Waves Car Wash Reviews 

Waves car wash at Tesco Lichfield. Pulled in, agreed a £35 Gold clean / valet and told it would be an hour and a half - no problem. Returned an hour and a half later to find the car running (roasting hot inside) headlights on, hazards on… but the car had not been washed, in fact, not even started.
It’s Saturday, I’ve gone there purposely to get the car cleaned to photograph it, I’ve wandered the town for an hour and a half and it’s been a total and utter waste of time. I’ll never bother again, I’ll never recommend them, it’s a joke of a business, run by people with no business acumen or a simple understanding of customer service. Don’t waste your time, go somewhere else.

After years of taking my car for a wash at Waves Coventry, with no issue, the last time I didn't have a great experience. Usually i book my car in online, and it shows as being a volume 3. But this time I just came without an appointment. While the car wash was fine, the person washing the car was adamant my car was volume 4. He argued with me, was dismissive even when I showed him what I could see online which showed my reg, model and make and being a Volume 3, but he would not have it and said I was wrong. I refused to pay for volume 4 price upon principle and after speaking to his manager, he agreed i could pay volume 3. What this man at the car wash went on to do was manually adjust my volume on record to volume 4 by attaching the wrong model to my car reg. Extremely poor and unprofessional service. They have lost a loyal customer .

I have been using Waves at Tesco in Exeter for around three to four years. Until about two years ago, the service was excellent—friendly, helpful, and customer-focused. Unfortunately, since a particular manager took over, the experience has gone downhill significantly.

This manager is consistently rude, abrupt, and dismissive, often speaking in a condescending manner. On one occasion, a member of staff instructed me to park in a Waves customer bay, only for the manager to come storming over and aggressively tell me to park on the other side of the Tesco car park, saying he would “get to me when it was ready.” His tone was unnecessarily rude and unprofessional.

This is not an isolated incident. I have had at least three poor experiences over the past several months and chose to ignore them—until today, when his behaviour finally crossed a line. When I asked a reasonable question, his response was simply, “We have to make money,” which I understand, but it was the way it was said that was unacceptable. There was no apology and no attempt to resolve the situation.

As a result, I will no longer be using Waves at Tesco Exeter, nor will I recommend Waves in Exeter or Crediton going forward. I manage a fleet of 10 company vans, all of which I previously recommended to Waves. These will now be taken to the Exmouth site instead, where the service is consistently polite, friendly, and second to none.

To be clear, the staff team themselves are very good—it is the manager whose attitude and lack of basic manners are driving customers away. He would benefit greatly from learning some professionalism, courtesy, and respect towards customers.

I visited Waves car wash at Tesco in Warrington & paid £25 for a mini valet. After collecting the car an hour later I proceeded to drive away only to find the handbrake switch had been snapped off. I turned around & told the staff that they had broken it & I no longer had a working handbrake. They denied it & claimed it was already broken which is an absolute lie, I would NEVER risk my life driving with no handbrake. I spoke to the manager who gave me the head office e-mail address. I sent details in order to start a claim but was told that they did not think it possible that my car had been damaged in this way! I am livid! Not only do I have to now pay hundreds of pounds to have my car repaired, I have been called a liar by head office.
This company are cowboys who simply dont care....avoid at all cost.

Used the West Worthing for several years with multiple vehicles…been very delighted every time .

Efficient, friendly service competitively priced and my car was clean. Would recommend Gatwick branch and shall return.

BARNSTAPLE branch!!! What a shame these lovely guys are tarred with the same brush as a member of the WAVES team. Superb lads, superb service and really annoyed me to read reviews around the country. These lads are a credit to you. Send your colleagues for a training session with them and pay them double time for doing so, they deserve it x

Grateful for Sam at Didcot Waves Car Wash for helping me out due to my car breaking down. Excellent service provided not just for car washes but the customer service. Thank you!

Great experience at Waves Cheshunt.
I had booked my car in ahead of the visit and it was cleaned inside and out promptly. Loved the air freshener and car paper mats on a frosty day

went to waves car was in tesco car park eastbourne iv been there many times with no problems, but this time x mass eve i turned up and noticed all new staff i was about to leave and a short Indian woman said stay we are good new owners i said no but she went on and on we use the best wheel acids and best waxes she was acting just crazy hands together like praying begging me that they were so good she was relentless and stupidly i gave in. I collected the car around 16.30 it looked ok. i didn't use car much and when i did it was not too bad inside out side looked ok the water was beading ok. then on new years eve a friend noticed the black spokes on the wheels were patchy there were all over all the wheels and when you put a thumb fingernail on it the surface was like soft and easy to scrape off the wheel coating. they had used a powerfully acid and it damaged all the wheels, on the red Brembo 6 pot callipers its even taken off the car logo off 3 off the wheels, the wheels and paint on the Brembo callipers are totally ruined, the acid was so strong its damaged the red coating Brembo put on !!! when i took the car back the woman who said she was the owner was not interested even trying to blame me she was rude angry was not going to give me there insurance info and it ended with her threatening to call the police!!!! she could not care a less she through a waves car wash business card at me and was totally not bothered that she had seriously damaged 4 magnesium wheels and four 6 pot Brembo callipers !! dose this woman not realize the cost of these wheels and brakes ?? on a car that there are only 19 off in the UK. Iv contacted waves the franchise company and are waiting for there reply, if the woman who has just taken over what was a good safe place to get your car washed and cleaned if she thinks that she can do this amount of damage to a very rare car and with her rude attitude and a could not care a less attitude and expect me to pay for the £1000s of damage done by her incompetence she is wrong and if needed i will happily issue a court summons.

