Probably the BEST "do it yourself" car wash. Irvine location is far superior to lake forest.

Went for the free car wash so trying to be nice with this review. Attentive were slow and no one was at the machine for like 10 min while I waited and backed up the line. Got to the actual car wash and the guy with the sign was slow and not helpful. Car was left very wet too. 25$ is a joke. Not even witty the gas station 7$ down the street read more

AVOID THIS PLACE. My Fiancé drove through the car was the other day and the machine pulled the trim off. After, she tried contacting management and they won't even refund the wash let alone pay for the damages. The receipt clearly states what they do and do not cover as far as damage goes. This is a brand new car with no modifications. Should be covered under THEIR rules and they still avoid it. Better off washing your car in a sandstorm than going to this place. read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - Trim pulled from the car after the wash. - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Skip this car wash! I went because I needed a car wash and mostly to vacuum my car. Well the vacuums didn't work!!!! I first tied the vacuum next to my car, it barely worked! I went to the next one and again, didn't work. It was so sad cause it was not cleaning my car at all. Also, there were no new towels! Just dirty towels! Thank goodness I had my own towel. Just skip this place! read more

Excellent facility. Clean and well run. Car wash includes vacuuming and towels. There are three levels of car wash selections and also monthly options. Truly my go to for a quality car wash where I can dry and vacuum my vehicle while detailing. Good value. Recommended read more

If you have a nice car that you care about, please don't use their faulty equipment. One of their equipment scraped the passenger side of my car, as soon as I noticed it I immediately alerted the workers. I was more worried about the other cars that could get damaged! I was told to leave my information and they seemed to shrug me off. I kept stopping by twice a week to speak with a manager. The only response I would get is that HQ will contact me. A month of haggling to get someone to look into the cameras; we can see no marks on my car before I entered. I've been getting the runaround from them because they want to verify with IT. It's now 3 months and I received this letter that is completely just made up. They say for legal purposes that it's posted they're not responsible for damages which seems to be the excuse they're leaning on heavily. It's not worth the gamble, that random once bad luck if it happens to you is not worth the damage to your car. I will say the workers on site are pleasant the issue is they're managed remotely. read more

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Its definitely not run well. That is all I have to say! If you need help to enter your telephone number for points they will have no idea how to do it. lol read more

I took my brand new car--in perfect condition--through this drive-through car wash and came out with scratches all over the paint. The entire finish is ruined. I immediately notified the staff, took photos, and filed a formal complaint. It's been weeks, and no one has followed up. Zero accountability. What's worse? One of the employees admitted this has happened several times before and even said they don't use the car wash themselves. That says everything you need to know. The equipment is clearly outdated and damaging, and the vacuums don't work at all--total waste of time and money. If you care about your vehicle, DO NOT go here. This place needs to be shut down until serious repairs and management changes are made. read more

This place sucks in every aspect. I rather drive 10 miles then to return to this dump. Sat there for 15 minutes before I was able leave. What a joke!!! read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - It took 10 minutes for someone to assist and she had an attitude when I yelled to get her attention to fix it. I'm never coming back. - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Second time going and not happy with the way it cleaned my car spoke to someone there and they could care less

No line and very few cars. In and out in 20 minutes. Vacuums seem to be more powerful than before.

Not very happy. I have been coming here for a long time. My wife received a free ultra wash coupon because I did a 'tell your friends' thing through their website. When we went to go redeem the coupon the person on duty asked for a bar code. We said we didn't know how to get the bar code but showed him the coupon which is supposed to get to the bar code. The manager on duty said he didn't know how to get it because customers always show them the bar code. We ended up paying for the wash because they were incapable or unwilling to help retrieve the bar code. Staff are generally very friendly and helpful but the manager on duty was not. read more

I really like the car wash itself and I feel like it's probably one of the best ones that I've been to when it comes to the mechanics, the only reason I'm giving it a three-star instead of five star is because I feel like sometimes the employees get bothered or have a little attitude if you have any offers, I am not sure why they sometimes give me a look if I have a discount or I have a code but I noticed it more than once and I just feel like somebody should explain to them that these offers are sent by the company read more

