Elephant Car Wash

No thank you. I have been to this location a couple of times but my last visit takes the cake. It was on a Monday about 3pm. I had a coupon but my wash was still over 26 bucks. There was one person in front of me. I watched as the pre-​wash person took their time and did an awesome job on that car. Then I pulled up and was barely touched. What was that all about? Finally make it through the was and pull up to the vacuum area, where they directed me to go. Again, one car in front of me. The guy started to dry then walked away to help a new customer at the register. a couple of different employees came out to finish the first car and then proceeded to take care of the two cars that came out AFTER me. My car sat. Then the first guy told me he needed to move it forward. He did and left my car running and started to work on the car BEHIND me. What? I was standing there the whole time. I finally walk over to turn my car off. I even told them they didn’t have to vacuum the back of part of my car. Anyway, I was over an hour waiting for my car while 3 other cars were taken care of. I won’t be returning and I won’t be recommending this location. The employees were rude and disrespectful.

So I usually clean my car myself, but with kids and more work responsibilities my time for such things has dwindled. So we came here. Even with a coupon for over $ 12 off it cost almost $ 30. Then once we got back inside we noticed that the two twin girls that were supposed to clean and vacuum inside did such a cursory job. It does not seem worth it at all. Very disappointed.

My wife bought and paid for a car wash and detailing on a coupon special for$ 24.07. She also tipped the detailer $ 7.00. The car wash kept her receipt, which should have been her first clue that something was amiss. Later we saw an additional charge for $ 122.40! She received no service for this charge, and upon calling the manager of Elephant Car Wash, he could offer no explanation. He just said call your bank. Our bank told us that the outrageous extra charge was a hold on our ViSA accoun’t. This is totally unacceptable. We will never again use Elephant Car Wash. If the charge is not removed, I will be contact KIRO News: Get Jesse and see if he will investigate this unacceptable business practice and see if others have had the same experience. By the way, we were not forewarned of the hold (if that is what it was)

I was shocked that they didn’t want my money. Not that they washed my car for free because they didn’t. They turned me away with no one around during business hours. I guess the workers really are that lazy. I want to rate the job they didn’t do but this is the one they did. Zilch… which is how many stars they deserve.

If there was an option to put ZERO stars, I would. it’s my fault to have given this place many chances to step up their game but they fail me every single time. Whether it’s for convenience or not, DO not go to this car wash place. They simply do a terrible job and do not care about customer satisfaction. You will leave the place wondering if the people who washed your car were blind folded. TERRIBLE PLACE.

Don’t waste your money, paid 38 dollars and was told they used a spray on wax they failed to say it was done in the car wash it self. Save time and money go to Brown Bear 6 bucks gets the same wash.

This is the second time I’ve gone to the elephant car wash in Tacoma the first time was ridiculous this time was better but still they had to wipe down the windows again vacuum under the seat in between the seats again wipe down the grill and the sidebars. the only reason I came here as I had a coupon for $ 14.99 off… if you want it done right do it yourself. however it’s much cheaper than a detail shop

Have you ever just taken a $ 20 bill and flushed it down the toilet, well that’s what you’ll be doing if you come here! We went through the drive through car wash, and the right side washing brushes didn’t spin, clean, or even touch our car. I brought it to the employees attention who said that they knew that it wasn’t working, and would do an extra cleaning by hand, I only saw them half way dry my car, when I got home I had streaks all over, I had to clean my car myself again when I got home, what a waste of time and money.

If you just need a basic scrub down, it’ll do. But pay only for the cheap exterior wash, otherwise you are paying too much.
Marketed as a full service wash… maybe when it is slow. On busy days you have an hour wait, okay fine. But even with an exterior you are supposed to get a towel dy, not on busy days. So you pay for a service you do not get. I read the bad reviews and still wasted $ 25 here. Don’t make my mistake.
Also they have zero self service vacuums, try elsewhere.

First time here and ordered the basic wash and vacuum. Got here about an hour ago very slow. Right now, I’m watching a lady dry a trunk of a car for 15 min kind of like she is attempting to shine brass. They seem staffed decently and 2 cars are ahead of me, but the service is slow real slow.

