Workin’ At The Carwash Blues
In 1974, while I was working at the Cornell Plantations for the summer, doing 12-hour shifts (7am – 7pm) before running off to a little league practice for the team of seven-year-olds I was coaching, and before picking up my summer-fling girlfriend, Margaret, from her job at the nursing home at 11pm and getting to bed or not, whenever, I would listen to Jim Croce sing his latest hit. While I liked the outdoor physical labor and I was probably in the best shape of my life and having the time of my life that summer, the lyrics, “walkin’ home in soggy old shoes, with them steadily depressin’, low down mind messin’ workin’ at the car wash blues,” made me realize that doing manual labor for the rest of my life gave purpose to my time studying in college in case I wasn’t feeling the whole “life of the mind” thing. From that summer on, whenever I think of a job at the carwash, I think of it as the sort of job that guys who “just got out from the county prison, doin’ ninety days for non-support,” might have. There is nobility in hard physical labor, but there is also some degree of drudgery and bare bones to it.
I have explained that I cannot fully get into the California car culture that insists that automated car washes are bad for the car’s finish and that everyone should get their car regularly detailed. While I’m sure there are varying degrees of service involved in the detailing game, it costs $120 around here compared to paying $27.95 per month for unlimited washes (assume that comes to less than $7 per week) and they provide free vacuum bays with damp rags and air hoses for the best detailing-like finishing you can imagine. As a retired guy, I always go to the carwash when it is less busy and I take my time doing each of the cars each week. Actually, I do the exterior each week and the full interior detailing every other week. The exterior takes perhaps 10 minutes and the interior takes an added 20 minutes. It’s a helluva deal and I enjoy the ease and accomplishment of the process.
In 2016 I ordered the brand new Model X gullwing-door Tesla. IT was by far the most expensive car I had ever purchased. While I stuck with the 75D model (as opposed to the 90D, 100D or the Ludicrous Speed version) I spared no expense on the options, including the full autonomous driving mode, which was not even fully ready for prime time at that point. All-in the car cost me an outrageous $113,000. I fell in love with the driving experience and have enjoyed it ever since, but in the five years I have owned it, I have only put on 12,200 miles, and 7,000 of that has been in the last 24 months of living here full-time. I only drive it locally and am not impressed with the longer distant range issues its 230 maximum range affords. I am also impressed that I have only had the car in the shop once, but that was for something I could have reset myself. It is not due for servicing until it gets to 125,000 miles on the odometer and from what I can tell, that will not be until I am past the age of 80 or long gone from this cruel world. With that in mind, I am particularly interested in keeping the X clean and fresh, hence my regular carwash detailing.
I did notice that on the driver-side door stanchion upholstery, I have somehow managed to wear out and draw the edge, so as a temporary fix until I can figure out how to order a new Tesla part to replace it, I have purchased and installed some serious Gorilla tape which is not so very noticeable to the casual observer. I would rather the car not take on that “beater” look so I will replace the part once I can locate one. Other than that, the car is pretty cherry and I hope to keep it so. According to Kelly’s Blue Book, the car is still worth $64,000, but I know Tesla would suggest it is more like $55,000 for a trade-in.
I spoke to my friend Steve the other day and he has just traded in his Tesla 3 for a new Tesla X Plaid, which is the company’s top-of-the-line model with triple engine configuration and maximum speed, acceleration and range. He got it fully loaded and as a performance car guy his whole life, I was not surprised to find that he felt that there was good value in his owning the fastest production car made in the world. It’s not my thing, but I respect his passions (I am equally passionate about motorcycles). But I also know that puppy cost a pretty penny at $147,000. I went so far as to price it out on the Tesla website and though I don’t know every option that Steve chose or didn’t, I got pretty close to that price, so it seems accurate.
While at the carwash today, the man who makes sure there are enough towels and the vacuums are working properly started asking about my Tesla X. He seemed quite knowledgeable about Teslas and went on to mention that he had just ordered a Tesla X Plaid for his wife and that he couldn’t expect to take delivery until February, 2023. He said that was probably a good thing since the $137,000 price tag would mean he would have more time to save and increase his down payment so as to reduce his monthly nut. I was floored. I know I should not be surprised that in a California car culture people might spend more on cars than they do elsewhere in the country and more than someone like me tends to think they should, but my mind went back to the Jim Croce song and the fact that the carwash blues were meant to imply that the job at the carwash was not such a lucrative job. Who knows, maybe he owned the carwash franchise. Maybe his wife is independently wealthy. Maybe he made his money buying Tesla stock. Anything was possible and it is always wrong to judge a book by it’s cover, but it all still threw me for a loop.
I suspect it is healthy to be reminded that people are more than just the car they drive, the house they live in, the thickness of their wallet or even the job they hold. It is a big mistake to try to put people in a box and make presumptions, even if they are walking around with soggy old shoes and a rag in their back pocket. This guy was well-spoken and pleasant as could be. I truly hope that he was not just bullshitting me because my liberal tendencies make me want to believe that anyone in this world can rise to whatever level they want to, even if they are workin’ at the carwash blues