Excellent wash. Good value. The ride through the wash has an odd theme park feel to it which is kind of fun. They have towels for you to use after you go through to dry off your car which is a really nice touch. read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - Going through the soap volcano - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

If your front & back tires are not perfectly aligned with the rail you may scratch a rim as my car did today. WRECKED MY RIM!! They do not take responsibility for alignment of your car to the rail. I brought it to the managers attention and he was most definitely unpleasant. I had been going there since they opened, not anymore. read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

My side mirror(driver side) got muktiple scratches, and i saw on facebook that im not the only car owner who experience the sale problem on their side mirror read more

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I went in for a basic wash today and left with a broken tire valve. While inside the tunnel, I saw my tire pressure drop to zero. When we got out, it was clear the valve had been damaged,and of course, that happened inside their wash. When we brought it up, instead of taking any responsibility, they had the nerve to say "you probably hit the rail" even though one of THEIR OWN employees directed us in and positioned the car. That's literally their job, and they're now blaming the customer for it? To make it worse, the woman at the front desk was incredibly rude and dismissive. She refused to give her name, offered zero help, didn't apologize, and acted like we were just a bother. We waited over an hour in their lot for a tow truck and she never even checked on us. Not once. Honestly, accidents can happen,but this wasn't just an accident. This was a complete failure in customer service, basic decency, and professionalism. If something goes wrong here, they'll blame you, ignore you, and treat you like you don't matter. I will never come back, and I strongly suggest you don't either. read more

Guy that directs the cars into the wash rolled his eyes at me and had an attitude because i didn't turn my wheel all the way while driving in. Completely unacceptable. read more

This is the worst run business of all time. The owners should be embarrassed. You are gambling with your paint every time you go here which is why I only run my old truck through it. The vacuums don't have suction, towels are often unavailable, and my personal favorite, the air guns shoot out water since they are too incompetent to drain the pressure tanks read more

Beware!!! I just had my credit card information stolen from the Lake Forest Checkered Car Wash! Super disappointed as this my go to car wash! read more

I joined $35 monthly plan since April. Recently I was stopped at the gate about 4 times. The manager let me go through manually but always get "Signature" service. I'm just wondering if anybody can fix this issue because I can't get any on-site help. read more

Incredibly disappointed! Sunday afternoon, first visit to this Lake Forest car wash. Got the "Executive wash" for $20. Rode through and noticed that the hood and windshield did not appear to be cleaning well. Drove out and parked at the vacuum, and the car was dirty! My 2024 BMW X5 in Carbon Black Metallic was covered with tiny bird droppings, soap that was not rinsed off, and water drying into spots. I sought out an attendant who told me that the droppings and spots would not come off in the drive-through, and that the car needed a hand wash. I asked how much that would cost and was told "we don't do that at this location." Plus, the wheels were filthy and the tires had not been blacked. It took me another 20 minutes to hand dry the car, remove the water spots and droppings with multiple towels, and hand clean the wheels. The drive through $6.99 car wash at Costco does a MUCH better job, and without water spots! This place will never get my business again. The frustrated guy wiping down the Tesla next to me agreed when I told him that "This car wash does everything, except wash your car!" read more

Honestly, for the drive-thru wash, you get what you pay for. It's quick, easy, and super cheap! The guy helping us out was super friendly. He cracked a couple of jokes and complimented my boyfriend's driving. As for the wash itself, it was pretty good! The giant bristles they used were definitely a lot stronger than the one back home. Took off all the bird poop that was on my car. It was a lot harder to clean the rims of my tires, but it was okay. The clean wasn't as thorough as it being handwashed, so it's expected. The air dryer for my car though did not really do it's job. That was definitely a downside. There were still water drops on my windshield as we got out. We did not vacuum so no comment on that. All in all, not bad for the price. read more

First off!!! The wash for $12 is amazing. The air spray amazing.. The water spray amazing.. The vacuum is #TRASH due to the poor suction it took 3 hours to finish. Overall I rate this place a 2 out of 5 stars. Hey business owner make sure the vacuum's are on point. read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - #need better suction. - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

