not much to share about a self-serve carwash except that the guy who vacuumed and washed my truck had a crummy attitude and seemed overly burdened he to get off his butt and do a little honest work ... but seriously folks: never had a bad experience here. the "staff" is ALWAYS helpful and quick with pointers for somebody's who all thumbs and never has the right change. you'd think that after all the times I've washed vehicles here, I'd have it figured out. what can I say: I have a learning curve flatter than Kansas. place is clean and well tended. the vacuums powerful enough to suck the chrome off a trailer hitch. even the soap and scrubbing process is dummied down enough that a slug like be can figure 'em out. and, it's nice to have a clean ride. read more

We had some major schmutz on the window thanks to the birds of Carlsbad and needed a quickie wash after dinner. The car wash is still open at 9 pm!! read more

Tried to use coins to pay for the wash but after putting in 7 quarters i tried using other coins and it would not let me. There are no buttons to give you back your quarters incase of insufficient funds. I then went to use my card and it still charged me $8. It would have been nice to only pay the remaining cost of the wash but instead i paid $9.50 for a self serve car wash. On a more positive note, the soap brushes and power washers were working well. Hoping this will help someone else avoid an over expensive wash mistake. read more

I love this car wash the most because there is almost always someone on site walking around and making sure everything is running smooth, stocked and clean at the Carlsbad self Serv. The Oceanside one that is less the case. I've never had an issue here. I also like that there is a wheel brush at this location for tires so people aren't using the car brush on their wheels. I feel like brush heads and grips are changed out regularly as well. They seem to sell everything but we bring our own Towels and such. It's a little workout and you get to be really in tune with your car's exterior. read more

Carlsbad Self Serv Carwash - Car Wash Near Me - Carlsbad, California

It may be clear but I wasn't aware that the minimum credit card charge is $9.00. Even if you are there for a few minutes you will be charged a minimum fee of $9.00. I will be going back to the buggy bath car wash in Encinitas. They have more wash options including try color foam, pressurized air, etc Make sure to use coins. read more

I'm with some of the other opinions here. It's been a while since I'd been here because I recall an old man that was grumpy as all hell, reminding me not to leave dirt or mud at his car wash. HUH? WHY am I even here? That was about 6 years ago. Then just to see if things have changed I was considering going since it's up the street from me, only to read that things here haven't changed a bit. Well, other than some grumpy woman instead of the man that was there. NO WAY I'll ever go there. Costs way too much and hey, I wouldn't want to wash off any dirt that could ruin their car wash bays. ::ugh:: AVOID THIS PLACE read more

Need to write an update as things have really gotten completely unmaintained. There is no longer any pressure at the wash stations, and I have tried all of them! "High pressure" my ass. It is completely necessary to add extra minutes now and each minute costs $1 extra. I have a sedan for the record. There is nothing offered here to dry your car. I have tried the "truck towels" from the machine at the front and they are terrible and cost money. The vacuums are weak and pretty useless. I bought a $20 portable vacuum on Amazon that's actually better and saves money. At this point I see no reason to go here if you can wash your car in a driveway with a garden house and bucket of water/soap, that is how bad it's gotten. There is a Self-Serve wash in Encinitas that is a lot better and has tools for drying your car that I would recommend over here at this point. read more

Carlsbad Self Serv Carwash - After washing with soap! No pressure in the hose - Car Wash Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Well kept, reasonable prices, separate wand for tires/rims plus wet mop for the car itself, super powerful vacuums. If I was local, I'd be a regular. read more

This car wash establishment has all the basic car wash tools and then some. There's high pressure wash, foam brush, wax spray, and even a tire/wheel foam brush. Each car wash stall has a place to wash every type of vehicle, these stalls even have a place to hang up your floor mats if necessary. The car wash offers both coin payments and/or credit card payments. Each session of wash last for about 6 mins then each additional wash can be added by pressing the green button at the payment area. There are vending machines that offer car cleaning chemicals and cloths. Vacuums are available for patrons to use on-site and the vacuums only take coins as payment. Overall, a great little car wash for almost every type of vehicle. read more

