I received a 908 Day booklet, which lists deals that businesses in Long Beach and, also, Lakewood…read morewere offering for 908 Day, which is September 8.
After looking through the booklet, I determined the best deal was a free Best Express Car Wash from Carwood Car Wash in Lakewood. You can score this free deal by texting a certain word to a certain number; I'll let you figure out those two (hint: I posted a photo lol), but it also works at the Downey location if you live closer to that one.
The Best Express Wash is normally $24, so it's a steal of a deal to celebrate 908 Day!
After I texted the certain word to the certain number, I immediately received a text with a link to claim my free $24 Carwood Classic Express Wash. However, it wasn't clear to me if the free car wash could only be redeemed on September 8, like the booklet says for all the other businesses, or any other day.
I gave them a call on Labor Day, and I got what felt like an automated voice messaging system. It asked what my questions were, and I was a little hesitant about asking because I almost feared that I was going to have to wait for a live person to speak to, kind of like when you call customer service to dispute your billing statement. Surprisingly, they actually answered my questions while still making me think I was speaking to an automated voice messaging system!
I asked what time they would be open that day, a federal holiday, and they mentioned it was normal business hours, though I had to ask again what the business hours were.
I also asked them to describe what that free car wash would entail and even clarify if the free car wash could have been redeemed that day, to which they answered affirmatively.
To this day, I will never know if I was actually speaking to a live person over the phone, but I thanked them for their help.
I arrived at about 4:30 PM, and it wasn't terribly busy, though Google suggests that any other Monday, it would have been the most popular time for customers. I initially entered via alley, but could have entered via the El Pollo Loco entryway as that would have been a straight shot to the gate arms, which there are three of. Each of the three gates has a different name, so you should be mindful of which lane you enter for your car wash.
Among those three gate arms, only the middle one was staffed, and I went there to redeem my free car wash since I wouldn't have known how to redeem it at the other automated gates.
When I hit "Redeem now" on my phone, there were redeem options, but no code of any sort showed up. The employee went to an office to get a code on paper and scan the code on the machine to let me through; he also gave me a dash wipe to use now or for a later time. A right turn later, I was about to head into the car wash tunnel.
As I was pulling into the car wash tunnel, there was a signicade on the left hand side, but it was hard for me to read since my rear view mirror was in the way; it was pretty much a disclaimer that they aren't responsible for damage to your car.
But the most important steps you need to take upon entering the car wash: put the car in Neutral, take your feet off the pedals, keep your hands off the wheel, and ensure your windshield wipers are off. Then, let the show begin!
The show will only last about a minute, and once it's over, there will be a screen that will give you a countdown as to when you can start driving out of the tunnel.
After I stopped at a self-service vacuum stall, I noticed some painter's tape that held down my rear windshield wiper; I didn't see them do that, so they must have been stealthy about it. The vacuums had quite a lot of suction power and did a nice job of picking up some dirt left inside my car. They also had an air gun to blow air at high pressure in order to clear dust from places that the vacuums can't reach. However, the vacuums were quite dirty that they left some smudges of dirt inside my car :(
There's a sign that says if others are waiting, you need to limit your time in the stalls to 10 minutes. Understandable, but since I came by myself, it would have turned into a race against time if it came down to that. My time also included finding a clean microfiber towel; the first two push carts didn't have one, but the third one farther away had a few available. These carts also have a lower shelf for used towels, though you could also drop them off by the air guns.
I was at the vacuum stall for about 22 minutes; had a bunch of other customers come at the same time I did, I would have only been able to clean half my car before being asked to vacate the premises.
There's also an unlimited wash club special, which would be $11 for the first month. Unfortunately, even the Best Express Car Wash didn't totally clean my car, leaving a few noticeable yellow spots on my car, but at least the equipment didn't damage my car. Nevertheless, I don't think I'd return as a paying customer unless they offer another deal for 908 Day next year.