Long line but great gear! And excellent price for the quality of resultant car wash..

Expensive but gets the job done. $5 minimum plus $1 every minute after 5Mins. We spent $12 !!! Vacuum stations in back . Wish they offered wipes after the wash . read more

They are the best car wash in town! If you see your car is not clean after a wash, you can return the same day, at the same location to get it re-washed. They stand behind there product! I did not know the price for the Beary Best Wash option went up from $17 to $23.99, I sent an inquiry to their corporate office asking why my charge was $26+. The very nice lady named Molly Lonigan explained to me in details and made good on my concern. Thank you, Molly for exemplified a stellar customer excellent! read more

Best place in town to wash my truck minus the "wait your turn system" that doesn't really seem to have any structure here. For example: this guy in his silly green car who thinks he's better than everyone, pulled in and skipped the three other cars who have been patiently waiting. read more

Brown Bear Car Wash - Douche bag in the green car who skipped the three cars who were lined up obviously waiting - Car Wash Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Pretty pricey just to sit in your car and have an automated car wash. The real problem for me was that you had to pay for the vacuuming too. My previous experience (in Denver) was to have free vacuums or also have folks do a minor detail of the car after the wash - for about the same money I spent at Brown Bear. I couldn't help but have that slightly ripped-off feeling. read more

The on-site staff at Brown Bear are nice and helpful. And the car washes are fine. But the upper management leaves a lot to be desired. A former member of their monthly subscription program, I was offered a discounted rate the 1st time I tried to leave. I took it. Several months later, I noticed they'd bumped my bill back to the original price. I tried emailing and got nowhere. So I called. They said they made a mistake. "Ok, so what's the solution?" I asked. I was quickly informed that there was no solution and I had to accept the original rate. I appealed and got nowhere. Sketchy. I'm out. Peace!!! read more

This Brown Bear is self-service so it takes a bit longer to wash your car than a place that has the drive thru operation. That said, I don't think I would wash my car here again. My hands were so sore and smelly after one full round of each wash/rinse. They need to either get a new material for the grip area on the hoses or provide patrons with gloves. My hands smelled like a person who hadn't bathed in weeks after just 20 minutes of washing my car at this location. I used my hand sanitizer in the car and it took 5 heavy dousings to make the smell tolerable. I was so grossed out. read more

I always wash my car here-- ok once a year- over 25 yrs tho. It is convenient, well-maintained. When I needed help from attendants I got it. It is also one which has many friendly people who us e it. Waiting in line is polite and fair. read more

All day long, someone is here blowing leaves off of the property and keeping the garbage cans cleared out. This is as clean as a Brown Bear gets. Minus one star for the lowish water pressure in the left most stall. read more

This Brown Bear car wash is the only tunnel wash I've found within a couple miles. It's quick and does a pretty good job for a tunnel wash. I end up taking the upgrades, which has a marked difference in the shine. I wish there was a towel dry option, since the wind dry never works too well. It's slightly overpriced (hence the 4 stars, not 5) in my opinion, but this is what happens when there's no competition. I'll keep coming back. read more

Enjoy the self service bay while it lasts. This monopoly car wash is destroying it to duplicate the already existing drive through car washes that are at every corner of the region. Surely note that Brown Bear won't be increasing its liability to cover damages they cause to your car when you drive through, just your price to use the drive through. I'll be going somewhere else for life if they get rid of the self service bay. I strongly encourage you to go somewhere that doesn't demolish needed community assets for convenience. Look forward to the six months of construction and debris and traffic from their selfish choices. read more

You get to clean your own car. What's not to like!?!. Vacuums a little pricey but it's Seattle so whatever. Check your vacuum inlet. Mines was plugged up with God knows what it look liked someone used it to vacuum a rats nest out of a tree. Got my car cleaned up nice like for a few bucks. So no complaints here. read more

I had drove my car all way from Tennessee to Seattle and it was nasty. $14 later and a few minutes of relaxing and she looked new!

