September 13, 2005
What We're Missing: A Drive-Thru Lube
Editor's Note: In our first installment of this very occasional series, we mourned the lack of good bagels in the District. Now, we wonder why a simple oil change is so hard to come by within the city limits. Is there something you think D.C. is missing? Let us know.
How many times has this happened to you: It's a Friday morning and owing to your plan to drive out of the city for a quick weekend getaway, you realize it's necessary to get a lube, oil & filter change on your way to work. You know, so your engine doesn't melt on your way home. You stop by a service station around 8:30 a.m., but the manager quickly informs you that they have more work for the day than their mechanics can handle already, and suggests you try someplace else. So you do. And at the next place, it's the same story all over again.
If you both live and work within the bounds of the District, trying to get what should be a 20-minute quickie lube can be an exercise in torture. Sure, there are drive-thru options in Virginia and Maryland, but they are hardly convenient for everyone. Plenty of other major cities have such businesses, so DCist got to thinking, what's up with that? Is it a zoning thing, or a regulation on dumping used motor oil, or just a matter of real estate availability?
Looking for answers, we turned to beheamoth national chain Jiffy Lube. And from Helen Bow in their PR department, we received the following reply:
... There are many Jiffy Lube service centers in Maryland and Virginia, but not in Washington, D.C. proper. The reason is because a majority of our service centers are franchise-owned and operated and unfortunately, there aren't any franchisees in your area. If anyone is interested in starting a Jiffy Lube franchise in Washington, D.C., they should call 800-327-9532.
So no earth-shattering news there, but it does suggest to us that there is an untapped business opportunity out there in our city. We can think of a long list of people who would be thrilled to see a drive-thru lube option open up in Northwest D.C., whether tied to a big national chain or independently operated. Are you one of them?
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Good Call! Getting your oil changed in DC is truly an exercise in futility. I have to drive out of DC to Silver Spring. Leaving the district for errands is always a pain but thankfully this trip does not involve having to deal with Virginia drivers who think they own the road.
Splash Car Wash at South Capitol and I St SE bills itself as "The only drive thru oil change in DC."
http://www.splashcarwash.com/
I know your former editor took issue with this so maybe you've already covered it, but DC is sorely missing a W Hotel. Maybe they're waiting for Bush to leave so there's no mistaken connection...
I hate the drive-through places. Don't ever fall for the "Mr. Jones, could you step outside for a moment. Our technician found something with your car." That's where chains like Jiffy-Lube do their best to increase sales by selling you anything that's not nailed down, including the fluids they 'supposedly' are topping off. I always ask for just the oil change but get a sales pitch. It would only take 20 minutes if all they did was change the oil/filter.
Even I can change my own oil and I'm a girl.
Other things DC is missing:
1. A do-it-yourself car wash. I'm from Denver and there is one every mile or so. You know, the kind you plug quarters into and wash your car for $2 instead of $15+. Am I missing something?
2. A good tire store. Again, I miss having a Discount Tire or a Les Schwab.
3. A knock-yer-socks-off sushi restaurant. They're all mediocre here.
I'm sure there are a million other things, but the bottom line is this: I love DC!
Sure I can change my own oil, but I dont exactly want to lay in the street to do so. Most people who live in the city have to use on street parking, which doesn't exactly make it convinent to put a car on ramps and crawl under it. If anything, it makes the need for a speedy oil change even greater.
Max, there's a self serve wash on Branch Avenue south of Suitland Parkway, and really, if you have the time to wash your car yourself, you have the time to drive to MD.
Good call on the tire stores, though; I nearly had to drive to Dulles with a slow leak in a tire and leave my car there for several days over Thanksgiving for lack of time to take it to the NTB in Clarendon.
There's a JiffyLube on Wilson Blvd. between Clarendon and VA Square. For a lot of DC folks, that's closer than something in NE or in the outer reaches of NW. I've used them in the past, and they've done a fine job, without the pressure selling (which is frequent at many of these places, to be sure).
Max, as you asked, you are missing several things: First, land is way too expensive in the middle of the city to waste it on a self-serve car wash when there are a plenty of fast car washes where they get the cars in and out in minutes with a high profit margin. Why would anyone want to take land that could be turned into condos at $500k+ a pop and waste it on a trickles of $2 car washes that lay unused most of the day. Maybe before the housing boom, but certainly not now. Drive to the suburbs; that is what they are for. Second, Kaz Sushi Bistro. Third, Sushi Ko.
Matt, there's an NTB on Jefferson Davis, just south of S. Glebe, in Arlington/Alexandria.
Lackadaisi,
I didn't think the purpose of this post was to justify what DC needed, only to say what would be nice to have. A self serve car wash would be nice to have regardless of the cost justification.
You have obviously never had really good sushi. Both Kaz and Sushi-Ko are only mediocre in my opinion. This is a major cultural center and should have something along the lines of Nobu in NYC.
You want a Nobu-class restaurant, but you whine over a $15 car wash? Huh...
Good sushi is worth the extra $$ to me. A bunch of cheap labor washing my car with a bucket and a sponge is not. Plus, I actually find it therapeutic to wash my own car.
We digress...
No tropical fish stores ...