South City Car Wash

South San Francisco, United States

3.1

Closed now

20 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 650-589-1214
Website:
southcitycarwash.com
Address:
988 El Camino Real, South San Francisco, CA, 94080
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.6 miSouth San Francisco
2.1 miSan Bruno
2.6 miRental Car Center
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Today

Today 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (South San Francisco) 18:08 Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Description

Specialties

South City Car Wash is a family owned and operated car wash and detail center. We are the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier full service car wash. We provide full service washes for cars, trucks, SUVs, 4x4s, and even limos, as well as hand waxes, interior and exterior dressing, interior protection service for your cars fabric, and full detailing. South City Car Wash can also do engine and chassis steam cleaning. Some of our more popular packages include the California Gold and the Aloha Special– a full car wash with exterior dressing and a tire air pressure check. We use very high quality products including turtle wax soaps and special shampoos. Every car is rinsed with reverse osmosis spot free rinse using water that is 75% recycled through new technologies. We look forward to cleaning and detailing your car today. Come to South City Car Wash for the best car wash on the peninsula!

History

Established in 1958.

South City Car Wash has been family owned and run since 1958. The family atmosphere extends throughout the business, and many of our employees have been with us for decades. We value our customers and get to know each and every one of them, as they’re a part of the South City Car Wash family that keeps us working happily day in and day out! We are members of the international, national and western car wash associations, the Better Business Bureau and the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. We have a gift shop to occupy your time during your short wait.

Meet the Business Owner

Bob C.

Business Owner

Owner Bob C. loves getting to know the customers of South City Car Wash. He knows the beauty of a car that is left bright and shiny after a good wash, and he’ll make sure your automobile looks brand new after a visit to South City. With years of experience in the business, Bob knows how to make any car sparkle. He and his team work like a family and are friendly, enthusiastic and passionate about serving customers!

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20 reviews of South City Car Wash

