Renovated Self-Serve Is the Toast of the Town

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Chris Hill washes his car at Shiners Self Serve Car Wash every day. But his car is rarely dirty.

The new owner of Shiners tests the automatic bay, the self-service bays, the vacuums and the change machines daily to make sure they are operating properly.

Hill, who bought the carwash in April, spent three months and $350,000 renovating the business before it re-opened last month. Now he spends his time maintaining the services.

"We're trying to keep things working all of the time," said Hill, also the owner of Jonesville Car Wash. "I realize that it's frustrating to put money in a machine and then have it not work."

Hill's remodeling included replacing the canopy's faded red paint with bright blue and yellow décor. Now the 24-hour car wash is also well-lit so that customers can come by after dark.

Hill's main addition, not included in the cost of renovating, to the carwash is an Autec Soft Cloth automatic bay. As a result, the cloths won't scratch the cars during washings, he says.

The automatic bay at Shiners, Hill said, is also the only soft-cloth carwash with a dryer in Spartanburg. In addition, customers can pay for an automatic car wash by credit card.

The carwash still features five self-service bays with foam brushes and high-pressure wands. An addition to the self-service centers is the "Last Coin Alert," which is a light and beeper that comes on when one's carwash time is almost up.

After the alert, a customer can insert another quarter if he or she needs additional time to finish washing his or her car. At all other self service carwashes in Spartanburg, a customer must insert $1.25 again for additional time.

Hill kept the two vacuum islands in the front of the lot and added four more islands under a canopy in the back. There are regular vacuums, combination carpet shampoo and vacuum cleaners and combination fragrance and vacuum cleaners.

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