This self service car wash seemed to be well maintained. There was the standard vending machines that sell car cleaning accessories. You have to purchase special tokens to then use in the car wash - $5 gave me barely just enough time to quickly wash and rinse my car. -2 stars for having to use tokens. If you start to run out of time you cant just pop in another quarter, you need to go to the token machine first and by then you have run out of time and need to put in the minimum $2 worth to start again read more

Terrible. Will never return. My gripe stems from the use of tokens. I came with a grip of quarters. Instead I was forced to scrounge for remaining dollar bills. No way was i going to put $20 in and be stuck with worthless tokens. What is this, Chuck-e Cheese?! Of course there is no attendant. And of course you can't put quarters into the token machine. Each token equals a dollar. Oh, you have to spend $3 bucks just to start the machine. The clocks also run fast, so better skip over all the first steps and go right to high pressure soap. Total rip-off. How this place stays in business is beyond me. read more

I'm not entirely sure what people are expecting from a DIY car wash. I thought this place was great. For $5 I got soap and high pressure water out of a hose. I suggest bringing a sponge, tossing in $2 and soaping up your car initially. You can then take your time cleaning your car with the sponge and then toss in $2-3 more and rinse everything off. Don't forget your own towels. read more

I do what Solar Car Wash not-so-lovingly calls "bucket washing", which apparently isn't allowed on weekends or holidays (although I've always been able to get away with it). I use their water, but I use my own bucket, my own mitt, my own soap, etc. I generally don't trust self-serve car-wash soaps and brushes, and I'm pretty anal about how my car is washed, so I use my own stuff. It's not cheap, 2 dollars for 2.5 minutes. Although since I use my own stuff, I can get out of there with spending less than 5 dollars usually. The place is pretty clean and accessible. It's never very crowded, and all the equipment has worked just fine every time, despite the change machine being finicky with the bills it accepts. All in all, it's a DIY car wash place and it does the job just fine. It's a little pricey, but certainly nothing unreasonable. I recommend bucket-washing though, simply for the well-being of your car's paint! read more

Decent car wash area, everything worked once you got the tokens, but: Credit card swiper was broken. The check-in offer did not work. I even called their number and left a voicemail about it. read more

Last Sunday eve I roll in here, family in tow, on our way back from a birthday party for a friend of my 5-year-old son (who, by the way, loves anything and everything about car washes and loves to help out, so as far as he's concerned, he's in for a treat...but I digress). We pick a bay, I get out of the car, approach one of two token dispensing machines mounted to the building adjacent to the car wash area which happens to house a BBQ joint that seems to be pretty good (if Yelpers' opinions are any indication: http://www.yelp.com/biz/smoke-berkeley-berkeley and may or may not be the subject of a future Yelp review by yours truly). Here's where, in the words of J. Peterman (the Seinfeld character, not the real guy), "the story takes a most unappealing turn." I slip a Jackson into this machine, wait a few seconds, and out tumble, lazily, as if in slow motion, THREE tokens. Ruh-roh. 20 = 3. NOT! So I dial this toll-free number - (800) 339-9088 - leave the requested information, and set my expectations accordingly. I feed just enough dollars into the other machine - which, fortunately, works as expected - to finish the task at hand, finish said task, and head home. I leave another message the next day, just to eliminate any doubts as to whether I expect some sort of positive response. Lo and behold, the next day I get a call from a very polite and contrite guy whose name escapes me (Paul?) who confirms my postal address and offers to send a refund via post. Today, I open my mailbox and find a very thick, invitation-sized envelope containing 17 shiny Solar Car Wash tokens. Now THAT, my fellow Yelpers, is how you run a successful business. Five stars for making something that went wrong, right. Pronto. And for being green. You know it don't come easy. read more

My credit card info was stolen not once but twice (I thought it was an accident at first). I came back again using cash but now the machine has taken my tokens without dispensing the service. And there is no easy way to get help. I have managed to get car washes here using cash, but it is a bit of a gamble. read more