No registration required
Place rating: 1
South Lake Tahoe, CA
We went here earlier, and thereafter I noticed that there’s scratches back of my car and at the roof. I called their number and I was transferred to a supervisor and they told me to go there to check and she said she’s sure that the scratch is not because of them. They’re about to close couldn’t drop by right away within the day. My 1st time here and will not come back again as my experience here is horrible, the scratches is not from anywhere I just went with u guys and my car got scratched, it is unacceptable. this is a brand new car. You guys need to do something with these damages.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
I got my car wash here one time. It wasn’t bad. It was definitely really clean on the exterior. In the interior, there were some spots where I think they could’ve done a better job at cleaning, but it wasn’t bad. I think the price is the fairest price in town for a decent job. Everywhere else is on the expensive side, and you get the same result.
Place rating: 5
South San Francisco, CA
Awesome clean feeling! Give your car a spa sometime! Buy a package to save and don’t forget to tip your guy! Great job!
Place rating: 5
Pacifica, CA
Great service, comfy couch, 5 tv, FREE wi-​fi and FREE specialty coffee! What else can you ask for?
Place rating: 3
South San Francisco, CA
Hello Bob,
Thanks for replying. I didn’t see you reply until now since Unilocal doesn’t give me any notification. My first and only car wash in your place is on 8⁄6. I found out those paint got off right after the car wash when I got home. I didn’t go back because I believe nothing will be solved :(
I just move to here from LA. In LA I used to pay for hand-​wash car wash, and it worked perfectly for my car. It’s my first and only time to do a machine cleaning car wash. I believe the water from the machine was too strong to scratch off the paint. After this car wash I didn’t do any kind of car wash, because I can’t find a hand-​wash car wash around the area.
If you are still happy to take a look, I can stop by anytime since I just live next to the car wash. Thanks
Place rating: 5
Millbrae, CA
She looks better than when I drove her off the showroom floor!
Great work detailing. Thank you. She really needed the pampering
Stop in here. Fantastic work!
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
The inside of the car got a wipe down but, somehow they missed quite a few areas. Somewhat disappointed for paying 30.00.
Place rating: 5
San Lorenzo, CA
Not cheap, but well worth it in my opinion. Full service car wash that has a lot of employees, some of which have been here a very long time. The place is well-​maintained with frequent upgrades to the wash equipment as well as the facility itself. Big screen TVs and free coffee and wi-​fi in the waiting area, which has been recently upgraded. Oh yeah, and it’s fun to watch your car go through the wash.
Oh yeah and don’t be cheap, bring a few extra bucks to give to the guys that wipe down your car, they do a good job.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
I have to start by saying I have never felt the need to write a bad review until now. I live close to this particular car wash and frequent this location. I must even say the car washes are great and the front desk staff has always been 5 stars. However, the reason I am so upset is because of the car wash staff’s vulgar comments. Today, I went to the car wash with my small dog. As I was walking to the waiting area, the cleaning staff «assumed» I don’t speak or understand Spanish and made dirty comments involving my dog the entire time I stood uncomfortably waiting. I haven’t felt so uncomfortable in such a long time. I made sure to let one of the staff know that I understood their vulgar comments and didn’t appreciate them assuming I wouldn’t understand. Unfortunately, I no longer feel comfortable bring my car to this business…
Place rating: 1
South San Francisco, CA
I will NEVER be going back to this car wash. Prior to coming to this car wash I went for a manicure, I took my 2 rings off & put them in the cup holder in the center console. I forgot they were there when I arrived at the car wash. I remembered the rings & where I put them when I got home. Well needless to say they were gone. Someone at that car wash stole them. They lost a regular customer over «fakes» the rings were not real (thank god) & cost less than 50 bucks. I will never give my business to people who are dishonest & steel !!!
Place rating: 1
Pinole, CA
Terrible. Not friendly and kind of argumentative. Seemed disorganized and not accommodating with special requests or needs at all. Had to sit through 15 minutes of the employee complaining about her personal/​family issues, just hoping they would be quiet and try being professional. The car was very dirty, looked like they ran it through the washer and did nothing else. Uploaded a picture of the dirty interior after the «wash and interior clean» Not coming back!
Place rating: 5
San Mateo, CA
Awesome place to come get your car washed. They do it all! And they do it great! Service and staff are amazing. I drive all the way here from San Mateo and its worth it!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Really great job they do. And if there’s something you want a touch up on, they are very happy to help and to please you.
They are here doing this business because they love this and that’s a great thing.
All the staff are friendly, passionate and happy to do this work.
And the manager Frank is a class act and is probably the reason the staff are so good at and happy to do there work.
I like going to a place that has happy staff and good energy, makes me feel happy and satisfied to support such a business.
Place rating: 1
San Carlos, CA
Bad service. Waited 30 mn only to find out that they wouldn’t wash my car.
Wish they would have told me that when I got there and saved my time.
Place rating: 2
South San Francisco, CA
They never seem to clean thoroughly and since the prices aren’t necessarily «cheap», they need to do a better job. Bugs still left of my windshield and grille and dash and side panels dirty. The only reason I come here and give them 2 stars is because the convenience of the location.
Place rating: 4
Union City, CA
GREAT care while cleaning/​washing. They hand clean/​dry and machine wash. We do the gold package which is 28 $ which is pretty expensive for this car wash.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Today I came in for a wash and a «special project» for the guys. An elderly relative had an unfortunate accident in my front seat of my Prius and it had to be cleaned immediately. Well not only did they do an incredible job of cleaning that foul mess, but they went over and above my expectations and detailed the front end of my vehicle at no extra charge! Im very impressed and would recommend South City Car Wash to everyone! Thanks guys!
P. S. Bob the owner was kind enough to respond to my first review and tried to resolve an issue I had which has since been resolved. He’s always in tune with his customers!
Thanks Bob!
Place rating: 2
Pacifica, CA
I tried this place once, paying $ 75 for a premium service. After 45 minutes the car was still not done. They had it sitting alone, waiting for the «one» guy who was charged with the special service. I ended up stopping the work and complaining to the manager.
Weak, slow service.
Place rating: 1
Daly City, CA
by far the worst experience EVER.
I brought 2 of my cars yesterday. both needed more vacuuming inside& trunk… rims were still dirty… dash still had the same amount of dust… cup holders never touched! when I told the guy to redo the inside& rims he said hes working on another car and that my cars took too long to clean…
Westlake carwash might be a bit of a drive for me but if they can get the job done that’s where I’m going
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Needing to steam wash my dad’s 28 year old car’s engine, I brought it here, the nearest place that does this work. With rising rents and a shrinking City, there is no place that makes financial sense for this line of business in SF. Most customers, both local residents and company fleets, bring their vehicles for common car wash or detailing needs.
Our request is unusual as most want gas guzzling dinosaurs off the road. My dad enjoys his car for its comfort, safety, and ‘a smooth riiiiiide’.
We dropped off the car around 11 am and were told to return around 2 on for this special work. Arriving a little early, we watched them put the finishing touches on our car. As they tried to position it, they were unable to start it. Fortunately, there is a neighboring mechanic who inspected but was unable to get it started. Turns out the clean exposed the various engine and oil leaks besides shorting some of the circuits, certainly not SC Wash’s fault.
Long story short, dad’s classic is now home and ready for a trip to my dad’s next destination. Moral of the story: what you don’t know can hurt you… especially on the pocketbook!