Brown Bear Car Wash

Fast and affordable. This place gets the job done if you’re looking for a basic wash to keep your car looking clean.

Absolute jerks! I drove the long way from Woodinville to get a car wash and fueled up with them so I could. They closed as I was fueling up. When I said something the guys was an ass and just said sorry, can’t do anything for you!!! What the hell happened to service??? I understand 10 min, but not 3min! What a waste of my time and energy to come all the way out here. Will never make that mistake again!

Had to go through twice as the first time was bellow par. Staff were rude, short tempered, unhelpful. Won’t ever come back

The only place I will wash my car. I love their new, updated car washes!

5 stars just for Joe. He was the only one working. He was taking payment and scrubbing the cars in a tie! He defiantly deserves a pay increase! Thanks Joe!

Well, I needed a car wash and so I came here because it was close. I can’t imagine how a car wash would be much different from one place to another, but this place got the job done at the lowest cost with nothing extra added. There’s really no point in getting the extra options because even the cheapest one will completely clean the exterior of your car.
Prices AFTER Washington State’s 9.5% sales tax are seven dollars for the cheapest one, ten dollars for some more stuff, and thirteen dollars for the best one. In all honesty, you only need the cheapest one for seven dollars. It drops down to six dollars if you had an eight-​gallon minimum fill-​up at the adjoining Chevron gas station, like that one dollar is going to make much of a difference. There’s also a mini-​mart and a bear statue here. I guess that’s enough to warrant a four-​star rating.

My car is lowered and doesn’t fit some car washes.
I took it here, and spoke with the guy guiding me onto the rail that I needed him to tell me if it was too low. He nodded and then looked and wave me forward. My bumper hit the rail and he kept waving me forward. I stopped when I heard it dragging and he said «you’re fine». I stopped and reversed and tore half my bumper off.

Used to be our favorite– now this location has ripped off our front license plate! The manager could not care less!
Multiple other cars had mangled or ripped off plates as well.
If you decide to still use this car wash make sure to check that your front plate is still on your vehicle and not laying on the exit pavement. If it is off do not expect any help or regret from the manager.

No longer have free air :(
I stopped by today to utilize the free air pump but I was informed they no longer have this feature.

This place and several other locations need to seriously have an overhaul on their blowers at the end of the wash cycle, they are bending license plates and ripping them off of cars. My Fiancée’s vehicle, which is new, had her entire front plates and bracketing ripped away by the force of the wind. While I was there waiting to get the plate recovered from the wash area I saw 4 cars exit and all had bent front license plates, one looked like the plate scratched the bumper… that should not be happening.

This is my go-​to car wash. For an automated drive-​through wash, they do a pretty good job, and the prices are reasonable. I always get the least expensive option as I’ve heard from others that it doesn’t pay to get the add-​on options.
What I like: the guys who work here have always been super-​nice and helpful. They remember to take my magnets off my rear bumper and to retract my antennae (when I always forget). They are always friendly and seem to always be in a good mood (how is that possible?!!). They accept their $ 1 off coupons even if the coupons are long expired. I believe there’s a discount if you purchase gas here, too (although I never purchase gas here). The wash itself is pretty thorough. I’m not saying it’s equivalent to a hand-​wash job, but it’s pretty good, and totally worth the price. I like the set-​up with the vaccuum stalls outside, too. They work well and aren’t pricey. I believe going here is environmentally more friendly than washing your car yourself in your own driveway.
(Note: I’ve never used the self-​wash stalls here, so I can’t comment on them).
What can be improved: for some reason, whenever my car exits the drive-​through wash, it’s still pretty wet. The air dryer doesn’t thoroughly dry the car, windows, side mirrors or windshield. Sure, you can ask for a towel prior to entering the drive-​through, so when you exit, you have the means to dry off your car yourself. But if you forget to ask for the towel, you’re screwed. Also, be forewarned of the lay-​out of the exit area of this car wash: there are cars driving helter skelter through the lot here, jockeying for vaccuum stalls, self-​wash stalls, and going to and from the gas pumps, to and from the street exit. It can be pretty dicey exiting this car wash.

