I used to enjoy washing my cars a few years ago, but now I just find it a chore. I rarely wash my cars these days; it’s usually many months apart when I’ll wash them. My small first-gen Honda Insight I wash myself because it’s easy, but my Scion xB I will take it to a car wash place.
I actually don’t like going to car washes because they always try to up sell me, but it’s really a chore washing the xB and I figured that such places can do a better job getting rid of dirt and water spots. I normally get the standard $20 wash that includes wax. When it’s all done I’ll tip the guy who hand dried my car around $3-4. Recently I decided that I’d tip $5 because it looked like hard work and I’d thought that for this type of work the place probably doesn’t pay much.
Well, later I get home and noticed that the dryer didn’t do a very thorough job. There were water streaks and a waxy looking film in some areas that I assumed was from the spray-on wax. When I run my finger through it you can see that it’s some film left on the car. I was a bit annoyed, but not terribly upset. One reason I tipped a $5 was because I thought the dryer was working hard and maybe he deserved a good tip.
So anyway, how much do you guys normally tip? Is it based on how much you paid for the wash or how hard the dryer worked on your car? Do you inspect the car before tipping? Is $5 an adequate tip regardless of quality of work?
$0. I go to an automated carwash that is pretty thorough. It isn’t one like you see at gas stations. It is a dedicated automated car wash that is like a fairly long assembly line. It costs anywhere from $8 - $15 depending on the options you choose. There is an attendant that also does things like wheel cleaning if you order that but the whole process takes less than 5 minutes even if you order everything. High-powered blow dryers make quick work of any moisture at the end. I really want to own that place because it has to make a ton of money because it is always busy and very efficient year round.
I have had my car handwashed at fundraisers before but I don’t generally tip high school cheerleaders either. I probably would tip for an intensive detailing but I always do those myself.
zero, the advertised price is £15 for a full inside and outside clean and wax. The car is lined up and completed in strict “first-come-first served” order and always done to to high standard in about 30 minutes.
So I’m happy with the wash and wax and they seem happy with the £15, not sure where a tip comes into it.
If I get the cloth dry and the inside wipe down and vacuum, I tip. I don’t tip a lot, though. I give the guys two or three dollars apiece, depending on how many there are. Two or three guys, three bucks; more than three, two bucks.
I look around, and most people don’t tip, so I think that they’re happy to get anything. I tip in cash, so they can spend it and not have to worry about it. If they can buy a drink from the soda machine that day, and not hike over to the Dollar Store, then good enough.
They do a really good job for me, so I think the tip accomplishes the main goal from my point of view, which is making me a preferred customer.
$5. My understanding is that the tips go in a communal pot and are divided up at the end of the day.
Although, I am rather skeptical if those tips actually make it to the communal pot. But that’s not my problem. (I’d prefer they have a communal tip jar if that’s they way they’re going to do it. But whateves.)
No way am I tipping 25% on a $20 service, but spend your money however you please.
I never run my newer cars through a car wash. Even the soft touch places can nick paint and leave swirl marks that can linger no matter how well of a job the towel guy does.
My beater cars I run through the local Scrub-a-Dub on the cheapest wash of $4. I don’t tip anything on that. Sorry, but all the guy did was take my money and push a button and there is no towel service just a blow dry.
Also, I hate the concept of tips going into 1 kitty and then divided. When I tip I want to tip the person who did the work not everyone.
I’m actually a decent tipper at restaurants and such. But I still detest the concept of “mandatory” tipping.
Many of the foreign countries I’ve been to tipping is not expected and when there is tipping 10% is usually the ceiling. All of the cab drivers in Paris looked at me funny when I tried to tip them. In some countries a bill at restaurant will have a little box with the 10% amount figured out and a notation saying “gratuity optional”.
Being expected to tip a minimum of 15% is societal extortion and tipping 20 or 25% is a self imposed shake down.
In the case of car washes, the dynamic is a little different.
You got the guys that vacuumed, the guys that prepped, and the guys that wiped down your car.
Yet, the only guy getting handed a fiver, is the guy that wiped down your car. It doesn’t seem fair that he’s the only one getting a tip when others help contribute to the cleaning of your car.
For washes staffed by the usual ever-changing crew of teens and rehabbers, two bucks if they did a decent job without taking too long.
I had a regular place in CA that had a permanent staff of slightly older (25-50) Hispanic workers who got to know the customers and of course put an extra swipe and polish into the ones they knew. I tipped $2-3 for a quick wash but was quick to reach for a fiver when they did that extra bit of climbing around my van or SUV to get the corners and wipe down the door frames and such.
A good job and a quick wipe inside the doors and I’ll usually toss a fiver in the box. One where they basically just wave at me as I drive away and nothing.
I tip them all the same: Zip. But before you get upset about that read my prior posts saying I don’t use car washes like that to begin with. If my Vette needs to be cleaned I do it by hand. And the wash I take my old truck through, do you really think I should tip the guy who just pushes a button for a $4 car wash?
I do empathize with the OP, though. There is nothing fun about cleaning a car by hand.
Many supermarkets here have a bunch of East Europeans doing hand car washes. This is a properly set up business with good equipment. I have a medium sized car and pay £15 for a full inside and out valet - I could pay £20, but I am not sure what extra I get for that. I would not expect to tip, but then we don’t usually tip people for doing the job we pay them to do.
I usually get the 3-Star wash at the local place, which gets me wash, detailing and tire treatment. One guys does all the finish work after the wash, so he gets $5.
I don’t believe in tipping - I believe in over-tipping. Life is short. Don’t be a dick. Tip the guys that vacuums up your mess.
Travel outside the U.S. and you’ll see it’s not only not expected, 10% is usually the norm if it’s done at all. I tip well at restaurants and such, but only because it’s expected. My wife and I went out to dinner last night and with the bottle of wine our bill was $220. Can you imagine how shitty our service would be the next time we went there if I’d of only tipped $22?
I’m not tipping a guy who’s only job is to push a button to start the conveyor belt on a $4 car wash.
I won’t put my better cars through the washes that have mechanical brushes. I had a black Carrera once that I stupidly put through a “soft t:rolleyes:uch” car wash. Scratched the hell out of it and left swirl marks. Never again.
Our local car wash starts with people vacuuming, then it runs through the automated exterior washer, then people finish up by cleaning interior surfaces and windows, and drying the outside.
I get the cheapest level, because I think getting wax there, or any other add-on is bullshit. They just spray something on it with the rinse water.