It's a rainy /bleak day here in Big Sur, and I have the day off. So what better time to write some Yelp reviews? I'm popping in to post an update since my last review in 2013. I remain baffled by the 2 stars for Educated Car Wash. To this day, I still take my car here whenever I'm in Santa Barbara. Not only do they continue to have the cheapest gas when you get a car wash, but they still do the best job. After a decade of living in LA and trying multiple car washes on the Monterey Peninsula, Educated still takes the cake for best car wash experience. Even when it's busy, they're fairly speedy, but that doesn't seem to impact the quality. The folks there are always super friendly, and the prices are reasonable. I'll remain a loyal patron to Educated and continue to stop by whenever I'm in town visiting. read more

Got their "ultimate" package and they did a terrible job. Bird poop in multiple places on the hood, dirty windshield, and they didn't wash the truck bed at all. Overall a terrible job and I don't recommend them. Update: I brought it back and they rewatched it. The photo is after the second wash. read more

Educated Car Wash - Car Wash Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Acabo de llevar mi carro para lavar y no lo secaron bien y no lo aspiraron bien, huellas en las ventanas por dentro de sus dedos , la verdad no es barato para el servicio que dan. A fuerzas tengo que poner una estrella para poder sumitir este complain. Porque una estrella es mucho. read more

Terrible job ! Car was left dirty inside and outside. If I wanted a superficial was I wound take it to do the drive through car wash. read more

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They curbed my wheels. Trash. avoided all costs cause they'll fuck your car up. Several years ago they put lower gas in my M4 and charged me for premium. read more

Worst carwash I've ever gotten. I really wanted to dial in the interior and paid for the top package. It's as dirty as before. And the exterior has water spots and greasy stuff all over Edit: just had to re-wash the truck because they put some kind of oily crap all over it, water spots, and tire dressing that slung all over the paint. I discovered that they scratched my windshield and chipped my paint. Brand new truck 2026. And i wash it by hand atleast twice a week. I know every inch of it. read more

Unfortunately I came at the end of the day and apparently they don't care after 3pm. Horrible service, horrible wash, would not come back. read more

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The guys are nice and want to help but they didn't do a good job. Made them run my car back through the wash a second time because it wasn't good enough then even after I asked them for a rag and had to clean up dirt that was on the lower parts of the car and hood. Interior also had a bunch of missed spots and dust that they didn't get even though I paid $70. Wouldn't recommend going here unfortunately and I feel bad because they were nice. Pictures below show the pretty obvious spots they missed. Didn't wipe down my rear view either :/ read more

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I was charged $120 for a wash, wax, vacuum and for cleaning my all weather floor mats. We literally sat there for 2 hours while they worked on other cars (ones that came after mine). I checked on it a couple times and one man said he'd get to it soon. They forget to clean the matts, so waited for them to do that, but all they did was a quick hose off (no wipe off or anything like that) and they left them still dirty. They didn't vacuum the back of my car AT ALL and the rest of the inside of the car didn't look like it had been wiped down at all. When I checked in, I told the manager I was selling the car, so he upsold me from a regular wash... saying he'd make sure they did an excellent job. Well, they definitely didn't even do a mediocre job. I'm bummed that they charged me such much and did such a crappy job. Never going back here again. read more

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UPDATE: Even though it took time and persistence on my part, Spencer made it right. He communicated with the insurance companies, I got my car repaired and got my deductible refunded. read more

Educated Car Wash - Car Wash Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Make sure you go on your birthday or two days after they will not honor the free birthday carwash. I am a frequent person at this establishment and was a couple days late last year and it was honored by the pleasant girl. But this year I went a week before and a week after and they didn't honor the birthday discount. Made me think ok maybe they don't need or appreciate my patronage. Btw the guy said she wasn't supposed to honor it last year. Ok I will remember to only come when she's there. She's much more friendly. read more

