Sparkling Carwash

Overpriced. These self-​car washes never work. You will end up spending much more money and effort trying to achieve an actual car wash here than you would just going to a normal hand-​car wash place.

There’s a weird dearth of self-​service car washes in Austin. And heaven forbid you try and find one with a decent vacuum, a working coin changer, etc. This spot has both! The thing that would make this one perfect is a shampooer but sadly, that exists only in the perfect dream of self-​carwash places.
A car detail costs about $ 120 and takes 2+ hours. A self service car wash takes about 30 minutes and costs about $ 8 and if you’re doing it right, mAt a place like Sparkling, the vacuums are freeeee so I spent a total of $ 6. The bays were clean, the sprayers were super forceful, getting out some tough stains in my floor mats and you can pay with a CC. Sounds like some others may have had an issue there so maybe be wary.

Free vacuums are great. Beware of using your credit card in the self washing station. I used mine and it charged me $ 10.00 and only provided eight minutes. You are supposed to get four minutes per every two dollars. I was overcharged. It is not worth the time to try to get back the six dollars that is owed to me. I speculate when I say I’m probably not the first customer this car wash has ripped off. Using quarters next time. Might but even return.

Excellent service. I got the $ 10 super wash. The attendant was kind and offered me their current promo, a free prewash. Yes! I’ll be back.

Next to washing our cars in our driveway, this has been the only place we go to wash our cars for some time now. The quality of the chemicals is very good. The equipment is in good repair. You can use a credit card to pay. The facility itself is always sparkling clean and most importantly, it is open and well lit and I feel safe there. To top it off, I recently lost a precious-​to-​me bracelet there and when I called not only had they found it, but they immediately made arrangements to return it to me! Renews my faith in people!

Beat place to clean your car, no dumb bass coming out of cars here. The guy who owns this place is here monitoring and cleaning, or his kids (grandkids?) are to help. I appreciate that.

I’ve revisted this place a few times, and I don’t know if the owner saw this review or what, but the chemicals change much more quickly now than they used to. The arms that the hoses are attached to like to get kinda stuck, and probably should be lubricated (or something), but other than that, I don’t see it getting much better. The fact you can charge up as much as you want on a credit card and simply hold the button, and the machine only actually charges you for what you used, is really nice.

The guy who washed my car here was absolutely brilliant, hard-​working, and very handsome. This is a do-​it-​yourself wash that has a nice selection of amenities and the very nice pay by credit card option.
On the downside, I loaded up vacuum canister #1 with precious coins. Then, I discovered that this vacuum really sucked. I wish it sucked hard, but it sucked terribly. It sucked like an octogenarian emphysema patient. It sucked like the Oklahoma sooners. It sucked like a newborn with, uh, poor sucking reflex. This vacuum basically gently inhaled some of the dirt in my car.
Beware vacuum #1. It really sucks how much it doesn’t suck.

If you want to wash your car yourself, this place seldom disappoints.
Good quality chemicals. They keep the bays clean. Takes credit cards.
It is a little annoying that water runs into the parking lot so you have to splash your freshly washed car, but be aware and go slow… it is not that big of a deal.
It is HORRIBLE if you want to use the automatic. The unit they have is called a Water Wizard. Basically a useless device.
I wash my own so I love the place.
If I was an «automatic guy» I would look for a laserwash somewhere else.

I like to go to this car wash because there is no staff there to tell me to put my shirt on while I bathe my car. I do this mostly do to the fact the wax cycle tends to give off the illusion of abs when I rinse myself.
The down side is pants are not optional but mandatory. That is why I reserve myself to 4 stars. I usually spend about $ 18 here. About a quarter of that ends up on my car…

I go to this DIY (Do It Yourself) car wash once a week. I am there by 7AM so there is rarely anyone else ever around. The place is clean and the equipment has never failed. There is also a drive though wash if you don’t want to DIY. The bays take both quarters and credit cards. I prefer the credit card option so I don’t have to carry a wad of coins with me.
This morning I was disappointed though because I swiped my credit card and nothing happened. I did it a couple more times and still nothing. I moved to a different bay and tried again. Nothing.
I called the number for problems and left a message. I’m curious if they are going to call me back. I found some reviews via Google where a couple of other people had this problem and their cards got charged anyway! They said, «Beware!» Today is the first time in months this has ever happened to me. If my card gets charged and not refunded, I won’t be a happy camper and will be on them and dispute the charge with my credit card company.
Overall, I like this place except for this two incidents regarding using a credit card to pay but the machine not coming on. I will keep going back unless I get screwed out of today’s faulty charge.
I thought I would add an update. The last two times I went to this car wash, several of the features weren’t working. The «Clear Coat Protectant» and «Spot Free Rinse» chemicals were not getting dispensed into the spray. There was an attendant there and when I showed it to him, he agreed and said he would take a look. It’s still broken several weeks later.