This is a great do it yourself carwash if you don't want to be bothered. It cost me around $10 for the full wash and another $4 for the interior vaccuum. I drive a compact. Not like many of the reviewers claim, I didn't have a problem using my visa to pay their wash system. If I can recall, the vacuum only accepts cash. read more

Hardly ever a line here. In and out of here fairly quick depending on what I'm doing with my truck. Staff is always ready to answer questions or help read more

I took my son's car here because it had stains from a water leak in my son's apartment's parking garage. They looked at the car and said they would do their best, but said it was likely there would still be some residual stains on the paint. Not true, in a good way! The car was totally perfect when I picked it up. I'm addition, even though I only signed up for an external detail to deal with the water stains, they did a complete detail in and out. The car looked brand new and it's 6 years old. I highly recommend Brown Bear. read more

This brown bear car wash has the best of both worlds!!! You can take your car through the machine car wash and be lazy or you can take pride in your ride and do it yourself.... and get those super tough hard to reach places! Under $10 and your car too will look brand new again! read more

Brown Bear Car Wash - She looks great! - Car Wash Near Me - Seattle, Washington

When I wanted to wash and vacuum my car, I was shocked that I was going to have to drop minimum $70. I then freaked out and went onto Groupon in hopes to find something better - no luck! This car was was about $10 for the wash and $1.50 (that's how much I put it, it starts at $1 to start the vacuum), which isn't bad. It has a timer so you aren't surprised on how much time you have left. It also has trash cans by the vacuums so you can empty your car of all the trash. Overall, it was a great experience, even though giving your car a wash in Seattle is like selling ice to an Eskimo since it rains so much! I will be back! read more

I like to test myself when I come here... "Come on Katie! You can do it! Wash that car in 8 minutes or less!" Most of the time this is achievable. One time it almost wasn't. This was before they had credit and you HAD to have cash or coins or you were leavin' with a car covered in suds. I had miscalculated and had scrubbed and scrubbed until my car was covered in bubbles. The time was up and I went over to add change and low and behold: I was a quarter short. @&!&%#&!** I pictured myself, driving through Ballard on my way home in a vehicle covered in soap... so I dug deep. Real deep. Deep into the seat and in the console. I dumped the purse. Mind you it was about 9:30 at night when this all went down so it wasn't like there were people around worth asking. Finally after some serious pillaging, I found it! I shiny quarter... I almost cried, but then quickly remembered what I had come to do, popped it in the machine and 4 minutes later, my car was suds free and sparklin' like the 12 yr old gem it was. Since then, they've installed credit card machines. I like to think that this was for me, and while it may have been I'll never know. Brown Bear has always been a lovely thing... and now that they take plastic, they're even lovelier. read more

This Brown Bear Car Wash is of the self-serve variety. What I love about this Brown Bear is its open 24/7 plus the pressurized nozzle emits warm water, which is very useful when you have the urge to wash your bitch in the middle of the night in late February. While they do accept credit cards at each stall, the paranoid in me thinks they too closely resemble CC skimming devices. At the very minimum $2 buys you 4 minutes. In addition to a visual timer, there's an audible indicator that counts down the final 20 seconds or so. Here are a couple tips to save you some time and help get your car cleaner: 1. Buy more tokens than you think you'll need, it will be a complete waste of time if you have to get more tokens and your finish will pay the price if you rush. (those forgotten spots are unsightly when the car is dry) 2. Rinse from top to bottom, let gravity help lift dirt off the car. This is also true with soaping -start with the roof and work your way down. 3. Before you use the soaping brush, give it a good rinse with the pressurized water nozzle. I've seen people clean out muddy truck beds amongst other things, the dirt left over on these brushes can really damage your finish -as such, tires, rims and wheel wells should be the last to be soaped and rinsed. 4. When its busy, pull out of the stall to dry your car for God sake. There is lots of room on the side street to do so. Drying is an overlooked part of the equation as water spots can leave your car looking as fugly as it came in. (Dry it in the shade for better results). Holy crap, longest review for a car wash evurrr. read more

Wow. The DIY machine accepts credit cards. It's great! But... it makes it way tooo easy to add more time. I totally lagged and ended up spending $10 washing my car. At least it looks great again. The one thing I'd recommend is that they put a roof over the vacuuming station. After all, it is Seattle and always rains here. Luckily it wasn't pouring when all my doors were open for the vacuuming part. But it would have been nice to have been covered during the light rain. Also, it would be great if that part was well lit. I vacuumed my car after sunset and couldn't really see what I was doing. The employee was nice. This place definitely has a good vibe. read more

