Worst car wash. Almost better than nothing. At the end, my car was wet, windshield was not clean, rims were half-dry!!

This is a review only for the Car Wash service. There are 3 options and you select which one you want. See photo below. There are 2 large brushes in tubs of water available for you to do an initial scrub down before going into the car wash. If your car has alot of grime, I advise you to do a quick scrub down to loosen the dirt otherwise your car will not be thoroughly clean. My hubby did a complete scrub rub on the entire car before driving in. The car looks very clean afterwards. Of course this is all very subjective - and it depends on how clean you want your car to be. Note that if you do an initial scrub it will take some time and you might be holding up the line if there are other cars behind you. (My hubby parked nearby so as not to anger customers waiting for a quick wash.) We selected the basic $9 package and that suited our needs. It's a 4 step process - initial rinse, soap and rolling brushes, second rinse to wash away soap then final blow dry. Our car was dry enough and did not need a wipe down. read more

I've come here a few times for car washes and am happy with the results. I also want to thank the employees for pushing my car out of a busy street onto a less busy street when my car shutoff by itself and wouldn't restart. read more

do you like a underwhelming underpowered dirty car wash leaving your vehicle wet when you're finished if so, come on down to this car wash where it has a single car dayRyko system car wash. For $14 you can be guaranteed a very disappointing car wash. read more

I want to commend Dan and Dave at the Orinda Shell Station for their caring attitude. I needed to have my break light changed. I stopped by the Shell Station and was offered assistance. They were short staffed early morning so Dan offered to help me. He was so nice to offer his assistance even though his main job was to answer phones and help customers in that manner. Dan mentioned that Dave would arrive soon for his shift. The timing was perfect. As soon as Dave arrived, he took care of changing the light bulb and taking off the light fixture which was very tricky to do. You could tell he had the expertise and knowledge to pursue the issue. I thank Dan and Dave for helping me. They both are an asset to the Shell Company. Please convey my gratitude and appreciation for a job well done. I will be a customer of the Orinda Shell Station thanks to them both. read more

Hello there all, I have been working with Kathy at orinda shell auto care for many years, awesome all the way around with customers and repairs. So I pulled in to tow a car out of the lot and the Manager of the gas station was calling to have my tow truck towed, I responded with your kidding me, I'm picking up a car and she responded with you think that's funny huh! She is rude and does not have good customer skill set...her name is "Bassy" have fun treating customers like crap. read more

You cannot just but a gas you need to walk in and tell them how much you want and they will allow you that much fas Don't come here it is not good and now I don't know if my tank us full or not read more

This review is for the carwash only. Avoid it at all costs. I would give it no stars if it were possible. I took my son's car there for a carwash on August 8, 2019. It is a 2015 Subaru WRX. He'd been away for the summer and I wanted to have it clean for him when he returned. I chose the most expensive of the washes. After I drove out of the carwash, I took a quick look at it. Some areas were untouched, the worst being the trunk lid. You could see where the "brushes" had hit the edge of the lid, but the lid was almost completely untouched. I went in to talk to the attendant; his response was that it "must have been really dirty." He offered no relief at all. I just decided that I would never return. I had to repost this, as Yelp removed the original review. Apparently "Orinda Shell Auto Care" is a separate business, even though they are both at that address. read more

The tap-n-go/contactless credit card readers at the pump don't work, you have to use them I sit with the cashier. I didn't see any sign.

Orinda Shell's is visible right after you get off the freeway, their diesel/gas prices are the same as chevron's next to them. the filling pumps are arranged very tightly. it's difficult to manuever a big vehicle in and out if in the wrong lane. decades ago when i came here in a bobtail truck they were kind of stoic, like they never seen asians before. now, i drive a truck twice as long and it's pretty impossible to get in here, fill up and get out without causing a mishap. seeems they rely more on their car services than gas sales anyways. read more

Knowledgeable, respectful & very helpful garage. Great location near bart. Great staff. Busy place, thank you do much for your advice on the car. Pam, Kathy, John and Mike. read more

I had a great experience here getting on the spot emergency car care. I needed coolant and they brought out the guy who specialized in my car's make-- how great they have brand experts! After adding coolant, he spent 20 minutes on the car, past closing. He wanted to make sure if the car went into high RMPs, it wouldn't overheat. And it didn't. All for $10-- the price of half a bottle of coolant. He said he treats every customers' car like it belongs to his mom. That's what everyone wants! read more

I went to shell because I had a gift card, this usually isn't my station of choice. Bought $20 of gas and a car wash, but the machine didn't give me a receipt so I went in the store to get my receipt and code to get my car washed. the manager didn't believe that I was charged $27, even though I called the 1800 number for the gift card twice on speaker in front of him and talked to a Shell representative who confirmed the total, the location, and even the transaction number. it wasn't before arguing with the rudest manager I've ever spoken to, who even accused me of "trying to get a free car wash," for about 15 minutes before he 'miraculously' found the transaction receipt and I was able to get my cheap car wash and drive away from this hell hole. read more