Waves - Tesco Glossop. Aggressive and verbally abusive staff. Intimidating tactics used even after payment made - opening my car door when I was trying to escape their abuse. £44 on a substandard clean which resulted in a damaged car!! Refused several times to provide a receipt. Avoid - especially as a lone woman.

If it’s a quick pressure wash off your after fine but I would recommend you pick the cheapest one absolute waste of money.
Also cash only !!!

Appalling Service at Waves Car Wash – West Durrington (BN13 3PB)

I handed my car keys to one of the operatives and clearly requested a full interior and exterior clean. I was instructed to return in 30 minutes.

When I returned after approximately 40 minutes, my car had not been cleaned at all. The operatives appeared unaware that my vehicle was even on their list to be washed. As I was leaving, I observed staff discussing the situation among themselves and looking at my car, confirming the complete lack of organisation and accountability.

This was an extremely unpleasant and frustrating experience. The service was unprofessional, poorly managed, and demonstrated a clear lack of competence. I will not be using this car wash again and would not recommend it to others.

AVOID – Dishonest and caused damage

Paid £130 for an inside and out valet. I collected my car in the dark and didn’t notice the inside of the passenger door at the time. As I live in the city centre, I didn’t use the car for a couple of days. When I next got in, I discovered a deep scratch down the leather on the inside passenger door.

I returned to show the manager, who denied responsibility, yet admitted the scratch was not there when I dropped the car off. That alone confirms the damage occurred while the car was in their care. He then claimed he was certain it wasn’t there during the final check, which is clearly untrue — the photo even shows remnants of cleaning cloth material around the damage.

I did not open that passenger door at all between collection and the first time use, 2 days later, so there is no possible way this damage occurred after I got the car back. The valet clearly caused the damage and then refused to take responsibility.

Very dishonest behaviour. I would strongly recommend avoiding this company.

Staff were very helpful and done a good job

The Horsham Tesco Waves Car Wash had a menu. I selected the £ 16 car wash and the bloke told me that it was £ 18. When I asked him why he told me is was because my car was dirty. I found this rather odd as I have never generally taken my car to a car wash when it has been clean ! I didn't argue and just accepted it. On my way into Tesco I met one of my work colleagues and told him about the price increase. He told me that they had just done exactly the same thing to him. The Romanian car wash in Cranleigh actually do a better job for a tenner even if my car is absolutely filthy so I'll go back to them in future.

I've just watched 2 of your guys valet a car (Range Rover). Beyond appalled. All cars washed with the same sponge, water not changed between vehicles, no new cloths used between vehicles. The whole thing was done in 20 mins. Now whilst I appreciate this is at a retail site, and timing is of the essence, spending £80+ on a substandard clean on a 80k+ vehicle seems insane. Don't worry about a response, I've read the same 'franchisee' laced comments on every other poor review. Kind of sums the company up I think.

Went to the Tesco New Malden Waves last Friday for a car clean before Christmas - Had high expectations given the amazing clean I had in the summer! £70.00p later (includes two clean of seats which does cost extra) and was beyond dissatisfied!! The clean was so poor that as I paid the supervisor I surveyed the car and flagged numerous issues. He buffed away but was still awful. I said the clean is awful and not what I had come to expect - he responded, we have had a new intake of new staff! Which does follow - given that I saw other customers venting (showing from a distance) their dissatisfaction at the service or lack of service received. A week later my car needs a proper clean yet feel cheated that I paid £70 for a clean that should have endured. I even had to ask the supervisor to black the wheels.. seriously!?

My advice - AVOID until such time as they employ staff who know what they are doing; willing to deep clean and understand how a car wash works at a premium price! For me - back to Putney leisure centre for a lower grade clean at a lot lower price! So disappointing as I came away in the summer so happy and recommended to do many people

If Waves do read these reviews - please sort your offering out 🙏 asap

Good service quick and very effect, highly recommend while your shopping or having a bite to eat.

I’ve been going to Waves Car Wash Bicester for years. They do a great job cleaning inside and outside of the car, making look brand new. I highly recommend them for anyone who wants a professional job done to their vehicle.