This is my favorite place to give the van a trusty wash. The employees here do the the BEST job of acting like they have the best goddamned job in the world. I love their cherry, upbeat attitudes. I always tip the first person that greets me a few bucks and thank them for not being a-wipes. I get the beary best wash which makes my van look snazzy again. Thanks brown bear folks for hiring great people! read more

Renting and then buying a condo in Ballard leaves nowhere to wash the car. Luckily there is the self-service Brown Bear on Leary. Sure, weekends you will have a wait, usually for that idiot who insists on drying his 1985 Mercedes with a shami, but there are plenty of other stalls. They have gotten rid of the quarters finally, and just have tokens or dollar coins; they now even take credit cards at the stall itself! After givin' some luvin' to your vehicle, drive it up and empty your crap out to the garbage cans provided with love from Brown Bear. After that, windex, armor all, and even vacuum! Your car will love you, and driving around a shiny vehicle will make your mood lift. And for a reasonable price. read more

I can pre-rinse, suds, and rinse off my Jetta in less than 4 minutes. This is not so much a review as a place for me to say that Do NOT buy the towels in the vending machines. They are the least absorbent things in the world. Use your own arm hair before you use blue vending machine towels. Also I looked but couldn't find a carpet shampoo station. Only vacuum nozzle machines and car stalls. I second the guy who said "dry your car out of the stall." People can be so rude at Brown Bears. read more

How about some order or socal grace here folks. This place is like the wastland in Mad Max. I pull up and see a bunch of people waiting in the lots. I think 'well this is orderly' and ask if this is a queue. People say yes. I pull in next to them and shortly after someone pulls up behind a stall with someone washing their car. I walk up and say there is a line. He says it dosn't work that way. Two man enter one man leave. I am still here and my car is clean. read more

The automatic/driver though wash, is overpriced and doesn't do a clean job. I tried it for the first time and for $8-$9 with no free vacuum + unclean sides and front. This is a rip off. The customer service was lacking too! This car wash needs to have a more improved business model for this price. read more

I really have no complaints, I came here with a rock hard later of tree sap covering my entire car and not only did one wash get it ALL Off (I have no idea how this was possible) but the manager told me he'd let me run through a second time for free if it did not all come off the first time. The line was long but I somehow got through in less than 10 min and my car came out spotless. What more could you ask for at a car wash :)!! read more

Brown Bear Car Wash - Lines - Car Wash Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I tried to wash my car last week and one of the connecting hose was directing the water to somewhere else besides the actual gun spout. I put in $5 in quarters so that was all of the change I had at the moment. It was kind of frustrating tbh, but mechanical failures happen from time to time. I couldn't get a hold of anyone so I left a message. They got back to me a few days later and offered to send a refund. That was nice of them (although it would've been nicer to just get a basic car wash voucher for their drive-thru wash). I haven't returned their message to provide them my mailing address yet, but I wanted to come online to give them a good rating for actually caring about the customer. read more

I wash my car here often, and I totally agree with the other reviews. - It's great to be able to was your car whenever you want. - It's definitely a competition with myself to be able to wash my car in under ten minutes. I feel a bit of shame when I have to put in another token or swipe my credit car just to rinse my car for thirty more seconds. - This car shop is pretty clean, the trash and recycling cans are emptied regularly and I feel pretty safe here too. I mean it's a self-serve car wash so I don't expect the world. I'll be back. read more

I like this place when I need a quick wash. The vacuums can be a hit and miss in a sense that you might get one and you might not. They seem to be busy every time I come which is always at random. I guess that could mean a good thing but for those who would like to knock out two things with one stone, it can be tricky. My husband is signed up for the their monthly membership which seems to work for him so far since he is on the road majority of the time and when meeting clients would like a clean car. I like that some locations offer the towels to dry off your car if you have time for that. read more