I LOVE having my car washed and cleaned here! They take their time and do a great job. Worth the wait!

Just kind of a odd experience. We were heading down the two hour drive to Portland and just couldn’t drive that far with a diiirrttyy car! No no! The kind of dirty that films around your windshield… ya it’s been awhile. But it rains all the time so ya not much point to wash too often… but you get the idea. Driving a clean car in the rain is something special. Like a happy feeling that comes within… try it if you haven’t!
Anyways, we pull up and the cheapest cleaning was 12 bucks, which is fine, but that’s usually the best wash everywhere else we go. So they are a more full service car wash, like inside detailing and such. Just seemed really high prices though. So the lady tells us if we want to be toweled dried to pull around after we get out of the wash. Which is what we did.
Fast forward to a few hours later and we saw the dirt still piled up under the door handles and on windows edges and glass. They even hand dried it to take off anything the actual wash missed… but I guess our genius car drier girl must have missed it too… Even though we were the only people there.
So moral of this story is that we will stick to Brown Bear car wash.

Do not go here. Waited 40 – 50 minutes to get car vacuumed, and they left my radio on, killing my battery. Very unapologetic and rude. They told me they do it all the time. Acted like they were irritated cuz my car was in the way. First and last tme there. Of course they took my tip before i knew my battery was dead

Last time we’ll go here. My mother had her car washed here today 7÷31÷2014. We’ve been here a few times before and recieved decent service. This time was different however. After her vehicle got the exterior washed, there was a younger man that detailed the interior. He did a good job for the most part. After he was finished, she noticed there was grease on the passenger seat. When she raised the issue, she was told by a man who was supervising: «It’s not from us. You have grease on your carpet.» If there was grease on the carpet, how did it get there? Did it magically jump onto the seat? Another gentleman came over with a bottle of some type of cleaner to assist. He was shooed away by the same extremely rude supervisor. The supervisor then stated: «It’s not from us, it’s your problem.» And walked away. After bringing the vehicle home and scrubbing the grease stain with dawn, we were able to remove it. Save yourself the money and do it yourself. The exterior will be just as clean and you won’t have to go home and scrub magical grease out of your vehicle after essentially being given the middle finger by an attendant.

A staple of the Pacific NW, unfortunately they don’t set the standard when it comes to effective operations or customer service… I called to get a detail on my car and the lady that answered the phone on the afternoon of Sat 21Jun, had no idea how long the wait was, how long the detail would take, and couldn’t take an appointment for a detail. When your business is one item (washing cars) and you fail to grasp the potential of your flagship product (auto details, that could go into the hundreds of dollars) you really need to re-​look your business model.

I have always and still like the clean inside /​outside service they provide
Is it GREAT !. .. well, no — Very Good for what it is — the between a typical gas station wash and the trip to the detailer with price falling between the two as expected

Considering I’ve used a coupon here every time I have gone and received a pretty good job ($ 22 before tax) I’m a happy camper. You can’t expect a real full detail for less than a fifth of what a real retail job costs. The two that did the «detailing» on my car today spent their time and did a good job so I tipped them $ 20 because I remember what it was like when I was a detailer years ago… and I’m sure I was paid more than they are. I don’t normally tip like that but felt I was «robbing» them by only paying $ 24.06 after tax for the best «detail» they have with a coupon. I probably won’t tip like that in the future but what the hell, you can’t take it with you when it’s all over.

They do a decent job cleaning cars here, but they can be really slow and the price here is unreasonably high on anything other than the most basic wash. Make sure you bring a coupon if you go here.. .they show up every month in the Val-​Pak.

I really like this place, it always seems to do a good job on my vehicles.
They offer lots of coupons and they allow them anytime, even if expired.
The attendants are genuinely friendly, I can’t complain.
I’m thinking of getting a detail possibly in the future, but I will see. As I write this I will check out the reviews, as always, before I make my decision.

Now I know that you get what you pay for, and yes I was trying to save money from Classy Chassy — but if I pay for a full service w/​interior — exterior — I expect you to vacuum and clean out my cup holders and wipe down the middle console. This was the worst service I have ever had done on any car. I don’t know if I just had a bad employee but Crap! Never again!!!