Suds Self-Serve Car Wash

Don’t swipe your card at this location. I used my credit card with intentions of doing a simple 4 minute rinse to get salt and sand off my car. The timer ran out after 4 minutes, the spray wand shut off and I left. Then they charged me over $40. I called, they said there is a sign that says you need to turn off the car wash. Doesn’t make sense,. The timer hit 0, the wand shut off. My friend was washing his truck at the same time in another bay and was only charged $4. They gave me a code for a free wash that expires after 30 days, but worth no where near the $40 I was charged. A free wash in February is no good anyways, $4 rinse once a week if all I do. The guy said I should be happy with the free wash because it’s worth almost $20, and they usually don’t compensate for the over charge at all.

If this is truly how their equipment works, then it’s out dated. I’m sure they make lots of money from people who don’t notice the extra charges on their account. Shady business.

Very disappointing experience and zero accountability.

This car wash advertises $4 for 3 minutes, which is standard. When I finished washing, the machine showed my total as $5.50. However, my card was first authorized for $9, then later posted as $9.95, even after several days. There’s been no adjustment or correction.

At most car washes, you tap, it runs for the time you pay for, and the final charge matches what the screen shows. That didn’t happen here, and there’s no clear explanation or transparency about billing.

On top of that, two of the car-mat hangers were broken, which just adds to the overall poor maintenance and experience.

Between the confusing overcharges and broken equipment, I wouldn’t recommend this place. There are plenty of other car washes that are upfront about pricing and actually charge what they show.

i’ve read the previous reviews as well and I know Owner is just gonna response that we will look into it but this scammer owner, stay away from this site.

Input 4$ (two toonies), and it told me I’d only put in 2$…
I was scrambling for change and tried to input the rest of the change I had to makeup the 4$..

I had put it quarters and it said I only put a total of 3.50$…

This was the end spot closest to the vacuums.

Cleanest car wash in Kingston. Equipment works as expected. Makes the shine!!

used to love this place but i wont be able to go anymore. “card read error” on 4 different cards at the wash AND the change making machine. the vacuums only take change and the hoses always fall off. i personally dont use change anymore so i wont be coming back . just noticed on another review that they said they will get tap machines, but that was 6 months so i dont thinks thats happening

Great self-service car wash with many amenities and very clean. Plus hot water!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

A great self car wash. What I’ve really noticed is: lots of product available when called on and the water pressure is enough to get the job done without question. If I could offer one suggestion that would enhance the overall quality is the addition of a blower system to blow most of the water off in a touch less manner. That may reduce my risk of getting a speeding ticket. Lol

UPDATE!!
Having just returned from a cross Canada road trip and using many self serve car washes, Suds is definitely the standard to beat. The other locations had very little product, very low pressure at the nozzle and if there was product flowing through the hose you wouldn’t know it. Once the truck was dry it was very noticeable that money wasted. Keep up the great service

Best self serve car wash in the area. Always very generous with soap, and brush soap. Vacuums always work no problem. Card reader for card payment always work, may not seem like a big deal but the major majority of car washes you’re fighting with the stupid card reader

Update: I appreciate the quick reply, however I would note that your signage states that garbages are removed, not that they are relocated to the vacuum area - which most customers don't visit. Additionally, your response does not explain how this solves the alleged problem since there are still rubbish bins people can illegally dump into. Reading between the lines, your reply tells me "this reduces how many garbage bins we need to empty" and has nothing to do with illegal dumping at all.

Regarding availability at other service providers, I admit that times may have changed and I've been an exclusive customer of yours for years, but waste bins in or between bays has been standard practice at self serve washes everywhere I've gone previously. And I repeat, this will not stop dumpers from leaving a trash bag in your wash bays, receptacle present or not. Cameras might.

Original review: Regrettably despite this being my preferred car wash in Kingston - I drive from east end to use it - I will be looking to other providers due to the removal of the waste bins. Part of washing my car is removing the few wrappers or food rubbish that accumulates during normal driving and being able to 'reset'. Something that I see in every self serve wash I've visited.

Signs posted state that the removal of waste bins is due to illegal dumping. I question the owners, do you think people who dispose of household garbage at your carwash care if there's a small trash bin or not? Of course not, they'll just leave it anyway. This change only hurts your paying customers and business.

Sincerely disappointed by this and hope you reconsider.

Charged my credit card 9.95 for a car wash. Could have almost gone to an automatic drive through for that price. Says $4 but charged 9.95! No where did it say it would be more. I checked all the signage. Won't be back here again. My normal one is $4/5 mins all the time.

Happy to edit my original post as you requested:

Thank you for the fast reply. I'm still not going to visit you again. I wanted the $4 car wash and it didn't stop at the required time. I had to press a button to stop it when I realized it went over and didn't automatically stop. That's bad business! Final bill was not 9.95. It was 8.50! For a $4 car wash that didn't stop after the $4 mark.

