LOS ANGELES — In other parts of the nation, a car wash could probably get by offering a few specials, weak vending-machine coffee and assorted pine- tree air fresheners.

Not in California.

Here, customers may drive as far for a wash and wax as they do for work, and competitors offer free Wi-Fi, gourmet coffee, pet accessories, aromatherapy supplies, fishponds and high-definition television, said entrepreneur Kami Emein.

"Here, it seems like everybody loves their car. It's like a hobby for them, and they bring a lot of personal feeling into it," said Emein, a small-business owner who has made a living from buying, upgrading and selling more than two dozen car washes in Southern California.

Now, Emein has decided his flagship is a rundown car wash that he spent $3.5 million on four years ago in Inglewood.

Century Car Wash is in a "challenging" area of rundown storefronts and porn video outlets.

At first, the car wash received the standard, light remodeling costing a few thousand dollars. But Emein had a vision in which the revitalization of Century Boulevard would finally reach his business. Inglewood city officials want to lure Los Angeles International Airport travelers to new shops and restaurants in the area that has grown west toward the airport.

In preparation for that day, Emein has showered $475,000 on the car wash, transforming it into an neighborhood oasis that has lured car owners from as far away as Gardena. And business has accelerated.

"I want to be prepared to represent Los Angeles to the world," Emein said on a recent weekday morning as Michael Jackson videos dominated several large screens inside the car wash.

Inside, away from the soaping, customers can browse through Giorgio Ferraro designer suits and Boncenni dress shirts, test their skills on a Pac-Man video game machine or relax in $900 massage chairs. A humidor holds a selection of Arturo Fuente and Macanudo cigars. Neighborhood teens inspect rows of fake jewelry and wristwatches.

Some customers don't even bring cars.

"It's just a good place to kick back," said Lydia Price, who sat sipping coffee and smoking a cigarette, describing herself as a nearby resident who enjoys car-watching.

Nearby, an espresso machine was constantly busy.

"They have really good cappuccinos here," said Saroeung Donelson, a mortuary limousine driver.

Refrigerators hold spring waters, soft drinks and energy drinks. T-shirts and greeting cards line other sections.

With a row of tall metal columns decorating its front, the business stands out among drab neighbors and draws customers who weren't even thinking about getting their cars washed.

The facility is sprawling by most car-wash standards, covering 35,000 square feet with eight lanes for the initial vacuum and trash collection.

The car wash is wide, clean and lined with video cameras, the latter having a purpose that Emein learned the hard way: Drivers often check every inch of their vehicles right after they have been washed and waxed. That simple fact has led to multiple visits to Small Claims Court.

Emein's father was a pharmaceutical salesman in Tehran, Iran, in 1988 when Emein came to the U.S. at the age of 21 with two brothers and a sister.

"We had little money, so we needed a business with cash flow. It's about what you can buy," he said in explaining why he started with liquor stores, the first in Torrance in 1989.

Emein said he acquired the store for $200,000 and sold it two years later for $250,000, then bought two more liquor stores in Santa Monica for $500,000 and $180,000, later selling them for $650,000 and $330,000 after making some business changes. "That is how you create money. That is how you create the next down payment and buy bigger and better," Emein said.