Tower Car Wash — Local services in San Francisco

While visiting my 24 yr old son in San Francisco, my wife and I decided to attend to some needs of his 2009 VW TDI Jetta which he has neglected on a variety of fronts; cleaning at the top of the list.

I'm from the East Coast, so when I pulled in to the car wash I didn't really know what to expect. Most of the car wash facilities out east are the type where the driver sits in the car and you go along a mechanical tunnel with plastic brushes beating the crap out of your finish. This car wash looked like any other except that there are a LOT of employees, and the sign said "hand wash" which was odd to us. As we entered the person said "regular wash?" and I said sure and he said $23 or so and I was surprised because we normally pay about $10-$12 for a straight exterior wash. Thinking it was "city pricing" I hopped out and immediately an army of descended on the car with vacuum hoses attached to what had to be a power plant for how effective they were. They didn't just quick vac the car, they vacuumed everything from the truck to the seats and obviously the interior floors and floor mats. That was only the beginning, over the next 15 minutes I watched people work on that car like ants on a candy bar. Astonishing is an understatement. Professional is not adequate to describe what they were doing. They used a variety of cleaning compounds to remove every scuff, rub, mark, and smudge imaginable and when they were done, the car looked like it did the day we bought it!

Out east we'd pay at least $50 for a "wash" like that. That is really what we would call a quick detail because the windows were cleaned in and out, the entire interior was trashed from the lifestyle of a 24 year old drummer, and there were black marks down the side of the car that had been there for over a year and the man on the final wipe down carefully used a variety of weapons and cleaners to not only remove them but to remove any trace of them ever being there.

Blown away is the only to describe our experience with Tower Car Wash. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this place a 15...yes, they...

I just needed a car wash today. To start, there are lots of people were working there and none of them seemed to pay any attention to any customers. No one greeted the customers. After awhile, I went inside to pay for the car wash. After waiting in the line, the cashier said I needed a ticket from attendants outside. So, I went outside again to get a ticket from the man (on the picture) who wasn't there before when we came. I asked for the just basic car wash and he handed a blue price board to pick the option. The prices are $35 or above and the $25 carwash only was not listed there. I asked for $25 carwash that we had before. The man gave me yellow ticket and I went inside to pay. When I came back to my car, he already placed the another copy of yellow ticket on the dashboard (on the picture), instead of giving it to me to place it on dashboard, while there were occupants are in the car. CREEPY!!!! Their card reader had some problem, not tapping, not swiping and not chipping. The cashier was upset and started saying something, it was hard hear with a mask. I am just grateful at least she was wearing a mask. It was hard to understand with all the hand signals in the begining of the carwash, it should be easy using standard pointing out "N" "D" mode or lights etc,. The other weird thing is that all the people working there don't make eye contact when communicating with customers. They look down or look away and say "Yes" or "No" even for the questions of "How...." or "Where...."?! The lack of communication should not be confused for...

I've used both their "quick" general car washing option and their detailing services over the past year. I put "quick" in quotations because unless you show up right when they open, expect to wait at least 30-45min for your car to be washed - they are THAT busy all the time.

A good problem to have, and it does say a lot about their quality of work.

Their detailing service - where they hand-wash your car and really go to town on making sure your vehicle is truly spotless both inside and out - can get pricy, but it's totally worth it if your vehicle is really dirty or if you just want a human to clean your car from start to finish. Also, the hand-washing service is separate from the general car washing line, so if timing is an issue, paying a bit more can reduce how long you wait depending on the time of day.

The general car wash is quick and easy, though they will vacuum and give the interior a cursory wipedown. Once the car is washed, it is hand-dried. Total turnaround time is less than 15-20min. I've done this during those sessions where my car wasn't that dirty beyond a coating of dirt and dust from the lack of rain.

There's a gas station here as well, but boy is the gas expensive! I get it, given the location in SF, but I rarely do more than a half-tank if I really needed to bring the dial away from the 'E'.

All the staff are friendly and helpful.

Overall, I really like this car wash! They get really busy so it can be hard to time a visit, but you won't be disappointed in...