area of concern over the mobile services has been that they, unlike many of the stationary businesses, don't have expensive and sophisticated water recycling equipment that prevents engine gunk and other pollutants from getting into the waste stream.

"We don't pollute any more than the guy who washes his car in his driveway," Elgas responded. "In fact, because we are aware of the problem, many of us make efforts to catch the stuff in a pan and prevent it from going down the gutters.

"And we use safe, biodegradable chemicals."

Quintel notes that folks in his line of work are water conscious.

"We will use less water than the guy who washes his own car in his driveway and keeps his hose running," he said.

Burglin says he has spent between $12,000 and $15,000 for reclaiming machines that make his business environmentally friendly. He credits industry leaders who 30 years ago encouraged recycling.

Player's business also recycles water.

Perhaps the biggest controversy in the car wash industry -- and the biggest rift between the stationary and mobile dealers -- is the claim that hand-washing is superior to automatic washes.

"I would not use a drive-through because of the hazards -- scratches to the paint and the loss of a windshield wiper or antenna," Quintel said.

"I have no problem using an automatic car wash on something like my truck," Elgas said. "But, for nicer cars, I wouldn't (use it). We've all heard the stories of automatic car washes knocking off molding and mirrors."

Player said he has no problem with using an automatic car wash, as long as the car is detailed immediately after. An automatic car wash, he said, sometimes will leave droplets that will dry and form a dirty-looking film.

Burglin strongly disagrees, noting that the hand vs. machine wash issue actually began as a promotional idea born out of desperation.

"This all started several years ago in Southern California when a car wash operator had to make expensive repairs to his automatic system and did not have the money to do it," Burglin said. "So, he replaced it with a 100 percent hand-wash service."

From there, the businessman was able to convince many that his new service was far superior to an automatic car wash, even though he had no proof to back that claim.

"Since then, there have been studies done by universities and surveys as far away as Germany that show that no hand wash service does any better a job than an automatic car wash," Burglin said.

"If a car wash has old equipment, with brushes that are worn to the nubs and uses little water, there can be problems. However, if a car wash has modern equipment with soft-cloth agitators and uses high-pressure water, it will do an excellent job."

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