After recently buying a new car, I didn't want to get it all scratched up at an automatic car wash, so I felt better washing it myself at this great self-service car wash. Everything was in great condition, and worked just like it was supposed to. And it was WAY less expensive than other places. I'll be back here regularly to wash my car! read more

Used this self-serve joint for the first time the other day when I was in a rush. I was trying to save 1) time and 2) money. I saved neither. It took me probably half an hour to forty-five minutes to wash the car inside and out. And at $4 for 4 minutes of wash time, I spent about $10 on washing alone, and another $5 on vacuuming the inside of the car. ($2 for a couple minutes). The vacuum suction was pretty weak and I couldn't get all the crumbs out of my car. And it's stressful when your time is running out and the machine starts beeping at you. Ain't nobody got time for that! So, really, I should've just gone to a full-service place where they do all that for you while you sit inside where it's warm and it costs about the same. But does such a place exist in Berkeley? read more

Great wonderful place,one the best place ever, one of their workers bear named Lawrence is the best best customer service ever made me feel great after washing my car five stars read more

This is a good place to wash your car since they have pretty much everything you need to get the job done. However, it can get quite pricey if you have a very dirty car, which I had. 3 tokens to get it started (i.e. $3). There was a dilemma, after I got the pressure washer started, I can't stop using it to use the brush or else it'll waste time. And if it stops, you have a short period of time to insert one more coin before you have to insert 3 again to restart it. I really wished there was a pause button for when you're not using the pressure washer. However, my car was really clean after about $8 worth. I also tried to get the check-in deal where you get 3 free tokens to get you started, but I looked around for about 5 minutes for an attendant, but they were nowhere to be found. It was 3pm in the afternoon... I even asked the guy at the BBQ place next door and he had no idea. Oh well, but I could have saved $3. Tips: 1) Don't come with a really dirty car. If you do, you should plan it out. 2) Make sure there is an attendant there so that you can get the check-in deal to save $3. 3) Unless you're in a rush, getting a bucket, car wash soap, and a sponge ends up being a lot cheaper (personally speaking). read more

Very nice and clean and well kept... I think it's rather expensive.. not use to paying so much, but it was in NorCal​ and I reside in Long Beach CA read more

HELP FOR FIRST TIME USER: I just used solar car wash for the first time. It was a great experience. Feel free to read, these aren't directions just helpful tips for someone whose never used one of these before. ABOUT: -there are NO attendants so follow directions on signs correctly -Credit card of Cash accepted -$3 minimum cost + $1 increments for more time ($5 for me to wash a compact sedan: civic/corolla) -will not clean off caked on stuff completely such as caked on bird crap. You will get a decently clean car but it will not be spotless if you don't bring your own supplies -there are NO drying machines, you will leave with a dripping wet car unless you bring a shammy) -BEFORE YOU GO SIGN UP FOR THE REWARDS PROGRAM: Thanx (you'll get $5 off your first wash of at least $5 AND you'll be 1/6 of the way towards your next $5 credit) MY RECOMMENDATIONS -Use the VALUE BAY for your first time -Things to bring for a decently clean car: nothing -Things to bring for a pretty clean car: your own wash mitt, some water to use with the mitt to get off caked on mess -If you did bring your own supplies, try to clean off the caked on stuff before putting any money in (don't worry about dust or dirty water marks but insects and poop are hard to get off completely with the provided brush) -MAKE SURE YOU SIGNED UP WITH THANX BEFORE YOU PAY OR YOU WONT GET THE $5 BACK -Swipe credit card or insert tokens to get the machine started -Select setting on the turning knob (I recommend 1.presoak 2.soap brush 3.high pressure rinse) -My steps: (disclaimer this is not the right way just how I washed my car quickly and efficiently) I like to get what I can off with presoak (1min), use the soap brush to clean the car really well (3-5min), then high pressure rinse the soap off really well (2-3min) -You now have a clean car that is dripping wet. I bring a shammy because I hate waterspots. If it's not busy go ahead and dry your car in the shade of the stall however if it was busy like it was when I went I moved to the vacuums area and dried my car off. My wash: -$0 (free because I signed up for rewards and got credit back to my card) -7minutes -Pretty clean car with some leftover bird dookie (didn't use my wash mitt but should've) -Happy customer that will be back prepared next time read more

