Adams Ave Car Wash

DIY car wash with lots of washing options. The hoses work fine, the soap is bubbly, and the lots are spacious.
Admittedly, it is a bit run down, but that shouldn’t really matter if you’re only there for 30 minutes and everything works fine.
The main problem I had was that the vacuums are terrible. The suction power is very low. In addition, to pay for the vacuums, you need to get a token from a machine that only accepts bills (maybe credit cards?), but not loose change. $ 1 buys you one token, which gets you 5 minutes of poor suction. As we all know, poor suction is always terrible.

Only reason I come to this DIY car was is because its the only one my girlfriends lowered 350 Z can get into that’s near by. The pressure from the spray gun is mediocre at best. The foam sealer/​protection spray doesn’t foam very well or spray out well. took me two minutes just to cover the car. Another negative in my opinion is that they only accept tokens so please bring exact change or single dollars because you may end up with extra tokens that are only good for this car wash. Price is ok for a DIY place.

My first experience here was memorial day weekend. Im actually from sacramento, so after a weekend vacation in vegas i came back to Normal Heights and it had been raining while i was gone. I told my buddy that i wanted to wash my car and clean it up before my long drive back home. I was specific in asking him where i could find a self service car wash. He mentioned this place, and informed me it might be a little pricey if i dont have any cash. I went ahead anyway and used my card expecting to pay the full price. And it was worth every god damn penny! Took me about 20 minutes to do what i wanted to do, going through the various options this self serve car wash offers… which is pretty extensive. High pressure washed, foamed brushed, soap splatter stuff, then another high pressure wash, followed by clear coat protection, then a wax to top it off had my car looking brand new just off the lot. In fact this car wash was so good i have been looking all over sacramento for one just like it, unfortunately with no luck. I would pay top dollar for this self service anyday of the week. and believe me im very anal about keeping my Black 99′ Mustang Cobra Convertible clean. Youre all just a bunch of whiney bitches. Ok wait, i lied. One downside… No way to dry your car. They need an air pressure hose so you can remove the water. Sadly i didnt remove the water off my car and by the time i made it back to sacramento, the blazing sun had burned water spots into the beautiful wash job i had just done. But still, outstanding service, with more options than you need if you know what youre doing.

Adams Ave Car Wash is the DIY car wash company. There are a good amount of wash and vacuum stations. Prices are reasonable (pending your method of payment) and I like the wash options they offer. As long as you know how to hustle through a car wash and bring cash, this is a perfect place to go. However, the average person should not have to worry about hustling their own car wash experience. For example, if you pay with card, you’re going to get charged the max amount. If you are not familiar with this particular car wash place, you may accidentally pay for a station is out of order or at the least, being fixed. Sometimes there are signs indicating what is not working, other times you need to notice it for yourself. Also, sometimes the vacuum stations don’t work and you’d never know ahead of time. Overall, AA Car Wash is worth going to when it’s all working perfectly. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case and for the average customer, you are better off going somewhere else. I’d only recommend coming here if you are quick and pay with cash.

I went for a self car wash about two days ago. I paid with my debit card, and the machine displayed it would charge me $ 3.25. I checked my bank statement this morning, and they charged me $ 20!!! What the heck?! I should have went somewhere else where I could get my car washed and vacuumed for me. Don’t call the number displayed here in Unilocal; the guy that answers is super rude and «pretends» to not know what I’m talking about. I told him that his number is on Unilocal,and didn’t seem to care. Seems very shady to me. Bring cash if you want to wash your car yourself at this location. I’m calling my bank to dispute the charges.

Negative stars would be more appropriate.
I was also swindled by the machine. I was overcharged for using my card. The machine stated $ 3, then I swiped my card. My bank statement reflected $ 20. Jerks.
I have attempted to call the owner and I get hung up on every time. If you don’t want people to call, don’t have the number listed. Duh.
I will be reporting to the BBB and my bank to dispute the charges.

don’t typically pay much attention to where I have my car washed. I am not a car fanatic and have never found that there is much difference between car washes. When I am out doing errands and notice, my car needs to be washed I swing into a convenient car wash on my route. After going to this car wash, I am going to be more picky about the car washes I go to. This car wash was not busy at all which should have been an indicator to pick another one. After pulling in I, realized it was not only more expensive than I am used to paying but it also seemed that the employees were apathetic. After pulling my car into the bay and having it washed an employee went to hand dry my mirrors. He used a dirty, greasy rag that left oil all over my side mirrors. When I mentioned this to him, he just continued to dry using the same rag.

