Tommy’s Express Car Wash Prices Compared Across 8 Locations

Tommy’s Express car wash prices run $10 to $32 for a single wash and $19.99 to $60 a month for an Unlimited plan, across the eight location pages we checked.

Each site sets its own menu, and no two matched.

Anchorage, Alaska sets those top numbers. At the other seven, nothing went above $27 a wash or $43.99 a month.

Three washes a month beat every plan at all eight. On The Works, two is enough.

Tommy’s Express car wash prices without a plan

Tommy’s lists its single wash price as PayPerWash. You save a card and your plate in the app, and each visit bills as you roll through the app lane. Drivers without the app use the cashier lane, and the location pages don’t list a separate price for it.

There are four washes, and each one includes everything below it.

Allendale, Austintown, Ballwin and Benton all charge $10 for Quality, the lowest price we found.

New app users get a free first wash at participating locations, and the TommyClub page adds $5 off your 5th wash and $10 off your 10th. Ten $10 washes would come to $85 with both. Tommy’s doesn’t say whether that count restarts.

Super brings in Tommy Guard, sold as UV and rain protection, and the UnderFlush for hard-to-reach dirt. Ultimate adds Rainbow Coat and 3X Wheel Clean. The Works adds Ceramic Body Wax, Tire Gloss and Red Hot Cleanser.

TommyClub Unlimited by the month

Unlimited bills your card every month for one car. A camera behind the car reads your plate to lift the gate, and a plate frame, a plate cover or a plate caked in mud or snow can get in the way.

Take Anchorage out and the range gets much tighter. The Works then runs only $39.99 to $43.99, and Quality $19.99 to $25.99.

No two menus matched

Tommy’s says each location sets its own prices because the sites are locally owned. Some numbers repeat, such as $39.99 for The Works at four sites, but no two full menus match.

Anchorage’s plans cost $20 to $22 more than Austintown’s on every tier. Its Quality plan, the cheapest one it sells, is within a cent of The Works at four other sites.

To see your own numbers, pick a site in the location finder and scroll to Wash plans. Each card shows the PayPerWash and Unlimited price. Check the Amenities tab beside it too, because Tommy’s says its free vacuums and mat washers are at participating locations only.

Your bill can change after you join. A membership works at any Tommy’s Express, but you pay the rate of the site where you wash most, so a move can raise or lower it. The terms also allow rate increases with 30 days’ notice.

Three washes a month beat every plan

A third wash puts every plan ahead of single washes at all eight locations. The second wash only does it on some.

The Works gets there everywhere, though Benton wins by a single cent, with two $20 washes against a $39.99 plan. Amarillo, Ballwin and Bradenton leave you $10.01 ahead. Quality is the hard one to justify, since five of the eight need that third wash.

Over a year, two Works washes a month save this much against paying each time.

• $0.12 in Benton
• $96.12 in Austintown
• $120.12 in Ballwin

Weekly washing is where a plan earns its keep. Four washes a month on a $39.99 Works plan come to about $10 each, against $20 to $25 for a single Works wash at those four sites. Anchorage’s $60 plan works out to $15 each, against $32.

If you only wash once a month, stay on PayPerWash. A year of $10 Quality washes in Allendale costs $120 before discounts, against $263.88 for the plan. Our comparison of unlimited plans and paying per wash goes through that choice in more detail.

The first step up costs the most

Moving from Quality to Super costs $5 to $10 more a month. Super to Ultimate costs $5 to $7, and Ultimate to The Works costs $4 to $6. Benton has the simplest menu we saw, with a flat $5 at each step.

Stopping at Ultimate makes little sense. The Works is $4 to $6 more a month at all eight locations, and it’s the one plan that wins at two washes everywhere. On a tighter budget I’d look at Super next, but check your site first, since it clears two washes at only half of these.

Laiba Altaf

One free month, one car

New members get the first month of Unlimited free. The TommyClub terms put limits on it.

• You have to sign up in the app, not on the website
• A payment card has to be on file
• It covers one vehicle
• It’s only for people who have never had a plan in the app
• Tommy’s can change the offer

Family Plan savings start at car three

One plan can’t cover two cars, because the camera ties each plan to one plate. The Family Plan takes $5 a month off each membership after your second car, and they can all bill to one card.

Two cars save nothing. Three $39.99 Works plans come to $114.97 a month, about 4% off. That’s small next to what Zips offers, which advertises up to 40% off each added car.

Cancel a full week ahead

Five business days is usually a full calendar week, so the free month is closer to three weeks if you only want a trial.

You can cancel in the app or by calling Guest Services at (616) 369-8917, which can take those same five business days. Telling staff at the wash doesn’t count.

Each car has to be canceled on its own. There’s no refund for days you’ve already paid for, but you can keep washing until they run out. Our Tommy’s Express cancellation steps walk through it.

The app also lets you pause a plan for 30, 60 or up to 90 days. You can move a plan to another car once in a 30-day period, which helps if you sell. Upgrades bill right away at a prorated rate, and downgrades start with the next billing period.

What the damage terms rule out

The same terms disclaim liability for damage tied to a long list of things, including these.

• Cars 15 years or older, or over 100,000 miles
• Anything under 5 inches of ground clearance or over 7 feet 2 inches tall
• Plastic parts such as mirrors and trim
• Non-factory accessories

None of that stops an older car going through, but the risk is yours. Read the full list before you pay for months of washes, along with our look at whether automatic washes scratch paint.

Tommy’s Express beside three other chains

Tommy’s has the lowest plan of the four by one cent, and the highest top price because of Anchorage. Leave Anchorage out and its $43.99 ceiling still sits above Mister’s $39.99 Titanium plan and Quick Quack’s usual top plan, though below Zips at $50.

Single washes start at $10 at Tommy’s and Mister, $12 at Zips and $12.99 at Quick Quack.