Goa’s first magic car wash facility kick-starts at Sirlim in South Goa

In today’s times when ‘time’ is the only things which people don’t own, here’s Oden and Vanila Dacosta who are offering a magical car wash facility which is the first of its kind in Goa as one quick solution to get your car washed in just seven minutes by letting your car hop-in and hop-out of the machine, without you having to even step out of it

| JULY 08, 2019, 02:23 AM IST

BHARATI PAWASKAR  


Dressed up for a party, Reshma and her husband Ramesh were in a hurry, but both didn’t want to enter the venue with their car looking dirty. It was a busy week for both and none of them had time to go and get their car washed. But as they put on their seat belts and headed for their destination in Margao, they took a turn and quickly entered the recently opened ‘Oscar’s Magic Car Wash’ at Sirlim near Chinchinim and had to spend less than 10 minutes to come out with their car, looking clean and shining from all sides. With a happy smile on their face, the couple drove for the party. Yes, this is possible now, as this magic car wash facility is now being offered for the first time in Goa by Oden and Vanila Dacosta.  

The innovative Dacostas have invested their time and money into this super (ad)venture in the hope of offering relaxation to the stressed out car and bike owners who don’t have time to wash their vehicles regularly. “You don’t have to spend hours waiting in queues for your number here. Just drive in and drive out, in six to seven minutes,” states Oden Oscar Dacosta, the proprietor at Oscar’s Magic Car Wash in Sirlim who initiated this venture along with his wife Vanila in their ancestral property on May 13 this year.  

“It’s hardly over a month that we opened, but it’s keeping us busy even on Sundays. As people drive in from across the entire state from Mapusa to Sankhalim in the North and up to Canacona in the South,” quips Oden who is happy that he is getting good response from his clients. “A manual car wash takes a lot of time and time is one thing that everyone today is short of, so when we offer car wash in just few minutes, who won’t appreciate it?” asks Oden, who is offering this facility for people in the fast lane. There are customers who drive all the way from Calangute or Anjuna to experience this quick service, thanks to the Nissan magic car wash equipment that has come handy.  “We open at 8 am and close by 6 pm, with no lunch breaks. At a time we can offer services to three cars. Since the machine is fully automatic, nothing is done physically,” states Oden. There are three modes of operation – standard, premium and manual. One just has to sit in the car and drive in. The premium mode has a cycle of water wash, shampoo, water, foam, water, wax and drier. This takes six to seven minutes. There’s plain water wash too that takes four minutes. And if the current goes off, and the cycle gets stuck, the machine operates on a generator. The cycle can be cut short too in the manual diagnostic mode. Along with cars, bikes and auto rickshaws are washed too. The interior cleaning and polishing, glass and headlamp restoration is also done here.   

Opened on the day of the feast of Our Lady of Fatima with the blessing of Fr Saude Pereira and inaugurated at the hands of the opposition leader Chandrakant (Babu) Kavalekar on May 13 this year, Oscar’s Magic Car Wash has a ‘wow’ factor. “Many of our customers come repeatedly and some come only to see how the magic wash equipment works. Of course, they avail the facility too, but they are simply wowed by the speed and accuracy with which a car is washed. The driver can sit in the car while the washing is being done. It’s an inside, outside cleaning as we vacuum the insides of the vehicle too,” maintains Oden, a mechanical engineer who worked on the ship for a while before entering the automobile industry in Mumbai. “I shifted to my home state Goa as I wanted to stay close to my family and serve fellow Goans. So we opened a super market Mom’s Mini Mart five years ago, which still runs in the same premises along with the car wash studio,” briefs Oden who chose the name of his father Oscar for the car wash service as it has ‘car’ in it  

A teacher by profession and an MBA in finance, wife Vanila has been very supportive in this venture, agrees Oden. Currently both of them operate the machine while their team of four do the other jobs. Since the machine runs on a new concept, not offered in Goa anywhere, there needs to be training given to operate it. The Dacostas have been trained by the company’s official trainers for three days, with practical demonstrations when the machine was installed in their premises. As the concept gets familiarised in the state, the Dacostas plan to offer a ‘pick up and drop’ services too for the vehicles. “We will bring the vehicles from individual client’s home or office and drive them back to their respective places after the washing is done,” informs Vanila who is also planning to expand this concept along with their services to corporate sector.   

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