Great pressure on gun; quantity of soap and wax seemed generous; long wash/wax was a very reasonable $5. Clean facility. Wish we had a Suds in North Bay.

A great self car wash. What I’ve really noticed is: lots of product available when called on and the water pressure is enough to get the job done without question. If I could offer one suggestion that would enhance the overall quality is the addition of a blower system to blow most of the water off in a touch less manner. That may reduce my risk of getting a speeding ticket. Lol

A bit expensive if you're too slow to wash your car, lol. Lots of bays are available. Sometimes the card reader doesn't work tho.

Great self serve place to wash your car. Heads up, if you only use $1 worth it charges for the full $4 (when using credit card) so if you think you're going to save money by stopping sooner, you won't.

Excellent equipment and usually lots of soap and pressure. They have a 4 minutes for $3.00 which is good. However, I like to have more time and put in $8.00 which only gives me 5 minutes plus. This has happened twice now. The kind attendant says to put in $3.00 at a time and top it up and it should work. I’ll try that next time but this is suspicious and should not be such a problem. It takes my money with no posting of such a practice. Beware.

I would ask the owner to explain to me how $3.00 = 4 minutes and $8.00 = less than 6 minutes. I spoke with the gentleman on duty and he instructed me to go in $3.00 time frames, adding another $3.00 for an additional 4 minutes. This should be posted stating not to put more than $3.00 in at a time. The owner now has more of my money and I had to rush my job after $8.00 gave me less than 6 minutes. Please refund me the purchase or give me a free 8 minute car wash. Your machines need to be upgraded.

Best self serve wash in town. Bays are clean. Sprayers and brushes work well.

Nonsense that overcharges. Had to stop by today and wash off gas that overflowed and spilt on car body. 5min of running the "rinse" cycle, which is just water. Machine showed charge of $8 something, but charge on card was $9.95. Whichever way it is, badly overpriced for 5min of water. Not even soap! If you can avoid going here, then do so.

I’ve been going to suds for at least 13 years and the last 3 times that I’ve been, the machines not only ripped me off from car wash machine but now the machine where they dispensed change ripped me off tonight. Pretty disappointed and looking at another place to go as I don’t appreciate losing $13. It’s bad enough that you lose 10 seconds when you start the machine but now getting ripped off from the machines is the final step for me to take my car somewhere else. apparently I wasn’t to specific about how I got ripped off tonight. I put $5 into the coin dispenser machine and it only gave me 2 loonies.. There was nothing wrong with my bill fold.

This place used to be good but lately it’s garbage.

It’s expensive.

One of the credit card terminals has been broken for eons.

When I went yesterday the ‘spot free rinse’ wasn’t working, so I tried a different bay and spent another $4 to find out it wasn’t working in any of them. No one was on site so I called the number, no answer.

Suds? More like Duds.

Edit: to reply to their reply…
The phone number I called did not go to voicemail, it sounded like a fax machine, which is why they didn’t have any voicemails. The credit card terminal was most definitely not working as I tried multiple cards, but it worked in the next bay over. And unless they replaced the part overnight between when I was there and when I left the review, they didn’t fix anything.

Everything about this place has gone downhill faster than an elephant on skis.

The attendant was very helpful. I have a motorhome class RV (rv was too big to fit in but could get the nose in) and I wanted to wash the bugs plastered against the front from my drive from Vancouver. They have a bug spray to help remove the cake on carcasses. Worked like a charm.

Like everything else you can use a card to pay on a self service terminal.

Not an honest business. Their metering system would charge a quarter of a dollar more for $4.25 when I stop at 2:57.

This place isn't friendly for truck owners to actually wash our complete vehicle because it might actually be dirty well welcome to a car wash where people bring their dirty vehicles! I will never return to this dumpster fire of a car wash!

Great little wand self wash
Very busy some days but worth the wait vacuum area as well

Undoubtedly, this car wash stands out as the epitome of top-tier quality. Its unparalleled abundance of cleaners and wax ensures an unmatched level of care for your vehicle. The added perk of having attentive staff readily available in case of any concerns elevates the experience.

Update: I can confidently reaffirm that it remains the absolute best in the business!

Yes, it continues to surpass all expectations. I've visited more than 200 times, and the quality hasn't wavered.

Yet another update: The consistency in excellence is truly remarkable. This car wash retains its title as the best in every visit.

Good car wash; a little busy (which is good); good prices and an overall quality wash; the controls had a bit of a learning curve but were very easy once I got them. The sheltered and separated washing bays are nice. Looks clean and well maintained. Awesome location. If you need a quick wash for your car this is the place to go.