Carlsbad Self Serv Carwash - Car Wash Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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I cannot believe how I was treated here. Long story. I washed my truck. Spent about 10 bucks pressure washing my mats and tires. Then I go to dry my car, everything is okay so far. I decided to use a little bit of rubbing compound on a few minor scratches on my car after removing sap from parking under a tree. As I'm about to vacuum my truck, the 75 lb old lady starts shoveling dirt about 5 feet from my freshly washed vehicle. Now I don't say anything and I decided to move to the other side of the car wash to do My vacuuming there. I move my mats that were drying in the sun and gather my belongings to move. As I do, here comes the old lady with her shovel. Again, 5 feet from my car. Ooooookay. So again, I grab my sun drying mats and move them over to the side I was originally on. Then she follows me AGAIN! Then she tells my I'm acting really weird because I'm drying the same spot over and over. Duh! It's called rubbing compound! Then she has the nerve to tell me that I've taken too much time and I need to leave the EMPTY car wash. Excuse me WHAT???? It's EMPTY! I still had a lot of money to spend there with a half done job but I was so blown away I'll NEVER COME BACK! What a way to kill a business... read more

Appalling establishment. Please do yourself a favor, and scratch this place off your radar. Better service at a GAS STATION car wash. That's saying something because it is SELF-SERVE. For what it's worth, take your $7 and head to any other alternative. Absolutely no pressure on any of the hoses; avoid the trouble and drive up to the Oceanside self-wash. Female employee on premises is also a nuisance, spitting garbage at patrons and causing a scene. Will not be returning. read more

I have since went back to the car wash and the pricing was normal. I think I may have just had an equipment issue when inserting all of my quarters. They also had brand new brushes with nice new grips installed. Makes it easier to wash my truck. read more

I am a fan of this self serve car wash. It is normally empty whenever I arrive for a quick wash or there is never a long wait, if any. Costs $3 per cycle for wash and they take CC payments as well. I usually like to come early weekday mornings (roughly 7am) for a wash and there have been a few times where the gates are closed. Bummer because their hours are listed as opens at 5am. If some days they are not open at 5am or even by 7am, an update of their business hours would be helpful to avoid a trip there if they are not open. read more

Not sure where all the 4 or 5 star ratings are coming from. This is the most basic of the basic coin car washes you can find. High pressure soap, rinse, tires, wax and brush. No air for drying and no debugging soap. The soap concentrate is low and you could barely tell the difference between soap or rinse. If you use credit card, there is a min of $6 or $8. With such limited options, I was done and had 3 mins of time left unused. Basically $6-$8 for a pressurized hose with diluted soap. PS. The lot has some giant speed bumps (which doubles to channel water to drains). Be ready to scrap you car unless you are in a SUV. read more

Clean, easy... credit card slot on vacuum very helpful Many change machines as well. read more

Such TERRIBLE service! I was actually turned AWAY for having "excess debris" right after I watched a LARGER TRUCK THAT WAS MORE DIRTY pull in!!!! I really wish I had gotten the guys name that was working. He was an older man with a VERY BAD ATTITUDE. Trying to take pictures of my truck and truck bed? Super weird and UNNECESSARY AND UNACCEPTABLE!!! Why are you trying to take photos of my vehicle?!!!?? GET IT TOGETHER. You're a CAR WASH. Not a Maserati dealership read more

Accepts credit card but if you're not aware of the time you can end up paying more per minute. Quiet and safe place to wash my car. Negative: Weak water pressure in the rinse option, but it could have been the stall I was in, on the far left. I prefer this location to the self service in San Marcos but San Marcos won the water pressure comparison hands down. Theirs is much stronger and can probably slice a steak. read more

I've been to many self service car washes and this was by far the worst. Somehow my car looks exactly the same if not dirtier after using this wash station. read more

Got home and saw I was charged $14 on my credit card for the minimum time I could charge.

This place robs you. Gives you tokens that says they're worth a dollar in the wash bays or vacuums and when you use them they're worth a quarter. The place is kind of dirty and there's crap and trash on the floors of the bays. I was so disappointed with the coin SNAFU that i wasn't going to give the place another dime so I didn't use the vacuums and drove home the 8 blocks to dry my truck at home. I came here a couple years ago and remembered it being shitty but I was in a pinch and needed to wash my truck now. Still shitty!!!! read more

Thought it was $3. Got charged for $10. Only came to get sap off car but the "spot free" rinse left tons of spots all over car. Bummer.