I love this place. It is dark about 100% of the time that I am not at work around this time of year. This means that I would have to try and clean and vacuum my car in the dark, and there are two reasons why that is a bummer: 1) I can't see if I missed spots (I found a rock chip that I didn't even see last night!); and 2) I don't feel particularly safe wiping down my car on a dark side street. Brown Bear solves both of those issues. The stalls are brightly lit, there are vacuums, and I can go at my own pace. This location is always clean, safe, and staffed (the employee I met was helpful and cheerful). The credit card machines actually work. I have seen people be very rude to each other at other Brown Bears, I avoid this by going late at night. I like when nobody is in my hair or rushing my cleaning job. In fact, I did a full detail on my car from 7-10 PM on a Friday night (brought my own supplies) without any conflict at all. I do wish there was a shampooer, I do wish the vacuum area was better lit, but hey... if you are OCD about little leaf bits on your carpet and don't want/ have a vacuum at home or in your car. Do what I do and keep some tokens in the car so you can swing by and do a quick vac or a cleaning when you come back down from the mountains. read more

This has been my go-to self-serve car wash for years. I love how clean and reliable everything is at this self-serve establishment. I wonder if Brown Bear has considered opening at least 1-2 more self-serve car washes in Seattle as our population continues to soar? I have noticed more and more lines of cars waiting to get into this one car wash and there really isn't space for lines of cars to wait. Perhaps our regional growth can support another 1-2 of these fine self-serve car washes now in Seattle. read more

Pretty decent quick car wash for exterior only. Bought a card with 5 car washes (basic) for the price of 4. Doesn't give you a detail quality car wash but is good if you're in a hurry. read more

I've gone here several times and there has never been an attendant but today there was. I didn't catch his name but a nice man, short in stature, with brown hair and an accent. He helped me wash my car and made sure I had enough minutes because the machine was out of the pre-wash soap so it took longer. It was really nice for him to go out of his way to help me. Thanks BB! read more

Very clean and easy to access car wash. Only complaint method of paying can be confusing using credit card.

The review is high because the customer service is great. That being said I did the best wash twice and my car was still coming out with dust and pollen streaks all over it. I ended up having to use their moist towels and hand wiping my car down (it came right off so I know it wasn't stuck on there). It seems like they use more foam and less water and that doesn't do well for pollen and dust. read more

I've been driving by everyday to and from work in Ballard for more than a year now and finally decided to give this do-it-yourself car-wash a try. Let me begin by telling you this place is very clean and the equipment is top-notch. The machines accept credit cards and you can get your car washed to your liking for about 4-6 bucks. Then head on over to vacuum your car for only a buck (3 minutes of extra powerful vacuum). When the weather is even remotely nice/sunny out, the stalls for both car washing and vacuuming fill up fast and often a line develops to wait for a wash. When this happens it's very festive and you can park on the side and maybe clean your interior or windows while you wait. There's a cool, local drive-thru/sit down cafe next door called Short Stop Cafe also. read more

I've used this car wash many times without issue . . . it's a well-kept, self serve car wash like you'd expect. I recently had an issue with an on-site employee and was annoyed enough to contact management . . . they were immediately responsive and addressed it completely. It takes an enlightened company this day in age to actually respond to customer complaints in a genuine effort to run a high-quality business. They recognized it as an opportunity to earn my loyalty, and it worked. Thanks, Brown Bear Car Wash! read more

I used Brown Bear for the first time this weekend and while the equipment was in good shape, the credit card machines were very hard to use. I think it might be time for an upgrade. The single employee I encountered did not offer any suggestions when I voiced my frustration. Next time I will get coins, but a little help would have been nice. read more

I had a great experience at this Brown Bear Car Wash today. I took my car for a car wash to get what I thought was splattered mud off the driver's side. After taking the car through the wash, I parked it to wipe off water and discovered that the splatter marks on the driver's side was still there and I could not easily wipe it off. I then approached Mr. Erik Johnson, Area Manager about this to ask for advice on how to remove the splatter marks. He indicated that they could be road tar splatters from road work being done near where I parked the car days before. I was totally freaked out and thought that I would have to take my beautiful pearly white Toyota Prius to an auto detailer to remove the splatter marks which would cost me a lot of money. Mr. Johnson eased my concerns by saying that he had some oil based polish/finish that could be applied to remove the marks, but it would take some elbow grease to get them out. He proceeded to get the polish/finisher and some towels and he helped me rub out the splatter marks until they were all gone. He was a great help to me today and won me over as a regular customer/fan of Brown Bear Car Wash. Now that is customer service at it's best. Thank you Mr. Erik Johnson, Area Manager, Brown Bear Car Wash, Interbay Area. read more