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Shine Auto Wash
Category: Automotive Car Wash Car Wash [Edit]
796 Terminal AveVancouver, BC V6A 2M5
Neighbourhood: Strathcona
(604) 806-0800
16 reviews for Shine Auto Wash
16 reviews in English
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Review from Abi B.
1/25/2012
I love automatic car washes. I wanted to ride through them as a child, but due to a bad experience, my parents never used them.
Shine Auto Wash is probably the best automatic car wash in the Lower Mainland. The results are much better than what you get at a touchless car wash and even some hand car washes (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). The car wash is also open 24 hours so if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and want your car cleaned, this is the place to go.
I've only ever gotten The Works (which includes an exterior wash and dry, triple foam polish, clear coat protectant, tire shining, undercarriage wash, and rust guard protectant) so I can't comment on the effectiveness of the other car wash options.
Their customer service is also good. When I paid for my car wash in cash, I dropped a nickel or two. The staff member who guided me onto the rail offered to get the coins for me. I told him not to worry about it. He also walked around my car to check for anything that might cause problems. They'll fold in your mirrors for you and I've even seen them tape down the rear window wiper on an SUV.
My car came out happy and shiny. I was very pleased with the results.
You can't get your car washed any better for $15 unless you do it yourself.
Five stars - This is as good as it gets for an automatic car wash.Listed in: Car Wash
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Review from Karen R.
12/20/2011
This is definitely worth the $8 I paid this afternoon. You just drive in, pick your poison, take 2 seconds to talk to the attendant who directs you on to the conveyor belt and all you have to do is put the car in neutral and BAM, you're off! The attendants are always really friendly and they tuck your mirrors in if you want and wish you well on your way.
For an automated car wash, it's nice to get decent customer service - it's an unexpected treat. I don't really have a choice as I can't wash my car at my apartment building and waiting to go to my parent's place in a burbs isn't the most convenient option. I'll come back here because Shine does a better job and costs a lot less than the touch less car washes at Esso or Shell. -
Review from Alicyn C.
12/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Going to the car wash..
I can't help it. I'm a fan of automated car washes. I'm lazy and would much rather spend my time doing other things than cleaning my car myself with my two hands. I'm not too picky. I just want a shiny lil' car right there and then in that very moment and really it is just too fun going through a car wash. It is a cheap little thrill for me and always entertains me for a few minutes.
My wonderful, very basic, economy friendly Toyota Echo just wants to be clean and if this car wash is good enough for the Bently that was right behind us to get all shiny clean then it is most certainly good enough for lil' red.
I'll be back again! -
Review from Jordan H.
9/7/2011
My car was filthy after two logging road camping trips. It came out spotless for $7. Why would anyone ever wash their car themselves?
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Review from Billy L.
Port Coquitlam, BC
3/19/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Coolest car wash i've ever been. This is by far the best automatic car wash in Vancouver. Skip those touchless washes cause they suck. This one is truly rad, from the point of purchase to rolling onto the tracks. It ensures your car comes out shiny and new looking. Best $15.00 i've spent on my car's exterior.
I will be back when i put my summer rims on :) -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
2/10/2009
Remember the excitement as a child of riding through the conveyor belt car washes? This has sadly been taken away by the proliferation of gas station washes where you park and it moves around you.
But no more - Shine has opened up one of those traditional style conveyor washes where you get to have the fun of bubbles and pressure sounds all around you as your car gets pulled through.
That's all fine and well and good and all. But the thing that made me a fan is that it was the cleanest I have seen my car since moving to Vancouver. It sparkled - even the tires! I am impressed!
I realized that many of the other car washes (those in the gas stations, and the "hand washes") were really not getting the car clean.
With the weather in Vancouver cars need a good pressure washing luffah experience and they were just giving a dirty dishwater rinse/swimming pool shower in the other places.
They didn't seem to have any options to clean the inside - but perhaps that is coming as they work out their kinks of opening.Listed in: Cars
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Review from Chigo U.