The only place I go to wash my vehicle. You have to exchange dollars for quarters and tokens. Costs me between $5-$8 to wash my vehicle. The pressure washer works well. You need to bring your own towels and soap. read more

Carlsbad Self Serv Carwash - Car Wash Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Great Location and easy access in and out. Glad we found this one. Average pricing.... ..... read more

Huge yard! I love how you have the option to vacuum before your wash or after. I live in Valley Center and will probably only return to this place from now on! read more

The owner of this car wash is super nice and always friendly. I have never washed the outside of my car here however I go to clean out the j side all the time. The vacuum always works great and only costs a dollar. I also like this car wash because I don't feel rushed by anyone and can take my time cleaning out the in side of my car. Bonus ***free tree for first time customers:) read more

This is my favorite place to wash my car! The owner is pretty much always present and very friendly :) I take both my Jeep and Supra here and it's always a joy to wash my own car. They have plenty of settings at the wash, vending machine with air fresheners, car vacuums, trash cans for all your mess, and even a thing to wring out your wet micro fibers. I don't go anywhere else for a self serve wash! read more

The attendant man with the silver Little hyuandi is seriously so nice and welcoming when I come here. He really is so friendly and is why I keep coming here!! read more

Gary is the best. He showed me how to use all the equipment. Clean place in a great location.

As far as I can tell all the equipment worked, which is pretty much all you can ask for. Pressure was fine. Gentleman on site to help people if they have issues. Now takes cards at all stalls and the vacuum stations. read more

Clean. Attended by a human much of the time. Never lost any money in their machines. They now take credit cards. The bug-tire brushes work well. The timers seem to run awfully fast ... but maybe time just flies when yur having so much dang fun. read more

I just went here today; reasonably priced and I actually like how there aren't a ton of unnecessary options on the selector dial. Keeps it simple and you can use your time just doing what you have to. (That's why we all have Meguiar's and Turtle Wax at home, right?) read more

Carlsbad Self Serv Carwash - My baby getting all clean. - Car Wash Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Great value. Everything was working properly. Able to wash the car and mats thoroughly for $6. Vacuums were strong and good value. Recommend if you want to save money and get a better wash than automated versions. read more

Came here one night to wash my car, and while my car was a bit cleaner, it kind of sucked that they did not have a free dryer or vacuum like other places. The brush also did not clean my car very well (there were multiple spots where my car was still dirty after my boyfriend scrubbed there for a while). read more

$2.50 to wash my Subaru, plus 50 cents for a wipedown towel... that's a pretty good deal. Looks like the same equipment as the place in Oceanside, so take your pick. read more

This was clean and tidy and owner was on site but he kind a looks at you all the time in very OCD about everything

The minimum is $8 which is high considering the wands aren't powerful. It's kept clean and workers are friendly but the Carwash left our car with dirt still after adding more minutes. Need to invest in new sprayers/soap or something, because it just didn't clean. read more

Wash your car and promptly remove yourself from the premises! I was approached by an elderly gentlemen who told me to leave immediately after I was done washing my car; I responded by saying I would not come back if taking my time and care with my car was a problem. He then gave me the finger, yelled at me to get the hell out, and said "you are probably one of those Obama Care want something for nothing give me everything for free queers." My political associations are irrelevant and I will not disclose them, but I will say I am active duty military recently returned from a year in Afghanistan. This is the first car I have been able to own since 2009 as I have not been in the United states from more than 90 days since February of that year but have been all over the world. I will say that there is no place in the world for such behavior; God bless him and help him with whatever is behind such horrible customer service, its much deeper than the scratches I was trying to buff out. read more

Have everything you need to wash and clean your vehicle, inside and out. It can get a little pricey if you take a long time, or have a large vehicle, so just make sure that you don't waste your time. And for those people who don't understand what the tokens are, they're not ripping you off. If you change a $20. You'll probably get about 7-8 tokens which are a dollar. Someone wrote a review and seemed to have a little trouble understanding that. Scrub yo shit and roll out read more

I like coming here because for $2.50 you can wash your car. Also the owner is always on site he is honest and friendly. I lost my wallet and the owner went out of his way to make sure I got it back. I give this place 5 stars it's an affordable and honest place and the owner is always on site. read more

For just a couple dollars more I could just bring my car to a drive through car wash. You feel like you need to sprint around the car to finish in time and if you stop for even a few seconds you watch your money go tick tock down the drain. Also, the instructions aren't very clear and maybe I'm just dumb, but now my car looks like crap. Only after watching someone else do it did I figure it out. And at that point I wasn't about to put another $7-8 in the machine to do it right. Also the rags you can buy for $0.50 work for about 5 seconds before becoming completely saturated. Probably won't go back, but maybe I will if I have a well thought out plan of attack to maximize the timer. read more