I can always get a spot, the stalls are clean, the water pressure is good, and the brushes are in good condition. And it's also a good value for the money. For $5, I have plenty of time to pre-soak, scrub, and rinse my car. So: recommended! read more

Terrible customer service provided. Make sure you know where the vacuum is (right side) because if you dare veer to the wrong side, you definitely will hear an ego based man talk a whole lot about himself and about him working there (which I was not disputing so I don't know why he kept repeating it) all the while, not accommodating the customer. Thanks for making me so unfamiliar with your setting. read more

Awesome old school car wash. Nice folks there to help you out if you need it. I have an old car and can't just hand it over to a regular car wash or drive through some gas station car wash. This is my new jam. Thanks Solar!! read more

The 3-stars is due to the fact that the operating system is slightly confusing and my car was still slightly dirty afterwards.

My husband said you get more bang for your buck here. Good location & BBQ spot is right next door

I don't understand the complaints. It's a self serve car wash. What do you want, a platter of brie and grapes to go with it? There are multiple settings for the hand held sprayer, and once your time starts, you can switch from one to another as often as you want. Why are people bitching about the brushes provided? You shouldn't need a brush when you consider the blast power of the rinse setting. Just soak your car in soap at the beginning and then blast the hell out of it with the rinse option and your car should be good to go. I used 3 tokens ($3) and my car looks way better. If you want a pro job and are too cheap to dish out the cash for it, don't whine about this place. Low cost, minimal effort. What do you expect? read more

The token machine in my booth wouldn't count the first tokens I put in (which I got from the machine) It took 8 tokens to get 4 minutes. That's $2 a token. There was no attendant around to ask for a refund. Very frustrating experience. The wash is what I expected from previous 5 years of experience here, but I'll not go back to this locaton.. read more

This is my go-to spot to wash my car after i get bombarded by bird droppings. As long as i been coming here all the dials and equipment has been in working condition and i've never had a problem. I prefer coming here and washing my car myself as i can pay attention to the smaller details instead of going through a car wash where the small crevices or bird droppings could still be stuck on your vehicle. And why pay someone else to wash your car when you can do it yourself? The Solar Car Wash have plenty of stalls that usually open for use (depending on the time and what day you go). After washing your car you can just drive straight up and they have a vacuum/trash stall so you can clean out your interior or dry and apply wax on your newly washed car. They accept cards which is super convenient and didn't have these the first time i came here (i would always have to stop by an ATM) and if you check in you get free 3 tokens for your wash after you email them your address where they send you tokens. read more

***WARNING**** I have been coming to this car wash for years. Every time I'd put money in I'd be shorted a quarter here fifty cents there but never made a big deal of it because the place is close to my job and thought it was convenient. My last and FINAL trip to this place it shorted me $1.00. I told the attendant that the machine was malfunctioning and I was directed to the manager. I explained that the change machine was acting up and he had the audacity to accuse me of trying to scam him out of receiving my proper change! I have been coming to this establishment on a weekly basis for at least 5 years and this the first time I ever mentioned I was shorted my change. I was shocked and appalled that he would talk to me like that and advise against getting scammed by this place. read more