Vancouver, BC
2/19/2009 ROTD 5/9/2009
WOW! DAMN! UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE! Since I bought my Acura TL back in September, I have become some what of a car wash Nazi. The sight of Stella (yes, I named my car. it helps create the bond) when she's looking all dirty and crusty almost makes me want to cry, so I try to wash the old gal as often as possible. I've tried everything from the touchless car washes at gas stations to hand car washes, and well, I always got the impression that Stella was less than impressed with my lack-lustre efforts. Since I work along west second avenue, with all the construction happening at the Olympic Village, Stella gets real dirty real fast from all trucks loaded with tons of dirt and gravel driving up and down the street.
Anyway...back to the car wash. When I walked out of the office and took one look at Stella, my eyes almost welled with tears. I had to get her showered and dolled up like NOW! I had dinner plans and there was no way I was going to roll up in a TL under a thick layer of dust.
After several disappointing car wash experiences, I had to wrack my brain to come up with just the right location to give Stella her much needed makeover. Suddenly it me. This new spot along Terminal Avenue that was advertising $7 car washes. What did I have to lose?
I navigated my way through traffic hoping that the car wash would still be open. To my delight, it was. In fact, it's open 24 hours, why, I wasn't exactly sure why a car wash would be open 24 hours but honestly, I didn't care! I was about to give Stella a well deserved bath!
Now remember that $7 ad that lured me in, well, it wasn't exactly to be. That was for the basic wash, you could get the medium wash for 12 bucks or 14 bucks got you the full meal deal including a wash of the undercarriage, rims and wax. I went for the full meal deal.
After an additional dollar cause I was using debit, I was good to go through. I was actually a little excited, like a little kid.
I sat back, listened to my music and let the car wash do it's thing. Once through through the other side, I jumped out of Stella, and did the walk around. I actually whistled. She was sparkling and shiny! That was 15 bones well spent! I gave it 4 stars only because they don't have a vacuum...YET...according to the guys that work there, that little situation will be rectified in the next few months. Even with out that, I think I have found my new car wash! Oh, and when I turned the car back on, I'm pretty sure Stella purred. -
Review from Donna J.
Vancouver, BC
8/12/2010
Gave it a try, with some trepidation -- I was selling my old POS car and thought it would look nicer clean. It already had some dings & dents, so I wasn't too worried about scratches, but I was worried about physical damage after reading some of the reviews here. My mirrors don't fold in, and the antennae doesn't retract...
But! All was well. I'm not sure if I'd bring a super expensive car in here -- Easy Wash on the North Shore seems like a better bet for that. But this is convenient, close to home, cheap, and although it did bend my antennae a little, it can't be blamed -- they did warn me. And it bent back no problem. I have a new minivan now, and I'll give it a try with it soon. -
Review from Ramon V.
9/6/2010
A whole lotta whizzing, drenching and whooshing, and but not a whole lotta cleaning. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to a hand wash, the only advantage is that it's cheaper. For loose dirt or just a quick spruce up, the $7 is a decent deal, but you could get better results with a hose and a bucket of soap. This car wash is not very effective on wheels, creases, or bird poo.
My environmentally conscious-side felt guilty of the amount of water and power that was used to rinse off my car. It really felt like I was in a hurricane and I drove off with a grin on my face. Unfortunately I had to properly wash my car the next day. -
Review from Raymond O.
Vancouver, BC
5/12/2009
Finally had the courage to go here over the weekend and try the basic CAD7.00 wash first. Going through the conveyor I was pretty hesitant because it's not "touchless" so there are materials that go through the body of the car as well as a series of high-powered sprays throughout the process.
Before going in the attendant says they have to fold your side-view mirrors as they had one customer had theirs break. And then he guides you towards the conveyor guides for the wheels which also feels scary are your wheels align, but I can see the railing is covered with some yellow plastic material so it doesn't go scratch your wheels.
Once the process starts, its pretty quick. Just a series of sprays and cloths going over the vehicle. Then a very strong blower to dry.
Once outside, another attendant unfolds the side-view mirrors so you can be on your way.
A few thoughts:
- For CAD7.00, you really can't complain. It comes out clean, but there are still dirt present in corners that the sprays and cloths can't reach like the spokes on the wheels and major parts of the wheel wheel, etc. Still, it's not hand-washing so it's whats expected.