READ THIS BEFORE YOU TAKE YOUR CAR THERE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A DISPLAY SCREEN/MONITOR. They spray harsh chemicals which absolutely ruined our monitor screen. Prior to going into the carwash today, it's was a normal screen, the car is a Honda CRV 2024 so fairly new. We are not hard on our cars, very gentle in fact, we take great care of them. Get home around the corner and realize there is the heavy cloudy effect on the screen which WILL NOT WIPE OFF! We tried to buff out with NOTHING BUT A DRY SOFT MICROFIBER CLOTH, and nothing would work. Something they sprayed removed some kind of protective layer on the screen or got behind the screen, it's hard to say. All we can say is it's 100% without a doubt not the same as when we brought it in. Just seems like over the last several years, the prices have gone up and up and the quality of the work significantly down. They were so fast to clean it. There weren't a lot of cars so not sure the huge rush. The rims were NOT cleaned at all or even wiped down. They don't clean the cup holders. Did not bother to clip the floormats in after they removed them so they were slipping around when driving. Finger prints all over the top of the windshield after it was washed. Just very poor attention to their one job. Now I'm not expecting a "detail" but if I'm going to shell out 27.00 plus a tip, I expect my car to be clean, the inside to be fully wiped down and not have expensive damage done to the car. We called and asked for the manager, who "isn't in today". Will update once they get back to us. The only good thing about this place is the nice cashier, always friendly! read more

Wash was ok, but they missed some spots. When I went to pick up the car, the towel guy had my keys in his hand - holding them hostage- while asking for TIP, TIP, TIP. I will never go back there. Zero stars! read more

Terrible! What a waste of time and money!!! Paid for the best service and when get into my car it is still dirty. Another person who was standing by me had the same problem. He said they looked busy, but if they want to keep busy they need to provide much better service. Never more! Got late to my appointment because of it. read more

I paid for a car wash. The car had carpenter bee droppings on it that were visible when I was given the quote. When they gave the washed car back the droppings were not removed. I did not accept it. They worked for a while, whipping them off and I assisted using my thumb nail. It was easy to do if time consuming. After about ten minutes they, including the manager, stopped saying more work would require me to pay a detailing fee. What is washing and what is detailing may be negotiable, but when I ask my car to be washed I expect it to be clean. I did not expect polishing or waxing, usually associated with detailing. I expect them to know how to wash a car. I ending up finishing the job by myself. Their performance was unacceptable. read more

Pay attention to these reviews and please don't waste your time or money going here! Don't be tempted by the cheaper gas prices either, it's still not worth it to go here even with that. read more

Fabulous, efficient, quality and quick service. Great value for money. Don't forget to tip read more

Educated Car Wash - Washing station - Car Wash Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Worst car wash I've ever been to. Paid for the best service and I still had to wash and vacuum the car when I got home. Horrible place and waste of money read more

I paid $60 for a car wash and not only did they not get my car clean they destroyed my car window seal. When I brought it to their attention they said my car was old. The person who washed my car turned my air conditioner as low as it would go and messed with my phone settings. Don't take your car there unless you want to pay for repairs read more

Majority of the employees were rude and disrespectful . Ordered their ultimate wash and came out with several easily removable dirt spots and bird poop still on the car. Poor quality wash and overall bad experience read more

Horrible customer service, cobwebs and dirt in my car after paying $40 for a wash. Waste of money, go anywhere else.

A follow up to my prior review: I called the owner, Spenser about my experience. He was very concerned, listened, offered solutions and said he would definitely take further action to prevent such an occurrence in the future. While I take back nothing about the manager, Eric, I will say that the owner seemed to truly care. My revised opinion is that the service and prices offer good value as long as you don't have to deal with Eric. The owner and employees were all courteous and helpful. read more

First off....They say they don't give the Twism discount anymore. I showed them the Twism app with Educated on it for 10% off Ultimate app. I got the 34.95 Ultimate, only because of the extra money off. Gas only 4 cents cheaper than a block away. No incentive to go anymore, and I've been going there over 40 years . Okay car wash read more

Another horrible experience. Don't know why I went back. Car goes through wash. And then sit there for 20 minutes. Watched other cars come out after my car and get wiped before Mt car. I just got in my car and left. You guys suck read more