If there were zero or negative stars, that’s how I would rate this car wash, which has problem after problem after problem. Today is just another example of how bad a business this place is. Last time I was here, their system overcharged my charge card, so I vowed never to use a charge card again. So today I was going to use cash because their machines generally work okay. I see a sign that reads, «No quarters; tokens only.» So I use my charge card again. I swipe it, and the machine starts up as usual. This time, however, there was no water pressure! Just a trickle, then nothing, then a trickle, then nothing. This happened on all of the settings I tried (pre-​rinse, rinse, etc). So then I see a sign to leave a note under the front door when there are technical issues. Guess what? THERE IS NO DAMN DOOR BECAUSE THERE IS NO DAMN BUILDING. Once again, the owner is IMPOSSIBLE TO GET A HOLD OF. I HATE THIS BUSINESS WITH AN UNDYING PASSION AND WILL NEVER GO BACK — EVER — EVER — EVER — EVER — EVER AGAIN. I will dispute this charge on my credit card — AGAIN — because I was UNABLE TO WASH MY CAR. I wish this car wash would go out of business so bad because it has one of the most incompetent business owners I’ve ever encountered.

The bill change dispenser took my money. No one answered the phone number listed. there is no one on site contact. Using the bill change dispenser to get tokens is the only way to do the equipment

This place gets really packed and people form long lines making you rush and feel very uncomfortable.
BRING CASH!!! Preferably one dollar bills and quarters! As be told the credit option should not be trusted.

The pay machines are kind of confusing but the washing spaces are big and their tools get the job done so I would go back again.

First off I’d like to say this is a self serve car wash! That means you are in control! All of these people posting bad reviews may not fully understand how one of these works.
To start off I do enjoy washing and detailing my car. Usually every other week. And I spend a full 2 to 3 hours doing it each time. If you want your cars paint to last and your ride to shine this is the work you must put in.
There are several pros and cons that have led to my 4 star review.
Pros:
1.It does what it says. Washes your car. There’s no catches or gimmicks. You pay for how much you want your car washed.
2. All of the equipment works.
3. The extra goods station has always been stocked and never empty when if have been there.
4. It’s clean. I’m not sure who maintains this lot but I have been to several car washes that looked as though they’ve never been up kept.
Now for the cons.
1. If you do your wash right and take your time it can be a little pricey.
2. The knob to select your wash options doesn’t always register that you’ve turned it to stop.(Bit of advice to others just turn it back and forth on stop til you see it flash. That when it stops. DO NOT WALK AWAY.)
3. The brushes could be replaced a little more often to keep them within their life span.
All in all I have never had a bad experience that has led me to not want to go here or to have to try to contact the owner. I would recommend this place ¹⁰⁄₁₀ times. No doubt.

ummm i didn’t have some of the problems others are describing. the machines DO take cash — $ 1 and $ 5 bills. the vacuum only takes coins. So yea, bring $ 1 bills. one token sufficed to vacuum my car, which was cool…
but the thing is — i came here to save money. i thought $ 5 to wash it myself and $ 1 to vacuum, right? WRONG. 9 minutes is what you get for $ 5 and that is not enough to rinse, soap, scrub, condition, and polish… i spent $ 10 total and did all the work myself. i’d rather pay $ 3 more and sit inside listening to music. jus sayin.
i recommend the wash at 35^th and El Cajon… they close early and that’s the reason i ended up here.

I’m not sure how people are giving such lower ratings to a place where you self-​wash your own car. It’s generally not busy (avoid Saturday afternoons), and if you love your car, then nothing beats washing it yourself.
Yes, the credit card system doesn’t magically know when you’ve stopped — be sure you move the dial to STOP after you’re done, and you won’t get charged $ 10! That’s user error, and no fault of the wash.

Decent facility for an acceptable price. This place is solid.
Credit is the only way to roll. The future is now…
And hey, rotating ceiling arm hose, you are awesome, thanks!

…i realize this is long, but stick with it, ifya don’t learn something, at least you’ll getta laugh!
A wash, and a vacuum… but todays entertainment — –FREE!
That guy offering to «detail» your car, cheap, wasnt there today, but a different guy cruised in and hit up everyone at the place… claiming to «get that dent out right now» or «fix your scratches for $ 50.» $ 50? to pull a dent, to fix some scratches? You crazy!
UhOhhhhh…a taker? A woman with a minivan and two small children. She says «no $ 50 is too much, i’ll giveya $ 20.» His «hustler”-type reply „no no i’ll get BOTH of those dents out right now for $ 50.“ She says no i only can only do $ 20.» …and so they agreed that if he made the first dent come out decent they’d take it from there.
Now a part of me wanted to tell the woman with the minivan she should probably NOT let the guy possibly mess her vehicle up worse than it currently was (the dents were small), but i’m not one to knock someone elses hustle, nor am i one to stick my nose in business that does not involve me personally. So i continued doing my thing, drying the car, paying minimal attention to what was going on… until the end; when the «entertainment» really started to kick in.
He says, «ok, all set, but i gotta get going so can i get that $ 20 now.» AWWWWW man!!! The minivan woman — -hands the guy a FIVE! He says «no no no we agreed on $ 20.» The minivan woman says «sorry, all i got is FIVE.» He says «Cmon lady, we agreed on $ 20, i used more than $ 5 worth of product onya car.»
Now i’m thinking — -HMMMMMMM who hustled who here??? Not everyday ya see the WOMAN with the minivan, hustle the MAN who claims he can move mountains!
Again, minding my business, i hop in the car and proceed to pull it over to the vacuum area and as i park i look over to see them still «talking», but now there’s another woman in the mix. Hold up — -i think; where’d she come from?
Then, i realize, she’s with the hustling dent fixing fellow… and, i’m assuming the minivan woman stayed put on her FIVE instead of TWENTY dollars… because, that other woman that was with the guy… as the minivan started up and began speeding away outta the car wash lot; proceeded to SPIT on the minivan and start yelling as they sped off — –then, she hopped in the truck with the hustlin fellow and they too, sped off after the minivan!!!
Moral of the story: A. Ifya want a dent fixed, takeya car to a body shop… and B. Ifya want free entertainment, look no further than the Adams Ave car wash!
…you bring the chips, i’ll bring the green tea and a blunt, maybe a few lawn chairs, we’ll go kick it on Adams Ave sometime!
EDIT: ⁷⁄₂₀₁₅ — Some car wash tips and etiquette:
1) When ya done washing, PULL UP out of the wash bay to dry! Be considerate maaaaan!
2) Nobody wants to hear you bumpin ya music but you! Can you even hear your own music over the vacuum?
3) There are TRASH CANS everywhere! USE THEM!
4) Rinse, wash/​scrub, rinse. Its that simple.
5) Use tokens, not a card!
6) No, i dont have change for a $ 20, try the post office across the street.
7) Wash FAST, save $$$! If youre super quick you can get it washed for $ 3, but $ 4 is my average. Dont let that time run out, otherwise its $ 3 to get it started back up, when you may have only needed a $ 1’s worth of time. Damn i hate it when that happens!
PS. I never did see that ‘dent fixer’ guy again.