Never again will I go to ANY Solar Car Wash, specially this one. Not only was I scammed by this place, I was also talked down to by one of the useless employees. Why? My time ran out because they TURNED OFF the beeping sound AND the red light that's suppose to flash to notify you doesn't work!!! My car had soap all over it and one of the employees came over to "explain" the process, then I said "I know how it works I've used Solar Car wash before but usually a beep sound alerts me when there's less than a minute left" and he said "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?" I was taken back because my tone of voice was relaxed and I wasn't even mad, I was confused. I said "What??? Is that a real question?" He said "Well I'm trying to explain the process" I said "The 'PROCESS' is not the problem, the problem is the beep that didn't ALERT me" and he said "It's turned off because the neighbors complained it was too loud!" AHA! It was them!! and he made it seem like I was the problem because supposedly HE doesn't understand when a person is speaking perfect English. I was born and raised in the great U.S.A SIR!! I speak PERFECT ENGLISH, better than you!! That's what I should have said to his inept rude a**! Side Note: Since I didn't ask for his name, the rude employee was wearing a cap and is Caucasian, the other employee who is African American was nice and came over to try and help, it was the other guy that lacked customer service skills- I had to mention this so that the nice guy doesn't get blamed for his co-workers rude and unprofessional behavior. He kept saying "You just have to pay again, there's nothing I can do, call the number or email them" He was pointing to the sign that had Solar's info. The look on my face was pure disappointment because I was scammed (since Solar was the one who turned off the beeping sound so we can repay full price again) so he said "It's not me! It's them! Call and complain!" WOW, I couldn't believe this guy worked here, ZERO customer service skills. DO NOT GO TO THIS CAR WASH!! THEY WILL SCAM YOU THEN TALK DOWN TO YOU. THEY SERIOUSLY LACK CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS!! read more

The place is fantastic, and exactly what it strives to be: cheap, useful, a no-hassle way to clean your car yourself. Definitely recommend it if you don't mind getting your hands dirty. I cleaned my outside and entire engine for $10 worth of time. Definitely recommended. read more

Belligerent harassment by the man staffing the car wash forced me to leave in the midst of cleaning. After spending 25 minutes pulling out my car mats, clipping them up to be vacuumed, wiping my interior with wipes purchased from the car wash, and purchasing more tokens to clean my car, I needed to take a call from my doctor. The call went on for about 10 minutes. An employee came up to the car and asked if I planned on "doing business." I said "yes sorry about that. I had to talk to my doctor I am almost done I am just making an appointment and I'll keep cleaning." I was still on the phone during the interaction but he wouldn't step away. He said I was blocking the vacuum and I again apologized about the delay but explained that it was urgent and medical related call and that I was getting back to my vacuuming momentarily. He continued to keep repeating that I had to do business and I would need to buy something or get out. I was not able to communicate with the doctor and had to hang up. I explained to him I had already bought tokens and wipes and that I had emptied everything out of my car to vacuum it using the tokens. He then said he had been watching me on camera supposedly doing nothing for 30 minutes. I politely pointed out the 2-3 other unused vacuums and said "I would understand if there was a line but there is plenty of space." He would not leave me alone, repeating over and over that I couldn't just use the car wash as my hang out spot. I assured him I was not using his car wash as my hang suite. He wouldn't get out of my face even as I was putting my mats and belongings back into the car. Even after saying multiple times it was a medical related call he would not let up. This is a lack of human decency not to mention customer service. read more

Don't even bother with the non-10 min booths unless you don't care if your car is fully clean. But the 10min bargain booth is the move. Solid business. read more

The (local) owners of this small business deserve kudos for keeping their prices down throughout the drought. It's a terrific place to clean your car at a low price. They are also good neighbors: I live nearby and asked if some of the very loud warning beepers audible in my yard could be made quieter, and the proprietor Seth responded quickly, courteously, and committed to finding a solution, which he did after a week or so. Thank you! read more

I wash my old car once every four months here. It is cheap to do this way. I agreed with others it is not the most sophisticated car wash system to use because you have to be fast. Do it yourself system. read more