This place horrible!! I went in with bird poop on my car and I left with bird poop on my car! I had to ask twice for someone to clean it. Paid to get my mats cleaned and they are still dirty and were put back in my car wet. WTF!!! Cleaning the inside was a disgrace!! read more

Educated Car Wash - Back seat wasn't wiped down - Car Wash Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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The dirt in my car when I got home after paying for their most expensive wash. I even sent an email to the company telling them how disappointed and heard nothing back. It stinks because it is nice to get gas and a car wash, but not worth it if you pay for the interior to be washed and it turns out like this! read more

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Stay away from this place. We got at ultimate car wash plus gas. After they finished, the inside is still dirty. Very disappointed. read more

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Wish I would've read reviews before going. Taking my car to another place to clean off the oil/wax they put all over my seats. I have a new car / expensive car that only needed washing due to dust. What i got was dirty shoes on mats with oil from the lot. Then the seats were whipped down with wheel cleaner (FYI use a new rag). Now i have oil on my pants. Then half the dash was whipped down so i have some dust on half. - I called to let them know. ( I didn't want money back or for them to reclean) NEVER GOING BACK. Then the manager said sorry and hung up. I called back to explain more of the issues and he said - word for word- I don't have time and I'll let the guys know. It happens and hung up again rudely. I think the owners name is Spencer. You need to FIX THIS or your business is going away. Only 4 cars there on a busy day. You would think it would be perfect. NEVER GOING BACK and neither will anyone i know. read more

Convent and fast does not always equal quality. Enter from Hitchcock, NOT State St and file in queue depending on if you want fuel service or not. The attendants will point you in the right direction. I enjoy that Educated will fill up my car with gas and wash it quicker than I can navigate a Trader Joe's parking lot. They are heavily staffed to move things along quickly. At this speed, the devil's in the details. Or more precisely, the lack of detail. Dirty water spots on the leather from rags, streaks on the glass, sand remaining in the vacuumed mats and a wadded up Educated receipt on the floor are examples of what's missed. For the $22 Super Wash, they could do better. For my money, there are better car washes in town with smaller lines and very friendly staff. Educated offer more services and faster pace for a fair price. When I'm in the need and on Upper State, I may swing in if there's no line. Otherwise, I'll go to my usual. read more

Skip these guys. I came over from Goleta. Bought an "ultimate" wash, more than $70. Left my car with them for 2.5 hours, got it back and it looked like they spent 10 minutes with it. I've gotten a better wash from the shell down the street for $10. They were closing, the owner said to come back the next day to fix the job. Left it for more than an hour this time, and it was marginally cleaner. Management refused to refund the bad work. They parked my car at Rusty's next door. Called with the owner later. He refused to refund, told me to come in A THIRD TIME and PAY MORE for a detail package. Crappy wash service. Useless management. Owner doesn't give a damn. Chester and Jimmy can choke. read more

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i've been going here for about 4 years and every wash has gotten worse. i've had 2 different cars and the first once was nicer and they cleaned it very well even if i got the cheaper wash, i do have a older car now and they don't bother to clean it as well as my first one. they will leave dirt on my car and barley vacuum it. i recently went today and wasted $44 i asked for the cheapest wash and for my seats to be cleaned and i thought they would've maybe wiped down the inside since it was pretty pricey. immediately i knew they were half doing it when my car was sitting there and they were barley wiping it down, i came back and saw water marks on my windows and my seats still having stains and the vacuuming was done poorly and my car doesn't even look like it was washed. moral of the story i used to recommend this place and gave them the benefit of doubt but they have gotten absolutely terrible and im super upset i wasted my money. read more

Educated Car Wash - stain - Car Wash Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Not the best, but well worth the price. I keep coming back. Make sure you fill up on the cheap gas.

