This place is a rip-off. I have never been to a place before that gives you change in tokens. I'm so happy that I payed for an automatic wash with a $5 bill and now have two shiny Solar Car Wash tokens as change. The automatic car wash just gets your car wet, that's about it. The manual lasts hardly any time at all, so you'll be scrambling to put more tokens in or breaking bills to get tokens which leaves you with more stupid Solar Car Wash Tokens. If you're nearby to this one, do yourself a favor and head up to Kaady Car Wash. Yeah, it's twice as much at $6 but they're super nice and not douches like Solar. read more

I have never been to a wash it yourself car wash before. The attendant was helpful and explained how everything worked. I bought tokens and proceeded to work. The spray was powerful and lots of soap came out of the bubble brush thingy. Wiped down the car with towels I bought from the vending machine and vacummed the whole car for $2. Not bad. Wash, vacuum and towel for less then $10 is a pretty good deal I think. Place was clean and the weather was sunny. One token didn't work and was refunded in three days after calling the 800 number. I will certainly go back the next time the heap looks like funky. read more

I have been washing my car here for years. The way it works is standard for these do-it-yourself car wash places. 1) you exchange dollar bills for tokens ($1 per token) 2) insert the tokens in the machine to get a set amount of washing time 3) when your time is almost up, a red light will flash and beep loudly in the bay your car is in to let you know. If you need more time, you have a few seconds to add more tokens to continue washing instead of having to start all over again. If you start all over again, you have to insert 3 tokens, which is what they require as a minimum. You may only need 1 token's worth of time to finish washing your car so the flashing & beeping warning light gives you a chance to simply add 1 token's worth of time. I was at Solar Car Wash a few weeks ago washing my car as usual, but this time, there was no flashing red light or beeping sound to tell me my time was coming to an end. When time was up, my car was completely covered in soap! I inserted 2 additional tokens but the water did not come on. Why not? Because too much time had passed since my original time had expired. There was a white man standing there, who identified himself as "the mechanic" so I told him the situation. He had a very thick Eastern European accent and he was very gruff. He insisted the light had come on once and turned off. He said he was standing right there and saw it. I said it should have flashed and made the beeping sound to get my attention. He barked, "I can't help you!" and walked away. As he was walking away, I asked, "Who can I talk to then?" He came back and said, "I'm the mechanic!" I'm not sure if that meant he was the manger/owner too. I repeated that the light did not flash nor beep, my car was covered in soap, I needed more time with the water hose and had inserted 2 more tokens but it was too late. He again barked, "I can't help you!" and walked away again. Get this, there was no coin return so I couldn't even get back those 2 tokens I had already inserted! I asked the guy about returning my tokens and he said that they had gone into a safe and he couldn't get them. When I asked him to refund me the dollar equivalent he barked "I don't have any cash!" and started walking away again! I didn't have any more cash but the machine takes credit cards so I pulled out mine. Because I was starting over, I had to pay the minimum $3, which was more than I needed but I had no choice. My car was covered in soap and I had to wash it off. So now I'm paying an extra $5 (the $3 on credit card plus the 2 tokens that weren't being returned)! I said that to him and he marched back, pulled out his wallet and guess what was in there - a stack of $1 bills! He asked, "What do you want me to do?" Really? He needed to ask that question? He should have returned my $2 when I asked him to instead of LYING to me that he had no cash and walking away. In addition, he should have given me $3 to start the machine again instead of LYING and saying that the light had gone on and off. Even if it had done that, it was still malfunctioning because it's supposed to warn us by beeping and flashing! He didn't just hand over the $. I had to ask him nicely, "May I have the $" As he was giving me the bills, one flew away and landed in a puddle of water. I picked it up but when I tried to feed it into the machine, it wouldn't go. I asked the guy what was going on and he said it wasn't feeding because the bill was wet. You'd think he'd open his wallet and take out another one, right? No, he stood there holding up the bill saying I had to wait for it to dry! He was intentionally being as unhelpful as he could! Another customer ended up exchanging a dry bill for the wet one. So with money finally in the machine and I was about to start, the mechanic said, "You watch, the light will come on." I washed my car and guess what - NO light, NO beep! So when I was done, I said to him, "See! There was no light and no beep." His reponse? Nothing! The guy just stared at me, deadpan. I repeated myself and again, no response. He just stared at me. Because of this extremely rude and unhelpful man who LIED and REFUSED TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE, I will NOT be returning to this car wash! I refuse spend my hard-earned money to support someone like this who will be rude and lie instead of doing the right thing for a customer (and for the business). Because of his bad behavior, he lost a long-time customer. I've been going there weekly for years! Not any more! PS: I also wonder if he would have been as rude if I were a man. My recommendation: Don't support unethical people like this. Don't wash your car here. Do-it-yourself car washes are common. You can easily find another one. I already did - and it's closer to my home too! read more

Don't come here unless you have you own sponge to clean the car. If you use their brush you car will immediately have scratches. This brush might be used to clean the concrete - not car. If you car about your car - go to a real car wash - not worth to risk your paint!!! Besides programs are super short and designed, that you have to use several coins during you visit. And AGAIN - DON'T USE THEIR BRUSH - unless you have a truck - which it won't hurt. read more

This was a nice convenient place to wash my car. They have the value stalls as well so there are many options to fit your budget. The vaccums are a bit on the poor side, but I have my own at home so I survived. Overall I would trust any other Solar Car Wash based on my good experience. read more

you would not think that a stop at the DIY car wash place would make your day -- but that is how it was for me this morning! there was a hiccup with something that i did and then james the assistant on site appeared and solar care was sunshine for me! this is my go-to place! thank you! read more

Solar Car wash is basically right on University and is really easy to find and as far as a 'do it yourself' place goes, It's clean and there is usually someone around in case you have any questions. Bring a $5 and some $1's to exchange for their Gold Washing Coins to use in the machines to wash or vacuum your car. I'll be going back for sure. read more

My current car and the last 2 cars I have owned have all been washed exclusively at Solar in Berkeley. It's a great self-serve car wash with plenty of water pressure on the rinse setting. The foam brush works very well for removing dirt. It's a pleasure washing my car there. read more