Living in North McAllen, there are car washes popping up everywhere. I don't get it.

You ever watch Breaking Bad?

La mera neta, asi es...

#1 said:

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Living in North McAllen, there are car washes popping up everywhere. I don't get it.

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There is a big one, which is horrible in Rio and now another going it as well. Makes you really wonder about things.

Money laundering. You can make fake memberships, donate memberships to raffle charity, give them away to friends etc etc and feed money through.

They are al over Laredo too!

Those little drive thru coffee shops are popping up all over as well.

My theory is that these corporations all do the same studies at the same time and then over build at the same time.

Same thing happened with parts stores and drug stores a few years ago.

texasaggie18 said:

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Money laundering. You can make fake memberships, donate memberships to raffle charity, give them away to friends etc etc and feed money through.

They are al over Laredo too!

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Wish someone would do some investigative journalism on this trend.

There are a number of them appearing in the Bryan/College Station area too.

Drug money… easiest way to clean their money

To people thinking it's money laundering, how do you launder money in what is essentially a cash-less business like these new automated washes are (i.e. Blue Wave)? Where does the dirty cash get introduced into the system?

These new automated washes aren't opening bank accounts and depositing loads of cash that is allegedly coming from these operations. And I'm talking about the Blue Wave type of operations, not coin-operated self-washes.

There is a Car Wash in Rio Grande City, right by the Walmart there. It doesn't ever appear to have much business and off and on through the years looks like part of it is shutdown or the automatic part is not in function. But damned if a larger bigger, better one isn't being built there in Rio.

I really can't understand why that would be the case, as if one place had no business. Why would another one open up? But who knows.

Lots of way to launder money nowadays not using and or using cash indirectly. Prepaid credit cards at $200, $300, a pop. Buying gold jewelry and high dollar watches and such at pawnshops an then reselling them in a different location.

With the water situation in the RGV the opening of car washes makes me scratch my head.

RGV AG said:

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Lots of way to launder money nowadays not using and or using cash indirectly. Prepaid credit cards at $200, $300, a pop. Buying gold jewelry and high dollar watches and such at pawnshops an then reselling them in a different location.

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You're still introducing cash into the system. The implication that these automated car washes are all money laundering fronts isn't on the same scale as what you're talking about.

I agree with what somebody posted earlier. One or two of these places came in, somebody thinks there's money to be made, so they rush in to try to capitalize on it. You go from 2 financially healthy facilities to 5 or 6 that aren't as healthy. You're seeing the same thing with all of the Starbucks knockoffs that are suddenly popping up.

Good points. But the amount of pre-paid visa cards that is used in deep STX has always raised my eyebrows? Why use them? What are they truly good for? I have seen people buying 2 and 3 of them at a time. At convenience stores you will see people paying for stuff with them, etc. Not arguing, actually curious and asking.

Make no mistake, I just might not have an idea of the demographic that uses them or the need for them. Maybe it is all legit.

In Rio Grande City, the existing nice car wash is basically a ghost business. I don't think it is always even functional. But across the street and down the way a big new one is going in, I think it is a Blue Wave one. I am no longer in the area, but as of several months ago it was big construction.

All over Rio and that area are drive in places with hoses and buckets that will hand wash a car pretty darn well for between $15-25 and do it pretty quickly. I just glanced at the Bluewave menu, and it isn't exactly clear, but I think the prices are probably around $20.

I don't know enough about retail businesses to really make an honest judgement.

The RGD is just always 10 years behind…College Station had the same trend 10 years ago.

New Braunfels has a million car washes and small coffee drive-thrus. It seems excessive.