Hands down, the worst car wash around. I got taken not just once, but twice. I ran my filthy truck through first. I didn't get fully cleaned, but good enough. I just chalked it up to a lot road grime. Didn't use the vacuums this time. Second time, I brought my car. I take good care of it, so it wasn't too dirty, but I parked under a tree, so there were some droppings on it. I paid for their $20 Grand Prix wash. Biggest waste of money ever. Just out of curiosity I paid explicit attention to this wash. The car in front of me paid for the $10 wash and there was no difference in the brushes, nozzles, sprayed liquids on either of our cars. So, essentially, they are all the same wash. And my car didn't get clean. I looked for a manager afterwards, but apparently he was busy. Oh, and just like for everyone else, the vacuums didn't suck. This place is terrible, I'd give it zero stars, if I could. read more

Out of exasperation with Checkered Flag and their horrible business practices and run down and outdated facilities, I tried Fast5Express in Laguna Niguel and Tustin. Both are very attractive and new and function well. Very futuristic. They must have invested heavily in their equipment and facility, including landscaping which is pleasant to work near. Much better than Checkered Flag, which is run-down and likely on its way out. Also, Checkered Flag equipment will damage your car; it did mine. read more

Absolutely incredible I tell ya. This place has you in for a treat and a half. This lil post of peeps have everything on lock and really know how to get business done. I'm very impressed and grateful for their services and am considering getting a membership too! It's the details that matter+I love that they are so gentle and sensitive with the vacuum, wash, and service. I love everything they've don't and look forward to getting to come back again. read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - Fully cleaned interior (minus the faux, leather conditioning soap) + spotless glass - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Great Price Clean Fast Ready Towels to dry the car Air, water and vacuum available to help in cleaning process read more

Unfortunately this has gone from my favorite car wash to a place that is just too unreliable to recommend coming here. On today's visit 1) paid for most expensive wash, couldn't anyone to come and fulfill the tire gloss part of the wash 2) both vacuums near me were so weak they couldn't even suck the loose dirt of my weather tech rubber floor mats - completely useless 3) both washer fluid stations were broken It's sad because they have a bunch of thugs nowhere else does and when everything is working It's great but the past half dozen times multiple things are always broken. Can't recommend, go elsewhere read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - Let the guy know over 20 minutes ago that the whole place is out of towels - no one in sight - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

They caused $200+ of damage to my new car and have never responded after 10+ follow calls/emails. I got my 2019 BMW X1 washed at Checkered Flag a few weeks ago and their car wash caused several hundred dollars of damage to my car. I never leave negative reviews on Yelp (this is my first one ever, feel free to look at my posting history). It is also clear that I'm not the first one to have my car damaged by Checkered Flag. Feel free to scan past reviews to find several more examples. I am actually less concerned with the damage to my new car compared to how atrociously this business handled the issue. I understand that things happen, and I would have been happy to work with the managers to rectify the issue. Unfortunately that is not what happened. When I politely alerted the onsite manager that the brushes had knocked off the metal flap to my gas tank, he told me that I had probably broken it before coming to the car wash. I asked him to go check and he promptly came back with my metal gas flap, bent and scratched beyond repair. He filled out an incident report and gave me a business card and promised me that somebody would follow up with me in 3-5 days. It's now several weeks later and I've called/emailed 10+ times with ZERO response (please see the attached screenshot as proof). It cost $200+ to repair my car. I will never use Checkered Flag Car wash again and will ensure none of my friends/family ever use it either. They will cause hundreds of dollars of damage to your car, blame it on you, and then ignore every single attempt to communicate with them. read more

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This automatic car wash uses a single rail system. The car alignment gets really messed up and destroys your tires very quickly. I have a 2020 BMW X5 and a 2020 BMW M8. One is an SUV the other a sports car. Both cars developed inner front-tire wear where you could see the metal threads of the tire. The tires have plenty of thread and it's as if a knife shredded the interior. Multiple times. Had realignment done three-times. About $200 each time. Replaced 5 tires at $450-550 each. There is always a person guiding you to the rail but their only concern is to not scratch the rim. Therefore they guide the inside of your front left tire to "bump" the rail. This results in serious alignment issues if you do it weekly. I don't recommend this carwash. $25 a month and convenience has cost me $2500+ in tire/alignment repairs. Buyer beware read more

