How Much Should I Tip? Car Wash Etiquette Explained

A guide on how much you’re expected to give car wash attendants and detailers

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: December 19, 2022 References

Tipping Detailers

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Tipping Attendants

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Tipping Automated Carwash Employees

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What should I do if multiple employees work on my car?

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Is tipping car wash employees mandatory?

Whether you don’t want to get some side-eye from your local detailer or car wash attendant when it’s time to pay the bill or you simply want to ensure you’re compensating people fairly, you may be wondering how much to tip. Luckily, we’re here to help you figure it all out! In this article, we’ll break down how much to tip car detailers and car wash attendants.

Things You Should Know

Tip car detailers 10-20% of the total bill based on the quality of their work, the size of your vehicle, and how dirty it was when you handed it over.
Give car wash attendants $2-5. Tip more for a larger vehicle and/or if they’ve cleaned the interior, or less if they’ve just given your vehicle a quick drying.
Don’t worry about tipping attendants who just handle the controls at automated car washes.

Section 1 of 5:

Tipping Detailers

Tip car detailers 10-20% of the total price for the service. If the tab on a car wash is going to run you $45, tip $4.50 for an okay job, or up to $9 if they did a great job. Keep in mind, you may want to tilt more towards the 20% range if your vehicle was especially dirty when you handed it off to the detailer or you’ve got an especially large SUV or truck.^{[1]
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- Take the quality of the service into account as well. If the detailer went above and beyond, throw them an extra 1-5%. If they did the bare minimum, keep it at 10%.

Section 2 of 5:

Tipping Attendants

1
Give them $2 for a quick drying job on a standard sedan. If a car wash attendant gives you a quick 1- to 2-minute dry down after the car wash, it’s customary to throw them a couple of dollars. $2 is considered the base tip for a minimum amount of effort.^{[2]
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- For clarity, the attendants are the folks who show up at the end of an automated wash to dry and/or vacuum your vehicle.
- Keep in mind, the recommendations here are baselines. If you want to tip more for great service, go for it!
2
Tip $3 if they hand-washed, dried, and quickly vacuumed a sedan. If the attendant does any spot-washing before drying or they pop your doors open to vacuum the interior, give them at least $3 for the additional effort.^{[3]
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Provide $4 for a quick cleaning of an SUV, truck, or large sedan. If you’ve got a larger vehicle that requires more time for the attendant, give them at least $4 if they do a solid job. Attendants make money by cleaning as many vehicles as possible, so the fact that your vehicle takes them longer merits additional compensation.^{[4]
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Give $5 if they cleaned and vacuumed a larger sedan, SUV, or truck. If the attendants spend more than a few minutes spot-cleaning, hand-drying, and vacuuming a larger vehicle, reward them for the effort with a slightly larger tip.^{[5]
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- If you’ve got a smaller vehicle but an attendant does a really good job and you want to tip more, $5 is considered a generous tip.

Section 3 of 5:

Tipping Automated Carwash Employees

Skip the tip for automated attendants who just oversee things. If the attendant at the car wash is simply flipping a switch in an automated tunnel, don’t worry about tipping them. You traditionally only tip someone who personally handles your vehicle, and an attendant who is monitoring an automated system doesn’t typically qualify.^{[6]
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Section 4 of 5:

What should I do if multiple employees work on my car?

Tip each employee individually or ask how they handle tips. If 3-4 employees quickly work on your vehicle together, you can either hand each of them $2, or ask how they prefer to be tipped. They may prefer taking a single $5 or so and splitting it up themselves, or they may simply ask you to use a tip box inside the car wash office.^{[7]
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- There’s nothing rude about asking how someone would like to be tipped. In fact, the employees will probably appreciate the consideration!

Section 5 of 5:

Is tipping car wash employees mandatory?

No, it’s not mandatory, but it is definitely expected. Car detailing and washing is hard work, and workers in this industry don’t earn a big base salary. In other words, they rely mostly on tips. While you can certainly skip the tip if the service was especially bad or you really don’t feel like they earned a tip, it is generally considered standard to tip.^{[8]
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