The manager is great! She has truly turned around this station. This has become my usual gas station because of their excellent customer service and welcoming environment. The location as well as their all in one gas station-car wash services are highly convenient and 100% recommended. read more

Great general service but the guy apparently in charge of the car wash is a flaming ass. Gave me a load of grief when the apparatus wouldnt start even tho i waited, paid & had good code. Long time date--lovely woman in Orinda over 40 years--got same load of junk from him this pm. The guy is 200% obfkg abnoxious & makes me not wanting to go there w/o a bb bat. read more

Just now I sent my daughter in w $10 to buy some chips. She came back with a bag and $5.45 change. I asked her about the $ and she said that was what he handed to her . I went back in to get the rest, as the cashier slipped 3 dollars on the counter and played innocent. I took the $3 without saying anything. I'm pretty clear he was taking a little off the top for himself. It's a shame to cheat a young innocent child this way. Shame on you Shell employee. read more

The Shell Station in Orinda is probably the worst run service station in the area. The workers are generally not helpful, and they make zero effort to inform people that their air machine does not require money so i lost money in the machine. More ridiculous, the car wash machine also does not accept cash despite the specific instruction that it does accept cash and the buzzer for attendant assistance does not work. Also, on Saturday while the shop is open for business, they do not answer the phone. Also, the metal sign is bent and protrudes into the path of your car as you enter the wash position. The sign could be easily bent back so it does not present a risk of scratching a vehicle. Of course, it has been bent for months without remedy. This place has success because of its location, but a circus clown could do a better job of managing it. read more

Don't have your car serviced here. The owners are chain smokers. My car smelled of cigarettes. Yuck!

Stay FAR FAR AWAY from this service station. There is another station across the street or drive the short distance to Lafayette. It is not worth the frustration. I paid with my credit card on site for the car wash; when I went through the car wash and came out when the green light lit up my car was covered/drenched in water. I went into the office to speak to the attendant and he told me it was my fault that I must have left before the drying process and I said no I waited until the dryer was done and clearly it is broken. The head manager refused to leave the office to come look at my car and when I finally said I am a paying customer and should be treated with respect he came out and said "this is not a full service car wash this is what it should look like". I told him I realize it is not a full service however; never have I ever seen any of our cars look like this after a drive through and I wanted to be credited or he turn on the drying apparatus and he looked at me and gave me a dirty look and went back into the office! I called my bank to refuse payment; do the same if by chance you are cheated by this horrible place. I will never take our cars there again. They are rude and do not want to resolve the simplest of problems. It is not worth the frustration or waste of money to support these horrible people; by doing so one is saying it is alright they treat people like this. read more

The car wash stopped while my car was in it. The front desk attendant accused me of breaking it. No apology, no refund, nothing. I asked to speak with the owner and the attendant hung up on me. There are plenty of other gas stations, including one directly across the street. No reason to ever go back to Orinda Shell. (This review is for the gas station, not for the repair shop in the same building. They are separate businesses.) read more

If zero stars or negative was an option that's what I'd give this POS place. Filled up my tank and purchased their car wash which they marketed to me at time of fill up as an add on item. $62 total ticket. I don't normally use automated carwashes, but the car had extra salt residue on it being that I just returned from a snowy Tahoe trip last night. Their car wash had gotten the car very clean in some places but missed a few spots entirely. Totally inconsistent to say the least. When I went back into the station to ask if I could get another code to run my car through a second time in hopes that all the salt residue would be washed off this time, the person behind the counter basically told me it's a seven dollar carwash and my expectations were too high. They refused to refund my money or give me a new code to run it through a 2nd time. Horrible customer service, and if it's just a $7 car wash, they should state that it probably won't get your car clean all over when they try to upsell you at the pump!! Seriously? You suck and I won't be back to your crappy station for any reason. Orinda is a small community, I think you'd want to keep your return local customers happy. Get a clue db! read more

Absolutely horrible customer service. Broken car wash, rude manager and cashier. This used to be a regular stop for me, I'm done with this place. read more

Orinda doesn't have a lot of local car repair choices, even less with the recent closing of the Chevron repair shop. BUT... as far as good decent folks who don't BS you and can get the job done at a reasonable (not bargain - but reasonable) rate - these guys are it. read more

On May 20, 2013, I ordered a full car wash (after listening to the cashier complain about the car wash customers....) and received the minimum (no undercarriage wash, no tire wash and no sealant), after waiting 40 minutes and three breakdowns. I had also asked for 4 lottery tickets (with some other items) but received) 20. I didn't realize this until later that day. When I went back in today for something else, I mentioned it to her (same cashier) and I was trying to be nice about it, but she got very indignant with me. For the record I wasn't trying to get any money back or anything, I just making a point so that perhaps she would not do it to another customer in the future. This woman was in no way apologetic, nor does she have an ounce of customer service skills. This coupled with the fact that my co-worker has had issues with their car service technicians makes this a place that will stay off of my Places To Do Business With list. read more