An employee of the East Side Express Car Wash Detail polishes the driverside dashboard of a four-door Jeep crew cab.

Bob Carroll remembers sitting in his parents’ 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle as a young boy, heading across the free bridge for a weekend afternoon in Juárez.

He’s 61 now, and recalls those days of family haircuts, filling the car with gas and shopping.

“My dad would buy cigarettes by the carton, and my mom would get a bag of rice and a bag of beans, and throw it in the trunk,” he said, adding, with a bit of nostalgia, “then we’d go to the car wash.”

When he left his career in advertising decades later and was contemplating his next move, Carroll found inspiration in those memories of assertive Mexican car washers – moving quickly, lathering up the family ride, gliding soapy rags across steel and chrome, and rinsing and drying to a polish.

“They even cleaned the wheel wells,” remembers Carroll, the owner of Express Carwash and Detail at 1204 Giles on the Eastside. “When I’d watch these guys washing these cars, it was all by hand. It seemed like they loved the cars. Those guys really cared about what they were doing.”

He’s now been in the hand-wash industry for 10 years, leading a small crew of his own, each member trained in the same style of hustle and affection for cars that Carroll witnessed years ago.

Bob Carroll, a former advertising sales executive, stands in front of the East Side hand car wash business he has led for the past ten years.

The business, however, has changed dramatically. Express tunnel car washes, offering quick service and inexpensive monthly memberships, have spread across El Paso and cities nationwide.

Google lists about 110 car washes in El Paso, and some data companies report more than 160. WashIndex, a national market analysis company that tracks the industry, uses online reviews to estimate the number of car washes. It reports about 75 active car wash locations in El Paso, including nine chain operators and 24 independent businesses.

The market for hand-wash detail shops and self-service bay spray washes continues to shrink.

The data shows that nearly 60% of El Paso’s car washes are automated express tunnels. Hand-wash detail shops make up 33%, and in-bay car washes represent 8%.

U.S. car wash revenue is projected to reach $19.2 billion this year, with membership programs accounting for about three-quarters of that total, according to MMCG Invest, a firm that prepares loan feasibility studies for SBA lenders.

The owners and operators of traditional car wash operations in El Paso say they will survive by focusing on what they do best: quality service inside and out.

“This is a hand wash, how it would be done in your driveway. It’s soap, water from a hose, a mitt. That’s how we do it. No machines. The only machine is a vacuum cleaner for the inside of the car, and we do that for the customer,” Carroll said.

Can local operators survive?

One of the critical differences between tunnel washes and hand washing is the attention paid to protecting the paint, specific to each vehicle. Included in the consultations, hand-washers say, are the warnings on potential risks for vehicles passing through the high-pressure cleansing of a tunnel wash.

“These express car washes scratch the paint because of the dirt that stays in the bristles. The car is being scratched, especially if you are a daily goer,” said Damian Hermosillo, owner of Mijo’s Mobile Detailing in El Paso. “With detailers, we do everything in our power to not scratch the clear coat. We use chemicals that are safe and that are not as strong as express car wash. And we use new rags every time.”

On top of that, are the effects of surfactants, solvents, acids and alkalis typically in the water of express car washes. These chemicals, if not properly balanced, can damage paint and dull a car’s shine over time, car detail experts said.

But the advancing technology on express car wash additives is proving effective, with some recent studies showing that a well-maintained automatic tunnel car wash – using the right mix of the right chemicals – can provide a better wash and less damage than an inexperienced hand-washer.

While local detailers were diplomatic in describing their feelings about express wash operations – calling them a successful business model catering to an existing need – they nonetheless consider their own customer base to be the region’s select vehicle owners

Express car washes “are the cheap and easy way,” Hermosillo said, and the more expensive hand-wash detail is an investment in the long-term protection of a vehicle by an owner.

“If that’s not something valuable to them, then that is not our clientele,” he said.

Car detailing and hand washing do tend to be more expensive than the membership-based tunnel washes. The WashIndex shows monthly membership prices in El Paso ranging from $15 to $39.99. Hand-wash detailing can run from $15 for small cars up to several hundred dollars for larger vehicles, inside and out, with near showroom results.

The car detailers who shared their general sales numbers said they have seen steady revenues, even since the rise of automated car wash tunnels, reinforcing their belief that a market as large as El Paso can sustain all car-washing demographics.

Ricardo Bocardo, a 49-year-old engineer who owns several businesses, bought a bakery three years ago in the Lower Valley with an in-bay car wash in the parking lot. He said the car wash has brought in steady sales, but acknowledged that express chains will likely limit the growth of these local old-school car washes.

The income by square footage is much higher for apartments or business leases than these manual spray washes, he said.

“These kinds of car washes might disappear or have to be changed” into a tunnel wash for better profits, he said.

But he also sees a permanent niche for the in-bay car wash businesses because there is a loyal segment of customers who prefer dropping their change and using traditional soap and rinse sprayers on their cars.

“Especially some older people. I see them out here at five in the morning washing their cars. They say they like the exercise, and it also de-stresses them,” Bocardo said.

In-bay car washes are also more economical for bulk washing vehicles – ideal for car clubs and used car lots like those along many Lower Valley streets. Bocardo estimates an in-bay wash for a small car to be around $3.50, and a large truck runs about $7. Tack on about 50 cents for a vacuum, he said.

They are also a good fit for industrial vehicles.

“I have a tow truck, and I wash it every day. It gets dirty, with oil on the back,” said Cesar Hernandez, a man in his 20s who was spraying down his vehicle at an in-bay car lot near the intersection of Delta Drive and Alameda Avenue.

Hernandez also owns a nearby car lot. He brings his cars in for a quick wash several times a week.

“This is cheaper for me,” he said.

An employee of the Express Car Wash Detail cleans the trail doors of a customized Jeep Rubicon.

Is the wave cresting?

The express tunnel car wash was introduced to El Paso by Vintage Classic Car Wash, which operated nine express locations before selling them to Mister Car Wash in 2007. This brought the first national chain of express operations to the city. Since then, more chains have followed, bolstered by an influx of private equity and industry tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration.

Despite rapid growth, the express car wash wave may have crested. Recent market studies suggest that the industry is now shifting from aggressive new construction to a consolidation phase. An MMCG study found that new site developments of express car washes have fallen from 943 openings in 2022 to about 550 in 2025

Carroll agrees with that trend.

“They’re cannibalizing themselves with their memberships,” he said.

So while the car wash titans slug it out – likely entering a price war – the hand-washing teams across the city will continue their regular service, they say, proving their value with customized care and the human touch.

“I’ve had people come in with moldings and pieces of their car being handed back to them after a tunnel wash,” Carroll said. “Those people become my customers, so I’m not worried.”

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Hand-detailers hold ground as express car washes flood El Paso market