Its a car wash, by the time you are done, might as well have taken it to those $ 12 hand wash places. Vacuums arent strong enough in my opinion. It stays busy, and like the neighborhood and surrounding restaurants and shops.
I wash my car at home, so I just go here when i need a vacuum. My incentive to vacuum out my car? Viva Pops on the same block.

I come here every other week; it’s way too difficult to give my car a real wash.
Don’t bother messing around with the tokens if possible. I think a lot of Unilocalers pain and suffering could be alleviated by using a credit card. Swipe your card for the wash; it’ll read «$ 3.00» and it increases in increments of 25 cents. Not that it matters; I use the car wash as practice for my future NASCAR pit stop career and just wash that baby AS FAST AS I CAN. Get ‘er done under $ 3.00.

Worst car wash ever.
First of all, if you don’t have cash on you, you’re screwed. They only take dollar bills, and you have to do that bullshit where you change your bills for car wash tokens. If you only have a $ 20, you basically have to either get $ 20 in car wash tokens, or you need to run to a neighboring business to get change for your Hamilton. They don’t have a change machine to break down your large bills. Being that I live in the neighborhood and I figured I’d probably return to wash my car (even though the place blows), I went ahead and got that $ 20 worth of tokens, and I stashed them in my car’s ash tray. To my surprise, sometime between my last visit and yesterday, they changed the size of the tokens! So those extra ones I had lying in my ash tray are no longer valid, since they don’t fit into the slots. Bogus, and frankly, kinda shady.
Additionally, the place is pretty run down and there’s always suspicious looking characters just loitering around the property. I definitely don’t feel safe leaving my doors wide open while I vacuum my whip.
The North Park self car wash is just down the way… so I’ll hit that joint next time instead.
Adams Avenue Car Wash, you’re dead to me.

Wow, the reviews for this place are pretty harsh. A friend of mine referred me here, so I went. Maybe its the time of day, I went before 9am. Other than the googely eyed guys washing their truck staring at me vacuuming, I had no problems. No one was loitering, everyone was doing their own thing.
The vacuums are great, they really do a great job of cleaning. I wish they would let you use quarters instead of having to get their dollar tokens, but its fine. I am not very coordinated with the washing part. These swings above are supposed to help you maneuver the brush that is projectile vomiting this marshmallow soap on your vehicle, which I constantly almost tripped over. But the spray is awesome, they have the best water pressure I’ve ever used at one of these places.
They charge $ 3 for 5min, which is all the cash I had in my wallet. I made a crazy plan of attack, dropped the cash and hustled. Then the brush (that I’m convinced in a total conspiracy to cost you more time) goes and I’m rushing around. Then I check the clock, 1.45 min left, then I grab the spray and go for it. I have a civic, this shouldn’t be hard, right? I’m spraying and this foam is taking forever to spray away. Half way through, the beeps starts warning, I’m like no, no, no. I’m rounding the corner toward the driver side door… I’m ready for the last leg of this and… I’m out of time. Damn. Left with one half of my car pink with foam. So I reluctantly used my card (which is a great feature but I I didn’t want to have to use it), figured I had another 5 min so I finished her off and then thought why not, did a «wax» and a spotless rinse.
It did the trick, if I wasn’t rushing I probably wouldn’t be driving the streaky car I am now, but it is an improvement from before. I just checked my account and they only pulled out the $ 3, wish they gave receipts, but I think the key is to make sure to check your watch and make sure to put it on stop when you finsh.
I would go back, that time of day is nice and no one is really there.