However, it's also not like paying for their more expensive option will give me a cleaner washed car, but just added waxes. So I really don't think I'll be paying more for this car wash. I will only patronize this if I want a quick wash.
- BIRD POO didn't completely wash away at the rear of the car. The dropping wasn't dry anymore and was loose, so I had to manually intervene by pouring water and wiping it myself. If I knew it was still there I would have pointed it to them so I can complain and have them do one more round for the car.
- The car has a light silver paint colour so I can't comment about scratches. So far nothing that pops out. Perhaps if the car was really dirty with dried mud, then I wouldn't even attempt to go here but instead have the car manually cleaned first.
- No available vacuum. I hope they soon provide one so we can at least clean the vehicle's interior as well to remove the basic dirt and small stones from shoes. This would be a great addition.
Overall:
Nothing to be excited about. Nothing revolutionary in car washes. I would certainly go back for the CAD7.00 wash if I wanted to maintain a clean-looking car.
When you're all done, the attendant at the end of the tunnel should do a quick once around to see if there are obvious dirt left so he can help out and gain your business. None of this occurred so I was still left with a bird poo on the trunk.
I would still patronize my local professional car wash for that quarterly waxing and interior cleaning.
Also I hope they keep the CAD7.00 pricing permanent for a quick wash from rain and snow. Otherwise I would think twice about going back here. -
Review from Colene C.
4/4/2010
Simply put, you can't go wrong for $7. Far cheaper than the hand car wash ($15-20) and the local gas stations ($10-15), this car wash does a great job for the price.
When you first pull up to the machine to pay, you are greeted by a perky woman on the touch screen. After selecting what kind of car wash you want (optional $2 for vacuum), you pass through the gate and are greeted by a real person who guides you onto the rail. It's been awhile since I've been in an automated car wash so I was fascinated by the whole process. I found this car wash system to be quite robust and the water pressure to be super strong. For people overly concerned about their car, they might not like this (some water leaked through the sunroof).
All in all, a clean car for a cheap price. -
Review from Jenna H.
Vancouver, BC
8/18/2009
Maybe I was just really excited to finally clean my bug encrusted vehicle but I thought Shine Auto Wash was fabulous! For only $7 you get a basic wash that is way better than any of the gas stations I have tried. In a weird way going through this conveyor belt wash is fun too!...no I am not drunk nor was I when I went through the wash! It just looks cool to have big octopus like tentacles slapping your dirty car around while you are safe and dry inside.
The results of the wash were great and is it me or do freshly cleaned cars drive better!? -
Review from namit m.
3/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Painless $7 (ok more like $8) carwash. A little light on the cleaning - has some bird dropping marks still left on the car. Decent vacuum cleaning area. Easy access and egress. YAY
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Review from Debby D.
Burnaby, BC
12/12/2009
I went for the basic bare bones $7 car wash. I was surprised to see workers there but they were there to guide you and your car into the railings necessary to move through the process. The basic wash got the exterior clean and shiny. That was pretty much all I needed. One time, after picking up my young nephew at his school, we went through that wash and he had a lot of fun!
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Review from Reena M.
Updated - 4/15/2009 1 Check-in Here
I went back here a few weeks ago and it wasn't scratched (i don't think!) but it wasn't exactly sparkling clean like it was last time. So I don't think I will be back here again. Especially after reading 2 yelp reviews of cars getting scratched. I'm going to stick to hand washing my own car from now on.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/15/2009
I went here based on Marc's recommendation, but also because I pass by it allllll the time and… Read more »
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Review from Don M.
12/4/2009 1 photo
The touch screen point of sale kiosk worked sluggishly to the point of frustration. I was a bit taken back that this place wanted $2 / Toonie so that I could vacuum the car out myself while freezing my a** off and getting soaked by liquid sunshine. Another place I've used similar to this joint gives the vacuum tokens out for free. Listen, for $7, throw in the vacuuming for free. The wash was alright, but fresh tar didn't move an inch with the pressure washing.
