Castro Car Wash

I had such a great experience here on Saturday! Other reviews have said the car wash pushed the more expensive detailing service, but that wasn't my experience. They offered it and explained the difference between that and the standard car wash I wanted, but when I said I understood and wanted the standard wash, they booked me for that without another word.

And when they were done, my car was BEAUTIFUL! I had brought it in dusty and with bird poop on it, and the inside was super sandy from lots of time at the beach. When they were finished with it, the exterior was gleaming, and the interior was super clean with not a grain of sand. And that was the standard wash.

I'm so happy to have a car wash that offers both standard wash and detailing right here in the city. I'm a fan and will be back!

This place will find a way to give you a higher price than their advertised. I've used them before and encountered some issues but this time they didn't even try to make it right.

For me I came in looking for a basic outside wash and interior vacuum. Despite this being about $50 online i was quoted as being $150 because there were lots of bugs on my car and they would use a special solution to dissolve the bugs. Okay, sure.

Now 30 min later I find the car to have visible splotches all over the front bumper where the bugs were. I pointed this out to one of the workers who told me it just needed to be buffed out. Then i went and flagged down the person who originally quoted me $150 and she said it was damage to my paint and not fixable. I asked her if she was fucking kidding me because i assumed she was messing with me. She insisted i was incorrect that this could be removed by buffing and instead required my car to be repainted (this car is 3 months old).

I tried to explain this was not an issue but she gave me two options (1) buff it out myself in front of them or (2) take it to another car wash and if they get it out she will refund my money. I was frankly quite surprised, and I had no tools to remove it myself. She implied that if i rubbed it with my thumb and it didn't come off she wouldn't give me a refund.

I argued for another minute, and she was adamant they would not do anything about it. Had she not made a big deal about how they would remove the bugs i would not have made a big deal about how it was an incomplete job.

Will not be coming back here and will dispute the charge. It's not the first time I've come here and gotten a different price than advertised. You're better off going somewhere that acts more honestly if you're trying to get anything more than a basic wash.

Edit: after I posted this review the owner reached out and had addressed that this issue was not addressed while I was there. I updated my review from 1 to 3 stars to reflect that they did address the issue.

It was a quick service (~30-40) for a regular interior and exterior standard wash. They went over their detailing service and did look inside my car when I first arrived, but that is normal business to push more expensive services and I understand why they want to look inside first since someone can have lots of trash/crumbs everywhere which would make them work more. I could see some marks from the products they use, but I am not upset because I think that is normal. But if you are looking for a regular wash at a good price, this is a place to check out. Everyone was respectful. You can wait inside or you can walk around the Castro while you wait.

Just wanted to update that the owner reached out and had me return to do another wipe down of certain areas, which they did promptly, and overall they did a great job!

My only complaint is that the woman who first greeted me remarked that I had only paid for the external wash when referencing my review, which left a pretty sour taste to be honest. I'm not sure if there was a misunderstanding somewhere, but clarified the referenced stains were all external (I had just taken pictures from the inside of my car), if that wasn't clear in my prior review.

I am a 78 year old man and I think this is my first ever yelp review. I am shaking as I write this. I have just had a most disturbing interaction with the woman at the Castro Car Wash. No one should be treated the way I was treated by her. She needs a class in customer service. Let me explain.

I made an online appointment for 2 PM today for a Standard Car Wash which was supposed to cost $45. I arrived ten minutes early and was met by this woman who had a slight foreign accent. I did not get her name. I told her I had made an appointment. She asked me for what kind of a car wash and I said the Standard. She looked inside my car and said they didn't vacuum the inside of a car with the Standard Car Wash. I told her I was confused, that I thought the Standard Car Wash included vacuuming the inside and cleaning the windows. She said it did. She then added something I didn't understand and I asked her for a clarification. She meandered around and I kept having to ask her just what she was saying; was the car wash included? She then told me the car wash was NOT included. Then I got upset because she told me just a few seconds before that the car was included.

As soon as I got upset, she screamed at me saying "Get out of here. We don't want your business". I stood there frozen and dumbfounded. She continued in the same tone of voice "We have the right to refuse anyone's business. I told her that was fine and that I would write up a Yelp review.

But my troubles were not over. In order to drive my car out of there, I could not proceed forward as there were several cars being washed in front on me blocking my way in the narrow alleyway. So I had to back out this long, narrow alleyway, through a service station full of cars and back on onto busy Castro Street in order to exit the car wash. That took time and it was dangerous to have to do that. That was something I should not have had to go through.

I cannot comment on the quality of the work obviously. But no customer should be treated the way I was.

This place is amazing! They are efficient and do excellent work. They have my car looking like it did the first day I got it. Did an exterior and interior clean. Took an hour. Car looks spotless. Definitely coming back. 10/10 would recommend!

Two stars because when I went to ask for a basic wash and interior vacuum, they said I needed more than the express one which she (the lady at the front) claimed to be ~165(inclusive of taxes). I went up to to the counter to see the pricing chart and this wasn't even part of any packages. So ended up just opting for the exterior wash which was extremely sub par. I am posting a pic of the mats which they refused to vacuum which I took it elsewhere and they did the job for fraction of the cost.
The review is sub par exterior was and for not having transparent pricing.

Used to be OK but acceptable considering its location. Now that they changed their business model and are trying deceptive tactics (walking you back to the office like old school car sales) to upsell everyone to the expensive packages, I'll go out of the way to recommend avoiding them.

If they only want to do detailing going forward, lean into that instead of telling everyone their car is a mess and only a detail will do.

I went the next day to the car wash along my commute and no problems there.

I take my truck to the Castro Car Wash every week. They do a great job. My truck feels like it's a brand new truck when they're done.

Friendly staffs. The lady politely tried to upsell the higher priced wash but I politely refused and paid for their basic wash.

Total wash time was 22 mins (yes, I timed it) while I was waiting comfortably in their waiting room. My car was next in line and so from the moment I got there until it's done was 25 mins.

I had no problem whatsoever and I went home with a clean car inside and out. And btw my car wasn't that dirty in the first place and I remember them checking the interior before she presented me their "wash menu".

And based on other reviews, it looks like you can't get the basic wash $48 if your car is way too dirty and needs so much work.