Don’t bother with the most expensive wash — it wasn’t any better than the cheap option. For that much cash, I should be ¾ of the way to a professional car wash, interior vacuuming, and hand towel-​dry, thank you — not worrying how to find a roll of quarters to operate their machines.

these guys do a very respectable job of washing my car. I have a funky tow-​hitch-​mounted license plate holder on the front of my car that gets bent up every time I go through, but it’s easy enough to fix. Do NOT go for the wax, because the last time I did that I ended up with bits of dried-​on wax here and there on my car that I had to scrape off later. Lame. Really, you want to do your car a favor and get some really nice Griot’s stuff to hand-​wash your car with over in one of the stalls, to prevent the dreaded swirl marks.

If you listen closely… you can hear a roar from the brown bear or it could be my tummy.
Brown Bear is thee convenient spot to clean your vehicle on the Eastside and get your gas filled up at the same time.
The car wash does a good job cleaning my cars plus the wheels. Only place I trust to clean my car and does a good job on my rims. Three different options to clean your car. Discounts if you get gas here. The staff is friendly and efficient.
The store has just the normal drinks and snacks but no hot deli so a minus star there.
If you like to wash your car manually, plenty of stalls on the right side to do it yourself. Standard air and vacuum in the back.
Tip: Ask the carwash attendant to hand you a clean wet towel so you can clean the inside of your car. Every anniversary they offer free carwashes so go early to get it done.

I have a white mini-​van and hubby a black car. They do an awesome job on both and it’s well work the price. The employees are always very nice and helpful.

Love the car wash! And they make you a discount if you buy some gas.

Great and Easy Location with Decent Prices for the Car Wash. The gas can be a little on the high side but is about average for most places of its caliber. You can also spray wash your car personally and vacuum it out.

Thanks for Brown Bear for their free car wash events! I even got a cute air freshener for free!

I bought a new car recently and find myself at the brown bear more often than in the past. I use the self-​service car wash, which costs me a total of (couting leftover quarters in pocket…) (oh dang, doing the subtraction…) $ 3.25. Just $ 3.25 for an awesome car wash.
It’s a typical self-​service car wash — no surprises. They have the sprayer with several modes, like warm high-​pressure soap, high-​pressure rinse, some kind of protective clear-​coat, etc. You pay by quarters, each buys you half a minute of sprayer time. I’ve seen self-​service brown bears where there’s a minimum of $ 2.00 (or something) at a time, which I find totally bogus. The Redmond location does not have this problem.
In addition to the sprayer, there’s a big broom-​like brush, which is free to use of course, but I always bring a bucket, sponge, and «absorber» towel. I find this saves me money and also stress — I can take my time. I never trust the broom-​brush to be totally clean, either.
They also have the vacuums nearby as you would expect. I haven’t used them at the Redmond location but I remember being disappointed at the brown bear in Seattle on NE 125^th Street. They’re not the space-​age super vacuums I remember from childhood.
The brown bear is cheap and convenient — everything you could ask for in a self-​service car wash. I will mention only one negative: the sprayer is annoying in that it takes a good 10 seconds for it to change modes after you move the dial. I noticed it more this time, when I moved directly between wash and rinse. Last time I turned the dial to «off» between each use and didn’t notice this problem as much. Maybe it makes a difference.

Usually, I will not let anybody or anything (other than a certified mechanic) touch my car. As in, I go for the touch-​free automatic laser wash to keep those meddling humans from messing up my driving machine.
But Brown Bear in Redmond is the one exception. These guys do it right. The car comes out looking clean, new, and sparkly as hell. Best part, whatever they put on there makes sure it *stays* clean. I have gotten the car washed here and then driven to Bellingham across dirt roads into a gravel parking lot, and the car is still sparkly clean.
And it’s better for the environment than most other washing techniques! Just love it! Buy tickets online at
ahead of time to save money.