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    Soapy Joe's Car Wash

    3.7 (580 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

    Services - Soapy Joe's Car Wash

    Car wash

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    Broken window cover damage
    Joseph B.

    ZERO stars is more like it .... 2025 4 runner practically brand new and I'm left with left mirror damage not even 2 mins after parking my vehicle I notice the mirror drivers side cap was taken off by their machine. When I went to the front and asked the worker to look for it he brought it out broken said a car ran over it no apology nothing . I filed a claim and they responded same day were not responsible for the damage . Read all the reviews many many ppl have experienced damages to their vehicles from soapy joes RANCHO San Diego . Today I cancelled my Me membership and will warn others about this

    This is how I keep my car in pristine condition
    Nasim J.

    Loyal customer let down after vehicle was damaged Review: I've used Soapy Joe's for over 7 years and even kept my membership active through COVID just to support their business and help keep them going. On July 4, after a wash at their 2658 Jamacha Rd, El Cajon, CA 92019 location, I noticed fine scratches across my rear bumper the kind of damage that happens when rotating brushes or cloths trap debris like sand or grit and drag it across your paint under pressure. I immediately spoke with the manager on site. She took photos, documented the damage, gave me a report, and later followed up with a claim number so I could track it. I asked if they had a preferred body shop I could go to they didn't offer one so I took the vehicle to a professional repair shop and submitted the photos and estimate. I gave Soapy Joe's multiple opportunities to resolve the issue. Instead, they denied any responsibility, refused to let me review footage of my own vehicle, and eventually stopped responding altogether. Very disappointing after years of loyalty. If something happens to your car, don't expect Soapy Joe's to make it right.

    Where's the shine?  Why do I have to reclean?
    Will K.

    Some where between not useful and horrible. I come monthly ish, and the service has just been on a ski slope of getting worse. First: Paying. It starts with a prompt to do a monthly subscription that is not intuitive or friendly to by pass. Even with automation, a clerk comes up to prompt. The last few times "do you have a scan card?" "are you on a subscription?" I'm not sure if this is prompted by management, but repeated asks to subscribe are annoying at best. Second: the actual wash. No matter if I get the low end or high end wash: the car comes out needing a complete wipe down to get dirt off, even on flat, accessible services. Light dirt, road junk, - it's barely cleaned. The tire shine? ¼ of the tire is almost shined, if that. Rims are not even clean surface level (I get that nothing can get into the spoke area). The water in the machine is so hard it leaves water spots on windows with the characteristics of cement. Finally, the vacuum area. Multiple problems. First, they're nearly always out of towels. Second, multiple machines down. Some machines are down enough that employees park in them. Third, parking spaces on the outside area are so close you risk door dings trying to get in your vehicle. Fourth, it's like a hang out for Uber/Lyft drivers during slow moments. They're just sort of camped out. I've gotten done, gone to the grocery store, went to another store, and several are still parked there. Not cleaning, just, you know, doing nothing. For a 20$ one time for the full boat, it's bad. Even if a subscription makes the per time cheaper if you use it often, the work you have to do to clean up after they clean up, and the hassle of trying to find a place to vacuum, the empty towel racks, ect - make this a borderline horrible deal. If it weren't for the fact this saves water and doesn't go down storm drains, it'd be a complete waste.

