The Wash – Hand Car Wash Cafe

Pamper yourself (and your car). Their hand detailed car wash is the best in the state. Sit back and relax while the staff take care of your car (cleaning it inside and out). Enjoy your complimentary coffee and have a bite to each from their extensive food menu. A little on the pricey side for a car wash but when compared to detailing services it’s well worth every dollar. From my experience the whole process takes around 45 minutes.

Life’s too short to wash your own car but when someone else washes it, it needs to be good. We’ve been taking both cars to The Wash for years and very rarely does it not meet our expectation.
Some might say $ 50+ for a car wash is expensive but when you see 3 – 4 staff washing your car and the final result is better than you could do in triple the time, it’s worth it. We often bring the dogs here and sit outside with a coffee and the paper. If not, we’ll stroll up Unley Rd for a bite to eat or a quick shop while we wait 45mins for our car to be finished.
Above all, I love that the manager provides us with recommendations to care for our car. Every now and then (I assume when we need it), he’ll recommend a deeper polish or a better wax or a carpet shampoo. It might just be upwelling but it seems genuine and its obvious he doesn’t do it to everyone, every time.

Still one of the best full service car washes around, I drive out of my way to get my car washed here. My car was extremely muddy yesterday and now it is sparkling clean.
They are also reasonably fast considering the thorough clean given. Beware however, of long lines on a sunny weekend day.

To my friends, I am the guy who NEVER washes his car! Usually a solid storm is the closest my car sees to being shiny bright, and I wont even start to tell you about the horror story that is my cars interior… that one only gets ‘an empty’ when I have to drive my girlfriends parents somewhere!
I have broken with my non-​wash pride recently to test out The Wash… both because I just love to Unilocal and also because they are the major sponsor of my Bowling Club!
Anywho, long story short, car washed, girlfriend happy, scott doesn’t sleep on the couch… everyones a winner! Who knows what The Wash could do for world peace?!

Car washes are few and far between in my area. I remember the day when nearly every service station had its own drive through. Now days there are just a handful in the city and very few in the suburbs.
My closest is the BP in Belair. I drove here on Tuesday only to find is closed for renovations. My only alternative was West Terrace and Payneham Road, Payneham. Given I was short on time, I found myself at The Wash on Unley Road. This is my second visit and while detest paying $ 50 for somebody to wash my Corolla hatchback, they do an excellent job. It is extremely busy at all times of the day however you can sit in the café (with reasonable coffee) and watch sports on the big screen TV.
Tuesday at 11 AM my car took 40 min from start to finish. I used the time to walk to the Unley Shopping Centre to collect shoes being reheeled and go to the post office. Around $ 47 (option 3) got me an exterior washed, windows done inside and out and an interior vacuumed, however I was disappointed to later discover that my boot hadn’t been done, even though I had specifically ask for it. If you’re not happy you can return within 24 hours, but I really didn’t have the time.
The next option up — Option 4 at $ 57 includes a boot vacuum or they just could have charged me the extra $ 5 or $ 6 to get it done. I would have paid extra, I just really needed it done. Thank goodness for the Dustbuster.

When water restrictions were in full force a year or so ago, a plethora of car washes sprung up all around the country. My fave though would have to be The Wash Hand Car Wash Café on Unley Road at Malvern (or as a friend of mine calls it «too posh to wash»). Don’t get the wrong idea though, while there is the odd BMW being detailed, my little hatchback isn’t out of place in the mix. Did I mention that washing my car is one of my least favourite chores in life. Besides I feel like I’m doing the right thing by the environment by having my car washed by the pros … well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. If you like that excuse too, then this is the place for you.
What I like about The Wash is that I can sit down in a quiet space and have a coffee while I wait for my car to get all sparkling clean. The coffee isn’t the best coffee in the world but at least it’s coffee.
The Wash offer a range of different cleaning types for your car … there’s a number 1 for $ 30 that’s a basic clean, polish and protect, right up to the high end detailing at the other end of the scale. I’m guessing that’s what Mr BMW goes with!
You know that old saying about «it must be going to rain because I just washed my car»? There’s no need to worry about that with these guys because if it rains within 24 hours of you having your car washed, all you need to do is show them your receipt and they’ll wash it again for you — on the outside only of course. They also claim that if you’re not satisfied with the result of your wash, you can bring your car back within 24 hours and they’ll re-​do it.