This is a great cost-effective way to keeping your car clean. The Solar Car wash takes credit cards and also offers a lot of swag like air fresheners, shammies, and, window cleaners. read more

Some of these negative reviews are a bit unfair. Even if the timer runs out and you have to pay twice, it's still a better deal than anywhere else. Now with the new credit card swipers, you can easily add extra minutes $1 at a time before you start washing, which I do for my bigger car. My tokens were swallowed once and emailed the owner who promptly mailed me replacement tokens. This is a great place for a cheap, quick high quality car wash. If it's your first time start with the $5 for 10 minutes value bay until you figure out how long it takes you to wash your car. I appreciate the 4 minute deadline, it helps me to be more efficient and conserve as much water as possible. I usually set up the foam brush on the car and then I pay so I can get started right away. Soap for 2 mins, rinse for 2 mins for my mid size cars. My larger SUV does need an extra minute. $4 for 5 minutes, tap the green button once on credit card swiper to add an extra minute before you start. Brushes are always clean, high pressure hose amazing. I never see any water streaks like I have at other self serve car washes. read more

Good place. Easy access. I dig the credit card option (opposed to quarters). And what makes this place A-OK is that you can keep an eye on the timer to see how much time you have left to wash. I'll be back. read more

Put my tokens into one of their machines and nothing happened. Called the phone number that they have posted and left a message nicely asking for a refund-- never heard back. I'll avoid this place in the future. read more

Best car wash in the area if you just want to do a quick wash before turning in your rental car. You can choose the amount of money and time you're going to spend. Starts from $3 for 4 minutes. First buy tokens (at the vending machine). read more

I really like the value bay...way more time...you don't have to rush to wash your car. And I love the fact that they use environmentally friendly products. read more

Great spot! Always an open port and friendly service when you need it. Last time I was there the owner even gave me free token!

It's three dollars for four minutes, which is just enough to soap the car. It's one dollar for each additional token, but it doesn't tell you anywhere how much time each additional dollar give you. You better bring rolls of quarters because the bill machine doesn't accept bills. You can pay by credit card, but it does not allow you to increase the dollar amount after you swipe your card. (The add button did not respond) I swiped my credit card for a four minute wash and used the spray soap. When I switched to the foaming brush, the foam started spraying from overhead because the brush had disconnected from the hose. By the time I went back to rinse, there was no time left. It gave no warning of the time running out. It's simply shut off so I had to buy a second car wash to get the soap rinsed off. I didn't get a car wash. I got a car rinse. When you call the customer service number, there's no customer service, just a voice mail. Terrible car wash. Forget it. read more

It works fine. If you download the app from their website, you are entitled of a statement credit of $5 (as first time user). However, when using the Value Station ($5 x 10 minutes) in San Pablo Ave Berkeley, you get accredited $3 which gets converted in $5 few days later. In this way, by using the app, the app can't apply the statement credit of $5 (as first time user) because the purchase is less than $5 minimum. Smart eh? read more

