Simonson Car Washing FAQs

Weekly or whenever it gets dirty.  Washing once a week will properly maintain the paint and exterior of your vehicle.

Yes and No.  At some of our locations our attendants hand towel-dry your car, wipe out your door jambs, and blow out your locks.  These locations are Minot, Bismarck North, Dickinson, and Williston.  In Grand Forks, Fargo, and Bemidji we have a designated “towel drying area” where we provide you with towels so you can give your car a final detail before you leave.  Feel free to pull into our vacuum area and give your newly-clean car some personal attention.

Simonson Car Washes offers “exterior-only” service. We do provide self-service vacuums at all our locations.

Our cleaning products are specifically created to be effective and safe in our environment. They are fully biodegradable and safe for your vehicle and for the environment. To guarantee this, they are manufactured to the highest environmental standards for Simonson Car Washes. They are made exactly to our specifications to ensure that they are the safest, most effective products available.

Almost certainly, yes! If you ever have any questions, please feel free to come by any of our locations and we’ll be happy to check your vehicle for problem areas.

Here are a list of vehicles that might not be able to fit:

• Vehicles that sit 4.5″ or lower to the ground.
• Vehicles with tires wider than 13″.
• Vehicles taller than 86″.
• Extended Height Full Size Vans (over 86 inches)
• Trucks with Dual Rear Tires
• Vehicles with permanently affixed tri-pod style mirrors.
• Full Size Hummers.
• Open bed pickup trucks with a fuel tank that has a fill nozzle and hose attached
• Open bed pickup trucks with debris, tools, straps, rope or any other loose materials.
• Trucks/van with ladders.
• Vehicles with large ladder racks.

Here are a list of things that sometimes cause problems, and must be washed with some caution:

• Previous Damage (loose molding / emblems, blistered or peeling paint, etc.)
• Cracked Windshields
• Very Low Profile Tires
• Objects on Antennas ( balls, flags, etc.)
• Power antennas that won’t lower.
• Ski and Bike Racks
• Large “Knobby” Tires
• Spoilers
• Racing Fins
• Any after-market parts. Parts that are not put on by the manufacturer.

We accept most cars, vans and trucks up to 84 inches in height. Unfortunately, we cannot wash trucks with dual wheels. We guarantee the safety of all factory-installed equipment in proper working order.

Almost certainly. All we ask is that the pickup bed be empty before going through the wash. This is for the safety of your vehicle, and those of other customers. Also, some side-mirrors are incompatible with our process, and certain types of modifications that employ oversized or off-road tires or radically raised suspensions may not be compatible.

Yes. However, once the integrity of windshield glass is compromised by rock chips (even very small ones), it becomes more susceptible to changes in temperature. So, while you may wash your vehicle with windshield damage, cracks or chips may expand. It’s always best to repair or replace a damaged windshield immediately.

Aftermarket products such as CB and cell phone antennas should be removed before washing.

Unfortunately, we can’t be responsible for aftermarket accessories made of plastic. Most customers who have bug shields wash their vehicles with no incident. However, problems can arise if the shield has already been damaged by rock chips, or by stress cracks around the installation screws (which can be hard to detect), or if it is made from low-grade plastic.

Our wash tunnel will remove most bug remains, particularly, if washed soon after the splat, but we cannot guarantee that all bug remains will be removed by the tunnel wash.  We include a “bug juice” application and manual bug prepping as you enter the tunnel to eliminate your bugs! 

The RFIDtag is a sticker about the size of a stick of gum that is applied to the upper left-hand corner of your windshield where you’ll never notice it. Using the latest RFID technology (radio frequency identification) each vehicle is instantly recognized as it approaches our automated pay stations. Once a vehicle is identified, it is granted access to the wash tunnel and our computer automatically provides the proper wash package. The RFID is currently used in our Unlimited Wash Plan only and is called a FastPass.  The FastPass works at all of our locations except South Bismarck.

Because the way our equipment spins, unfortunately, unprotected front license plates that are held on by only 2 bolts will sometimes bend in our car wash because they are made of a thin piece of aluminum.  If your plate gets a bit bent out of shape please let us know and we will be able to sell you a sturdy, protective license plate bracket.

We use powerful dryers or “blowers” at the end of the wash cycle to remove most of the water used to rinse the car in the car wash. There will, however, always be some amount of water left on the car. Because we use a Spot Free Rinse comprised of pure water from our Reverse Osmosis filtration system, any remaining water left on the car will dry within minutes without leaving spots on your car.  In Grand Forks, Fargo, and Bemidji we have a designated “towel drying area” where we provide you with towels so you can give your car a final detail before you leave.  Feel free to pull into our vacuum area and give your newly-clean car some personal attention.