East Meadow Automotive

Jamaica Auto Wash pairs a wash tunnel with a team of techs that carefully cleanses sullied cars and SUVs. During the shop’s specialty platinum wash, motor carriages cut through the automated passageway’s sheets of lathers, squirts of triple-polish wax, blasts of undercarriage spray, and layers of hot wax. Tire dressing imbues wheels with a factory-fresh shimmer, and Rain-X helps keep surfaces spot free, even after driving through rain or parking under a weeping giraffe. Once vehicles emerge from the wash tunnel, staffers steer growling vacuums throughout interiors and wipe down windows and dashboards. Jamaica Auto Wash bolsters its intensive washes with an array of detailing services, from mat shampoos to hand-applied waxes and hand-hung tree-shaped air fresheners.

The sounds of scrubbing, buffing, and contented vehicles gossiping about the bedside manner of gas-station attendants echo throughout Babylon Auto Detailing, Inc.'s 2,500-square-foot facility. Any vessel of land, sea, or sky—including motorcycles, boats, and airplanes—lucky enough to discover the shop will quickly find the paint-restoring detail clays, waxes, and carpet shampoo its little mechanical heart desires. Backed by a $2 million insurance policy and their own priceless experience, BAD's technicians gussy up all modes of transport with paint and body repairs, interior Scotchgard protection, and headlight restorations; they also delve into onsite electronics installations, window tinting, and motorcycle storage. So vehicle-friendly and encouraging is the staff that dealership autos, limousine fleets, and cars roughed up by packs of rogue Mardi Gras floats all seek solace at the shop's front door.

At New High Tech Car Wash & Lube, a skilled detailing crew revamps cars, vans, and SUVs with help from top products, such as Rain-X. The team handles basic to specialty detailing tasks, including vanquishing dirt and grime with exterior hand washes, bathing the chassis in a rust inhibitor, or removing car poolers who refuse to leave the backseat. Aside from sprucing up automotive surfaces, New High Tech also tackles a range of restorative projects.

Tucked between Nordstrom and Macy’s, A.S. Car Caterers and its detailing crew scrub away dirt from cars' insides and outsides while auto owners shop around the Roosevelt Field mall. After each hand wash, technicians dry off shells with microfiber towels, protect tires with dressing, and vacuum seats and floors. From their basic spritzing and scrubbing services to complete and thorough detailing services, the team can restore vehicles to their just-bought or just-drove-through-a-waterfall shine in as little as 20 minutes.

For the last 30 years, traffic has moved at a steady pace thanks in part to Hewlett House of Tires' skilled mechanics and stacks of tires from brands such as Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone. Certified technicians stand by six days a week to troubleshoot automotive problems, fixing whatever’s busted, draining sludgy oil, and tuning anything that rattles in the wrong key. The shop’s owner makes regular appearances to assist customers, and also dispatches roadside-assistance crews to roam the byways 24/7 in search of stranded motorists and disoriented crossing guards.

The sign in front of Manhasset Hand Wash & Detail Center reads "100% Hand Car Wash," a tip of the cap to the old-fashioned service its technicians provide. From inside a full-service car wash tunnel, they draw on Rain-X products and Rosie the Riveter-levels of elbow grease to administer tiered hand-wash packages each named in tribute to the East Coast, such as the Bay Breeze Wash and Light House Wash. The staff works under the gaze of Elvis Presley and vintage automobiles, thanks to a wall-sized art piece designed like a strip of black-and-white film. As cars receive a hose blast from the past, their owners wait in a modern shop filled with automotive accessories, including a Technicolor forest of air fresheners.