I have been washing my car here for years. The way it works is standard for these do-it-yourself car wash places. 1) you exchange dollar bills for tokens ($1 per token) 2) insert the tokens in the machine to get a set amount of washing time 3) when your time is almost up, a red light will flash and beep loudly in the bay your car is in to let you know. If you need more time, you have a few seconds to add more tokens to continue washing instead of having to start all over again. If you start all over again, you have to insert 3 tokens, which is what they require as a minimum. You may only need 1 token's worth of time to finish washing your car so the flashing & beeping warning light gives you a chance to simply add 1 token's worth of time. I was at Solar Car Wash a few weeks ago washing my car as usual, but this time, there was no flashing red light or beeping sound to tell me my time was coming to an end. When time was up, my car was completely covered in soap! I inserted 2 additional tokens but the water did not come on. Why not? Because too much time had passed since my original time had expired. There was a white man standing there, who identified himself as "the mechanic" so I told him the situation. He had a very thick Eastern European accent and he was very gruff. He insisted the light had come on once and turned off. He said he was standing right there and saw it. I said it should have flashed and made the beeping sound to get my attention. He barked, "I can't help you!" and walked away. As he was walking away, I asked, "Who can I talk to then?" He came back and said, "I'm the mechanic!" I'm not sure if that meant he was the manger/owner too. I repeated that the light did not flash nor beep, my car was covered in soap, I needed more time with the water hose and had inserted 2 more tokens but it was too late. He again barked, "I can't help you!" and walked away again. Get this, there was no coin return so I couldn't even get back those 2 tokens I had already inserted! I asked the guy about returning my tokens and he said that they had gone into a safe and he couldn't get them. When I asked him to refund me the dollar equivalent he barked "I don't have any cash!" and started walking away again! I didn't have any more cash but the machine takes credit cards so I pulled out mine. Because I was starting over, I had to pay the minimum $3, which was more than I needed but I had no choice. My car was covered in soap and I had to wash it off. So now I'm paying an extra $5 (the $3 on credit card plus the 2 tokens that weren't being returned)! I said that to him and he marched back, pulled out his wallet and guess what was in there - a stack of $1 bills! He asked, "What do you want me to do?" Really? He needed to ask that question? He should have returned my $2 when I asked him to instead of LYING to me that he had no cash and walking away. In addition, he should have given me $3 to start the machine again instead of LYING and saying that the light had gone on and off. Even if it had done that, it was still malfunctioning because it's supposed to warn us by beeping and flashing! He didn't just hand over the $. I had to ask him nicely, "May I have the $" As he was giving me the bills, one flew away and landed in a puddle of water. I picked it up but when I tried to feed it into the machine, it wouldn't go. I asked the guy what was going on and he said it wasn't feeding because the bill was wet. You'd think he'd open his wallet and take out another one, right? No, he stood there holding up the bill saying I had to wait for it to dry! He was intentionally being as unhelpful as he could! Another customer ended up exchanging a dry bill for the wet one. So with money finally in the machine and I was about to start, the mechanic said, "You watch, the light will come on." I washed my car and guess what - NO light, NO beep! So when I was done, I said to him, "See! There was no light and no beep." His reponse? Nothing! The guy just stared at me, deadpan. I repeated myself and again, no response. He just stared at me. Because of this extremely rude and unhelpful man who LIED and REFUSED TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE, I will NOT be returning to this car wash! I refuse spend my hard-earned money to support someone like this who will be rude and lie instead of doing the right thing for a customer (and for the business). Because of his bad behavior, he lost a long-time customer. I've been going there weekly for years! Not any more! PS: I also wonder if he would have been as rude if I were a man. My recommendation: Don't support unethical people like this. Don't wash your car here. Do-it-yourself car washes are common. You can easily find another one. I already did - and it's closer to my home too! read more

This place is a rip-off. I have never been to a place before that gives you change in tokens. I'm so happy that I payed for an automatic wash with a $5 bill and now have two shiny Solar Car Wash tokens as change. The automatic car wash just gets your car wet, that's about it. The manual lasts hardly any time at all, so you'll be scrambling to put more tokens in or breaking bills to get tokens which leaves you with more stupid Solar Car Wash Tokens. If you're nearby to this one, do yourself a favor and head up to Kaady Car Wash. Yeah, it's twice as much at $6 but they're super nice and not douches like Solar. read more

I have never been to a wash it yourself car wash before. The attendant was helpful and explained how everything worked. I bought tokens and proceeded to work. The spray was powerful and lots of soap came out of the bubble brush thingy. Wiped down the car with towels I bought from the vending machine and vacummed the whole car for $2. Not bad. Wash, vacuum and towel for less then $10 is a pretty good deal I think. Place was clean and the weather was sunny. One token didn't work and was refunded in three days after calling the 800 number. I will certainly go back the next time the heap looks like funky. read more