Tower Car Wash

COVID-19 Services

because even during Covid Times you still want your ride looking nice ...

This is only my 2nd time at Tower - I usually went to Divisadero Car Wash or another favorite of mine in Fremont - but with Div Car Wash no longer an option I came here instead because I needed to get the T-Bird detailed. It was going into an indoor parking structure until times change and we need 2 cars again. Since it was parked on the street for several months it needed a good external detailing before I slipped the newly ordered car cover over it's smooth alabaster skin.

Tower did a good job of the external detailing. Not as good as one of the higher end places, but it was less expensive - I paid $199 for the Clay and HandWax package. I wanted the interior detailed too, but that would have been another $140 to detail the interior of a 2 seater! No break given for smaller cars even though they charge more for larger cars.

Overall the exterior detailing was good. I was relatively happy with the results relative to the price I paid. There were a few minor complaints but again, I chose to pay $199 vs $400 or more at a specialty detailing shop. You go to a car wash for detailing and you get a car was level detail job.

The interior and trunk vacuum was ok, but there were a couple things they missed. So a little disappointing there.

And there just isn't much room to wait around. Even with the car wash you are going to be there for 15 minutes and with a detail we are talking over 90 minutes. There was 1 bench and if someone else was on it ....

On the plus side side I had plenty of time to explore the neighborhood and wandered over to a nearby skate park to watch the future Tony Hawks.

Another positive is the little cafe inside (The Tower Cafe). I ordered a crepe and it was tasty. But that is a separate review coming later.

Will I come back? Probably. But there just are not very many car wash choices left in SF.

COVID-19 Safety Precautions
- Small Staff - all wearing masks and gloves
- Plexiglass barrier at the register
- Customers required to wear masks when in store
- no enforcement of masks in the outdoor waiting area
- several people took masks off to talk on the phone while I was there
- Contactless payment
- Hand sanitizer available at register

Coming back to this review to remove a star. What's changed, you ask?

The last couple of times I've come here for either a detailed hand-washing or a quick general car wash, I've noticed that lots of blue bits from their drying rags (all microfiber cloth, from what I can tell) are all over my car wherever they hand-dried. At first I thought this was a one-time fluke, but the last four visits I've been forced to use my own cloths to wipe away the blue bits from their cloth when I got home.

I don't know if others have noticed this on their cars, or if others care - but since my vehicle is black, the bits of drying cloth really stand out for me.

I have just spent $189 for the detailing of my car.
Worst service I have had in my life.
Complete waste of money, the car is still dirty.

I pull over, guy comes to me, just to confuse me if I wanted a hand wash, car wash, machine wash. Im like, dude, I need a car wash that includes the rims. Guys says, well, do you only want the rims cleaned? I'm like really?, He answers: you would be surprised I had a guy come to get jus the rims cleaned. I said, Im not that guy, can you wash my car? Guy says, well I do not know what wash you want you have to choose, gives me a paper with 6 options to wash my cars, just to confuse me more, I said I came here before and I want the same thing, he said, let me check your plate # to see what you got last time. Comes back with no info. Gives me the paper and says I have to choose, now I have to think on a Saturday. I choose the deluxe.
Inside...
I go to pay, I pull $4.50 change from my car thinking I never use this change anymore, meters take cards and Gpay and I have no use for it so It tell the cashier, please use the $4.50 in change as part of payment and charge the remaining $46 on the card, she looks at me says what is this? I said these are Susan B Anthony $1 coins, she says oh, I never scene them before I said so, its US currency, She said nooo, I cant accept them so at that point I was like, of course you won't because you work for the guy who could not sell me a simple car wash.
I pay with card.
Outside:
They call my car, it looked good, I tip the guy with guess what, Susan B Anthony dollars. I go to my next stop, I see that the back window was half cleaned and that they forgot one of their blue towels in my passenger side.

What is really goin on? Is it training? Is it workers who do not want to think? Is it the lack of ownership presence while expecting things to be good. Well things are not good, this is the 2nd time I am disappointed in this place and I keep it real usually.
Thanks

Unfortunately this car wash is no longer touchless, which was the whole reason I went there in the first place. $40 for a hand wash? No problem... but the machine really doesn't bode well for your cars paint.

I never said something when I paid $47 but today I paid $99.99 and their job finish like this , really bad service, so don't waste your money at this place ...

I was really surprised that this place was still here because i heard they sold the property,and i think they are putting up condos? I haven't been here in 100 years, Lmao! For how long the lines can get, they are really fast here, and they do a great job in detailing your car.
I know it's a short review,but that's all there is to say about this car wash place,lol oh the workers here were really nice.
Thanks for reading my review.
~Lizzie~

Used to get my car washed here regularly, and they always did a great job. After an absence of several months (for various reasons), I went back, only to discover that the wash is no longer "touchless", which was the main reason I went there in the first place. I'm sorry to say that, because they now use spinning (and possibly abrasive) brushes, I will no longer patronize them.

Had a basic car wash ($39.99) here and even though I was satisfied with the wash, I was a little frustrated after seeing a chip on my windshield. I would know that it wasn't there before the car wash because I look at my dash cam each time I start my car, and that's when I noticed it.

I suppose it happens in any traditional drive thru car wash but oh well. I won't come back. I then recommend going to Castro Car Wash instead where they wash your car by hand. Long as the interior of your car isn't super dirty, you can avail their basic wash for $45.

I used to go to this place religiously for the past 10 years as it was a hand was for about $45 and they did a great job.

I went this past week and paid and walked into the cafe and to my surprise - there was no hand wash anymore. The people had been replaced by rotating brushes. I ran back out and asked and he said a hand was was now $80. What a rip off. I tried to get a refund but too late - won't be coming back anymore.

Also - it took forever to get the car dried as it looks like they've cut a lot of positions.

I wish I could write a good review here as this is one of the last surviving Car washes in the city. Gone are the days of professional cleaning. My car came out of the washer and there was dirt all along the bottom of the car and I said "hey there is still dirt all on the bottom". The guy wiped it with his hand and said oh that's grease- it won't come out. I said I think it will- it has before. He said well we can run it through again. I said yes please. It came out better- but not much. I still had to finish the rest at home and it was simple to come off with Simple Green cleaner. After a $50 wash I would have expected a little more thorough job. It's a shame- the folks that work there are fine- they just need some guidance and a manager on site to see the work getting done.