I don't know why I keep giving this car wash try after try thinking they will get better. I've had at least 5 consecutive bad car washes. The deluxe car wash is far from deluxe. I won't be returning there are plenty of quality car washes in town. read more

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Usually my go to is just the self serve, do it yourself car wash and vacuum. To me there is something about doing it yourself that makes it so satisfying. Not to mention it's like 50% of the price (more or less depending on where you go). But, I was on my lunch break and just wanted the interior to be done nicely just like the outside. So, I hoped on the axxess deals and found 15% off full detail. Axxess deals are awesome, but this confused me. When I looked it up on the website, I would have assumed full detail and full service were the same thing. Was it? No, and I didn't get to ask why, because they were super busy and I get nervous with confrontation. Somehow full detail meant ultimate car wash which was $9 more expensive. $9 isn't too much more, but I am not sure if all of these things got done. I definitely didn't get an air freshener in my car. Unless it was uploaded to be a spray? But I was watching the whole time and I didn't see anything get sprayed besides getting the windows cleaned. Honestly, my car was dry by the time someone got around to "drying" the outside. Which leaves streaks and that makes me think I didn't get the "wax" that is supposedly included. They have a sign on the outdoor patio that says "it you're not satisfied then we are not satisfied, let us know". I saw a couple of people do this and I was pleasantly surprised by how fast the staff was to fixing the issue. I thought about this, but when watching them it seemed rude because they are so busy and possibly understaffed. But then again, looking at what I paid for I don't think i am satisfied anymore because I didn't get everything done that was supposed to have been. When you pull up they ask if you want gas, and then write down the type of serve you're to pay for. But, then all the cars get mixed up and there isn't additional paperwork that shows the "dryers" what you actually got because you turned this into the cashier and about 30-45 minutes later THEN your car is being dried and finished. I do like how clean the inside and outside of my car is. However, I don't think it was worth +$30. Inside was small, but clean. Outside was crowded, but still allows for space to socially distance. Staff is wearing masks but they are not wearing gloves. read more

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I arrived and the young guy took my keys quickly, he was a bit curt but I saw the huge group of people waiting for their cars. It looked quite busy and several workers were counting all the tips. I had 2 gift certificates I had been gifted and wanted to use them. It took about half an hour to get my vehicle. I think they left it better than it was when I took it in - hard water spots, dusty and bird droppings. It wasn't perfect but I was satisfied. I know some people have high expectations for a hand car wash. There's always a drive thru car wash that's cheaper! read more

Educated Car Wash - Car Wash Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Just left and will never go back. Apart from a horrible job of vacuuming and my vent phone holder taken - the track that the cars are pulled on appears to have damaged the undercarriage of the car which I now have to repair independently as the car wash assumes no liability. Rude customer service and overall poor performance. Do not go there! read more

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If there was a zero for a review they would get it. I went on a possible rainy day because they where the only place open. I was getting my car ready to sell and didn't care if it rained. I wanted the inside vacuumed and cleaned. I payed the higher price for the service. They didn't even vacuum enough to get a tooth pick off the floor mat, Much less pick up the floor mat and vacuum under it. when the car was "ready" before I even stepped in I saw the hadn't touched the inside of the door(cup holder area) it a had a few straw wrappers etc. in it. When I asked him to clean it he seemed put out. This was after I handed him a generous tip. The dash and interior were barley wiped down. There were clumps of dirt and dust that weren't there prior. read more

Hector helped me select the best option for my needs and I appreciate the team being available late in the afternoon on a Monday.

This place is hit or miss. They get plenty of business. I get the sense that depending on when you cal or go in, the service provided can span from decent to good. Today was a bad day. They must be busy. I tried to book a $400 car detail and was rushed off the phone. Fortunately, there are plenty of places I can pay $400 or less for a car detail. They clearly are not customer oriented. read more

I had my car washed at Educated Car wash and it was such a BAD job!!! Right window and mirror were never cleaned and had water marks all over~they completely forgot to wipe down window and mirror. The vacumn job was awful~lots left on carpet and rubber mats. Very disappointed as this was always a good car wash~not anymore. And the front of my car still had many squashed bugs on it~it looks like they totally forgot to clean off the dead bugs. Never going back to Educated again. read more