First Hand Car Wash

Doesn't Recommend

llamont

Joined 3 years ago

NEVER GO HERE!!! THEY BROKE MY BRAND NEW CAR!!. I have never had such an awful experience getting my car washed, let alone a BRAND NEW CAR ( a little over a week old). If I could only say they did a horrible wash, that would be somewhat ok, however they actually broke my car!! While watching the workers wipe down my beauty, I noticed a black plastic piece fly off the back of my opened truck and onto the gravel. I went over to inspect and realized it was part of the inside trunk (rubber stopper that prevents the trunk from slamming into the frame). I promptly went in and asked to speak to the manager. When he came out and I explained the situation, he stated "It's just a piece of plastic mam and not a big deal". The first thing to come out of his mouth should have been "I am very sorry that we broke your new car and will offer to refund your money" Instead he continued to argue with me and when I asked for a refund, he declined my request. I will never take my car back there, new or old and suggest everyone save their $15 and just do it yourself or you might end up spending more to fix a car they decide to break!!! Incidentally if I could give this a Negative rating instead of one star, I would.

Recommends

rewardgrp

Joined 3 years ago

Looking Forward to our Meeting. I have been taking my car to First Hand for washes for since I have been in Austin. I had my 2003 S-10 Blazer Detailed there as well. I have always been treated with courtesy. I stopped in today to check on my business cards in the free Rack they offer. I decided to ask if they had windshield repair there and to my surprise they did not. I have owned a windshield repair business for over a year. I approached Corky and he invited me to come and see him Monday the 29th. I look forward to this meeting very much. I am sure my aggression in bringing to me will be of benefit to them.

Doesn't Recommend

HonestTexasGuy

Joined 5 years ago

Poor quality control. Very poor quality control. I paid $60 for an express detailing, which is advertised as including quality control, but my SUV exterior wasn't even properly cleaned. Also, the exterior "protectant" wasn't applied anywhere on the exterior. When I flagged the dirt on the exterior, the supervisor said it was rust and would need an upcharge of $40 for polishing. I rub off this "rust"--which is obviously just some stubborn dirt--with my thumb right in front of him, but there's no arguing with the guy, who says he has washed "500,000 cars". Then, not 5 minutes later, I notice that he's telling a woman whose car she notices even from the waiting area is still obviously dirty after going through the hand wash that it's because she needs a wax job, and that no, he won't be sending it through the wash again. Nice choice: if she wants a clean car, which she has already paid for, she'll have to pay for a wax job. If not, it seems she'll just have to take whatever they hand over. She already paid, so what's she supposed to do? Ask for her money back when the 500,000 car guy is telling her the problem isn't their hand wash but that her car needs waxing? I can see why they would rather we all keep our cars freshly waxed, but I've never been to a car wash before that doesn't wash your car properly even if it hasn't been recently waxed.

My experience is certainly different from the last couple of reviews. I went to this hand wash BECAUSE of those positive reviews, so I'm adding my experience to the list. My experience is more like some of the earlier reviews. I don't mind spending the money for quality work, and I would think that spending $60 would at least get me a clean exterior. If the true cost is $100 (which is ridiculous), I think I'll quit my day-job and start washing cars for a living.

Recommends

tab21

Joined 5 years ago

Great Detail. I tried First Hand because of a friends recommendation. I went in for a mini detail, and my car came back looking better than when I bought it new. I will recommend First Hand to all of my friends. Thanks Guys!

Recommends

DaveCC

Joined 5 years ago

Excellent job, new management is 100% trustworthy. My wife asked me to get her car detailed for her birthday, and I did a fair bit of online research.

I was somewhat alarmed to find that almost every detailing shop listed had a bunch of rave reviews and a bunch of people who hated them .... it seemed like everywhere was inconsistent.

I ended up going to First Hand because (a) it's by far the closest to our place and (b) because it seemed to have the best ratio of good reviews.

When I got there, I found it had recently been taken over by Corky Matney, who used to run Japanese Specialist in Round Rock. Corky is an old acquaintance through the local Austin Spokes motor sport club, and I used to have a Japanese sports car and took it too him with an obscure electrical problem that neither the dealer nor the specialists in Austin could figure out. I can personally vouch for Corky being a straight up and honest guy.

In addition to that, the job that the team at First Hand did was absolutely superb - better than the detail I I happily paid $250 extra for when I bought the car .... for $175 I felt like I got a total bargain, and it was clear that many hours of labor went into it.

Being 100% objective, there is one thing that Corky hasn't quite gotten together yet, and that is a consistent service to provide rides to people dropping cars off for big detail jobs like this. He ended up driving me himself in his track prepared Corvette, which I was totally cool with (hey, I'm into motor sports too) but the average consumer might not care for climbing into a race-style bucket seat :-) He knows how to tun a business and I'm sure that will soon be fixed.

The car in question is a 6 year old Mercedes E430, not exactly new, and not exactly a low end car either, and the First Hand guys made it look like it was fresh off the line in Sindelflingen.

Awesome job guys!

Doesn't Recommend

fletcher89

Joined 5 years ago

Worst place ever. I took it in this morning. My wife picked it up for me. When I got home this evening I noticed there were a couple of huge scratches on the passenger side that they tried to paint over to cover up. They didn't even match the color right. It looks ridiculous. I will be on my way there first thing in the morning to demand that they pay to fix my car. They should at least have the decency to tell me they messed up my car insteaqd of hiding it and hoping no one notices. This is the same place that my sister took her car too and when she got it back someone had stolen her registration sticker. I guess it is too tough to register your pick-up truck when you have no insurance so you just steal a sticker.

Doesn't Recommend

lee6868

Joined 5 years ago

Don't have your hopes up.... Did a crown package...the overall car wash was ok but the detail and last finish was sloppy.

The stepped on the inside to clean the top part of the car...they didn't bother to clean their own foot steps. Front and back fenders were incomplete as well as the side mirrors.

I would recommend the basic package if you have need a just a car wash...if you're a picky person, this car wash will not satisfy you...I'm not talking about the Q-tip details...I mean the overall exterior was not clean...the very essential thing you expect from a car wash.

Recommends

lasaustin

Joined 5 years ago

What a wash!!!!!!. I am a regular at First Hand, They just do a wonderful job, my car always looks great! I tell everyone I know how well they take car of my BMW. They really understand customer service. Thanks again guys!!!

Recommends

malibu18

Joined 6 years ago

Best car wash & service in town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. First Hand car Wash is out of this world, their service, their lobby, their free wifi, and also a great wash job,

you cannot compare them to any other wash.

Doesn't Recommend

tomasdalin

Joined 7 years ago

NOT GOOD !. EVIDENTLY REMOVING VISIBLE DIRT IS BEOND THEIR CAPABILITY.

WHEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE THEY LAMELY WIPED SOME OF THE REMAINDING DIRT OFF, NOT ALL OF IT.

THEY THEN SUGGESTED THAT I SHOULD HAVE IT DETAILED INSTEAD. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING A WET RAG WILL REMOVE