    What my mirror should look like

    I've had car wash memberships on all 3 of my cars for the last 7 years with this soapy joes. My mirror cap was ripped off in the car wash today. I had to go find someone to try to retrieve it. They found it and handed it back to me and said nothing. I attempted to pop the casing back on to cover the exposed wiring around the inside of the mirror. The casing is scratched up and bent and will not go back to its original position. I was not very happy and drove home figuring I would call and speak to a manager. Called once I got home but the phone only answers to an AI assistant. You have to go in person to talk to someone or report the incident. I drove back to the car wash. When I walked inside a young woman asked if I wanted to speak to a manager. I said either that or I wanted to fill out an incident report. The woman who came to help me was the same woman who retrieved my mirror so she knew why I was there. I told her I was trying not to be mad at her but was really not happy that no one asked if I wanted to complete an incident report or helped me assess if I could put the part that was ripped off back on. She told me it's in their policy that they can't offer to assist nor can they offer if you'd like to complete an incident report. I told her I thought that was horrible customer service. I completed an incident report and canceled the three monthly car wash memberships our family has with this business. I asked if there was a manager on site and the woman said she was the assistant manager and that she'd be the one helping me. Long story short take your car washing business elsewhere. This place doesn't care about retaining customers or customer loyalty. It's solely a numbers game. Customer service is the worst.

    Kyle is A Soapy Joes Superstar
    Carla O.

    Kyler is a Super Star at Soapy Joes. He is probably the best employee I have encountered. He is super friendly, helpful, polite, and professional! He is management material if he so chooses. He needs to be recognized in the highest way! Please go to this car wash because he will brighten your day! I hope he gets a big promotion out of this and maybe a trio to whatever destination he desires! He is that amazing!

    Horrible
    Jhenny B.

    Ummm where to start. I guess I couldn't expect much from a drive through car wash. I usually go to soapy joes in National city. This one barely had bubbles that covered the car, and the water didn't drench my car. It also felt very fast. Didn't really wash my car. I feel like it just smeared dirt all over. I probably won't come back. I'm surprised at the quality of this soapy joes. I did give two stars, only because I vacuumed (which fell apart as soon as I started) and they provided towels, like they do all the other locations.

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    17 days ago

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    2 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    3 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    4 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    9 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Doesn't get the car water blown off very well. Takes a lot of drying to get it right. I've had problems with the vacuum not working.

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    I found Joji's mobile detailing you should try him too 5 business with competitive prices quality products... attention to detail

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Super busy. Very slow in helping customers. Understaff. They don't have a air blow machine to dust things out from corners.

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    2 years ago

    Too small of a footprint. Too much traffic to navigate at times. Not enough vacuum bays.

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    2 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    Page 1 of 15

    Ask the Community - Soapy Joe's Car Wash

    Review Highlights - Soapy Joe's Car Wash

    James came over to review the problem and showed me that the problem was the dirt in the bed of the truck.

    Mentioned in 55 reviews

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    3.3
    (135 reviews)

    This is Genie car wash now. This place is so horrible. DON'T BUY THE MEMBERSHIP - they scammed me…read moreout of $30. Now I have to dispute the charge. Never going here again. Aggressive workers They harass you on buying the membership. Even when you say no they keep asking why not? Explain why you don't want it. I said no thanks, drop it. Took my phone. But I buy the membership online eventually because I go here once a week or so and because their staff are unbearable and aggressive - I want to drive thru without being harassed. I go to try it out for the first time armed with only an email and a barcode. The worker didn't seem to know what to do with it. He had to take my phone from me and go out of sight with it for 15-20 minutes which made me very uncomfortable. It didn't work. He comes back. He puts this ugly sticker in my field of view on the windshield and it didn't work for the gate. He did some override to get me thru. Didn't work again. I go back today and again, the gate doesn't open. The lady comes over and says it's expired. I tell her I literally bought it last week. She says must've been a day pass. What?! I paid $30. And you put a sticker on the window for a day pass? After arguing back and forth, and refusing to look at my email proof, she goes and checks. Meanwhile the line is honking at me, yelling things. I just decide to buy a wash since the line was getting hostile and I didn't know if / when she would come back. I was livid. Once I got to the wash area another worker said they would issue me a refund. Awful, awful place.

    This one sucks, barely even cleaned my car with the mid-tier wash. The vacuums are nice, but I left…read morethe car wash feeling like I needed a deeper clean. Not worth your money or your time in my opinion.

    Soapy Joe's Car Wash - carwash - Updated July 2026

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