How the Unlimited Wash Membership Works at Mickey's

If you drive past the black barn on Route 146 a few times a week, you have probably wondered about the unlimited membership. How does it work? What if I get a new car? What happens if the tunnel is closed? Here is the whole thing in one place, written the way the membership terms actually read.

The basics

An unlimited membership at Mickey's covers one vehicle and one wash per day. It is a recurring charge that renews monthly, on the same date you first bought it. That date is the one to remember, because it also drives the cancellation rule further down.

The current price and the wash level your membership covers are posted at the kiosk and in the office. That is the place to check them, since a number printed in a blog post goes out of date the day something changes. Here is what stays the same:

• One vehicle per membership, and one wash per day.
• A recurring charge that renews monthly on your original purchase date.
• Free vacuums for members.
• A windshield tag that identifies your car at the kiosk.
• No refunds or credits for weather or maintenance closures.

The tag on your windshield

The tag is what lets the kiosk recognize your car, so you drive up, it reads, and you go. It is tied to your vehicle and cannot be moved to a different one, so don't peel it off and stick it on a friend's car.

New car, borrowed car

Getting a different vehicle is common, and the membership can follow you. To move it to the new car, stop by the office any day between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, or speak to an attendant before you reach the kiosks. One membership covers one vehicle, so a household with two cars needs two memberships.

Someone else can bring your car through. A spouse, a teenager, a neighbor doing you a favor, all fine, as long as it is your registered vehicle with its tag on the windshield. The membership follows the car, not the driver.

Closures and cancelling

Mickey's is open daily from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, weather permitting. That qualifier is real. Weather or maintenance can close the tunnel for part of a day, and the membership terms say there are no refunds or credits for weather or maintenance closures. It is better to know that before you buy than to find out on the first January storm. If you aren't sure whether the tunnel is running, call (508) 571-1134 before you drive over.

Cancelling is done in writing, and the timing matters. You need to give notice at least 10 days before your billing date. Send it by email to mickey@mickeyscarwash.com, or by mail to 16 Galaxy Pass, Sutton, MA 01590. Notice that arrives with fewer than 10 days to go doesn't meet the requirement for that billing date. Put the date in your phone calendar the day you sign up, with a reminder two weeks ahead, and you will never have to think about it again.

Is it worth it for you?

You can answer this with arithmetic and no help from anyone. Take the monthly membership price from the kiosk. Take the price of a single wash at the level you would normally pick, from the same menu. Then count how many times you would actually wash your car in a month. If you wash twice, the single washes might win. If you wash every week, or you commute on salted roads in winter, the membership starts to make sense very quickly.

Add the free vacuums. If you are the person who vacuums the car out every weekend anyway, that is a real part of the value, and it is the part people forget to count. Dog owners, parents and anyone who hauls gear for a living tend to notice it first, since the inside of the car gets as dirty as the outside. If you wash once or twice a season, skip the membership and buy single washes.

Questions about transfers, billing dates or which wash level a membership covers can go to the office, open any day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at (508) 571-1134.