Carwash was OK , the jets are powerful but when coming out there's still soap left on your car When cleaning out your car they offer clean towels to dry your car and rims The Vacuums are really bad , they have no suction at all They offer a water sprayer and compressed air This would be a good car wash if they fixed the suction on the Vacumms and that little bug with the left over soap read more

When I lived in Irvine I would always go to Checkered Flag to have my car washed. Now that I've moved southward my cherished car wash is a bit too far away so I was excited to hear there was a Checkered Flag in Lake Forest. I drove here the other day and pulled in only to realize it is an EXPRESS. Which means it is one of those automatic places. You pull forward and purchase your wash at an automated screen where you can use credit card or a pre-purchased wash card. Then you move ahead and are guided onto the rails, shift into neutral and let all the soap sprayers and rotating bundles of cloth attack your car as the conveyor belt pulls you through. Blowers dry your car off as you exit. Vacuums are available. All this for almost the same cost as a full hand wash at their Irvine location. To my surprise it did a better job than most self serve car washes. But personally I'm just not comfortable with these types of car washes unless my car is over 10 years old and I could care less what the exterior looks like. read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

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Section 2 of vacuums is horrible, Dick please replace your vacuums. Great employees by the way! read more

Checkered Flag Express Car Wash - The vacuum suck! - Car Wash Near Me - Lake Forest, California

New rule in place of only using one towel. Employee came and rudely told me that I can't grab more than one and snatched the ones I had on my car. I have been coming here for years and the only reason I ever did was for the towel benefit. Will now be taking business elsewhere. Also, train your employees on how to implement new rules. Customers that's have been coming here for years aren't looking for rules when they've known the rules. Will be taking my business elsewhere. Not having the benefit of towels makes it as basic as other car washes. read more

Strong car wash and even more powerful vacuums! Representative was very patient, did a great job of explaining everything and helped us make the right decision for the type of car wash we wanted to do. read more

They are OPEN during the quarantine as of 4/11/20. So far, so good! I have had their $14.99 unlimited washes pass (1 wash per day) for two months now. I have gone with no issues and it is great that you can now have the wash pass on your phone via the Apple wallet! I have noticed that for the basic wash that I get, the machine doesn't always get every speck of dirt off, which is expected considering it is an electronic car wash. There are always vacuuming bays available for customer use. One time I got a vacuum that wasn't as strong is I was used to, I moved my car to get a better one. They have towels out and window washer fluid for customers to use. The compressed air is also great to assist you with drying. Please note that they do not offer towels right now due to the COVID pandemic, but they are open. read more

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I went once with my car and then encouraged my boyfriend to take his new truck there. I bought the $9 one (forgot the name but it is the second cheapest; they range from $7-$18) and it seemed like a great deal and did the job. It left a few spots but for $9, it was more than suffice. My boyfriend and I went today and enjoyed the experience. He bought the $15 one (second most expensive) because he wanted the tire gloss but we were a bit disappointed that we didn't see the tire gloss light come on or seem to see anything being applied to the tires. Unsure how it knows which car pays for which level of wash but it was fine given the price and short time it takes. I'm interested in the unlimited wash deal but unsure if it means a monthly commitment (charged automatically?) or if I can try it out for a month and see if I like it and make use of it. Also unsure if it is 30 days from when you buy it or starts on the 1st. read more

Paid $15 for a self-serve carwash and the wash did not clean my car. The vacuum hose did not reach the back of my car and only one hose for each stall which for reaching the other side of my car was impossible. Not a good experience at all. Also, the back windshield wiper was ripped from the car ahead of me and ended up on the hood of my car. The place looks grungy and that will be my first and last time giving them my money. read more

By far my new favorite express car wash. Never have I seen a spot offer microfiber towels to clean the body and the rim of the car! Such a luxury to have. Even the fact that they have an air compressor and a water spray at hand to make sure you get those stubborn spots off the window. Prices are super reasonable starting from $7-$18. Would definitely come again. Was so happy I could DEEP clean my car. Much prefer to do it myself! This is definitely the spot if you're OCD when it comes to you car. read more