Savannah Car Wash Market Analysis
Savannah, GA
Data updated · September 26, 2026
A read of Savannah's car wash market built from 33,044 Google reviews across 233 locations. Format mix, operator rank, county breakdown, rating vs. income, aspect-level customer signals.
Snapshot
- Locations
- 233
- 85% independent
- Chains
- 11
- lead: bp (8 sites)
- Avg rating
- 4.56★
- +0.15 vs national MSA median
- Damage rate
- 1.1%
- 1.5× below national norm
- Cancel friction
- 10.9%
- Top format
- express tunnel
- 42% of classified inventory
Market Quality snapshot
- Population
- 412,089
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Households
- 158,617
- ACS 2023 5-year
- Residents per wash
- 1,769
- near the national MSA median
- Express tunnels per 10K households
- 1.4
- above ~1.0 — contested · classified sites
Key findings
- 233 car wash locations operated by 11 chains and 199 independents across 3 counties.
- Weighted Google rating 4.56★ across the market; structural concentration and format mix sit near US-metro norms.
- Built from 33,044 Google reviews, 12,385 of them AI-extracted across 55 dimensions.
233 car wash locations across 3 counties · dots colored by format · sized by review volume
Tracked at 233 car wash locations, Savannah matches the structural profile of the typical US metro of comparable size. 233 locations across 11 chains and 199 independents, distributed across 3 counties. Distinctive patterns show up below at the format and aspect levels.
Weighted rating 4.56★; damage 1.1%; membership-cancel friction 10.9%. Equipment reliability runs as the sharpest friction (-0.32). 33,044 Google reviews drive the analysis, 12,385 of them processed through the WashIndex LLM extractor.
See the top car wash chains in Savannah
Ranked by location count in the metro
The car wash industry in the Savannah metro, officially
Fast-growingthe Savannah metro is one of the faster-growing car-wash job markets: employer establishments grew 27% from 2022 to 2024 — ahead of the ~7% national pace — to 33, now employing about 348 people at a $27,447 average wage.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW (private, NAICS 811192). Counts car-wash employer establishments, a narrower universe than all physical wash locations — see methodology.
Car wash financing in the Savannah metro
Balanced mixSince 2013, the U.S. Small Business Administration has backed 9 car-wash loans in the Savannah metro worth $11.4M, at a $994,000 median per car wash and a 0.0% charge-off rate. Early read: its purpose mix tracks the national pattern — a blend of new builds, acquisitions, and reinvestment by existing operators — with no single signal dominating.
FY2026 annualized from its first 6 months.
- Chatham 5
- Bryan 2
- Effingham 2
- New build / open33% · $1.5M
- Expansion / improvement56% · $926K
- Working capital11% · $15K
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) & 504 FOIA datasets (NAICS 811192), data through 2026-03-31. See the Car Wash Lending Tracker for national figures and methodology.
About the Savannah car wash market
How many car washes are in the Savannah metro?
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What is the best-rated car wash in the Savannah metro?
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Which car wash chain has the most locations in Savannah?
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What is the average customer rating in the Savannah car wash market?
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What is the typical household income near car washes in Savannah?
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What kinds of car washes does Savannah have?
Format counts below split Savannah's 233 car wash locations by operating concept. Each format serves a different customer occasion — express tunnels for throughput, full-service for staffed convenience, detail shops for hand-finished work — and the rating column lets you read whether each format is meeting its own expectations here.
Highest-rated format: Detail Shop at 4.84★ across 16 locations. Lowest-rated: In-Bay Automatic at 3.75★ (10 locations).
180 (77.3%) of 233 locations are unclassified — small independents whose websites don't surface enough signal for format assignment. Format-level statistics describe the classified subset only.
| Format | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage Rate | Cancel Friction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unclassified | 180 | 77.3% | 12,883 | 4.60 | 0.69% | 7.3% |
| Express Tunnel | 22 | 9.4% | 16,744 | 4.55 | 1.38% | 11.5% |
| Detail Shop | 16 | 6.9% | 1,839 | 4.84 | 0.34% | 0.0% |
| In-Bay Automatic | 10 | 4.3% | 519 | 3.75 | 1.67% | 75.0% |
| Full Service | 4 | 1.7% | 959 | 4.05 | 4.03% | 0.0% |
| Self-Serve Bay | 1 | 0.4% | 100 | 3.70 | 0.00% | 0.0% |
What is the household income near Savannah car washes?
Read together with the format mix above, the income scatter below tells you whether car wash quality in Savannah tracks neighborhood income, format mix, or neither. Operating quality usually dominates this picture.
Pearson r between ZIP income and Google rating across 82 qualifying locations: -0.25 — mild negative. Higher-income ZIPs in this market host slightly lower-rated washes on average, which is unusual. Scatter mean: $79K AGI/return, 4.36★.
Car wash count and quality by income tier
Blue bars: location count per tier. Orange tick marks: average Google rating (same y-axis).
| Income tier (mean AGI/return) | ZIPs | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Top Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $50K | 2 | 14 | 5,972 | 4.61 | Express Tunnel (2) |
| $50K – $75K | 6 | 44 | 8,807 | 4.70 | Detail Shop (6) |
| $75K – $100K | 6 | 59 | 13,715 | 4.46 | Express Tunnel (11) |
| $100K – $150K | 3 | 14 | 3,388 | 4.39 | Express Tunnel (3) |
| $150K+ | 1 | 1 | 40 | 3.40 | In-Bay Automatic (1) |
Income band spread: 1/3.40★ at the highest tier; 14/4.61★ at the lowest. In a balanced market, the per-tier read is most useful as a sanity check on whether the operating quality is income-uniform or income-stratified.
Who operates the most Savannah car washes?
The table below ranks the top 25 chains operating in Savannah by location count. Each row shows per-chain Google rating, damage rate, and cancel friction — the cleanest side-by-side cut on operator quality in the market.
| # | Chain | Locations | Reviews | Avg Rating | Damage | Cancel | Upsell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bp | 8 | 372 | 3.78 | — | — | — |
| 2 | LUV Car Wash | 5 | 8,609 | 4.66 | 0.92% | 7.3% | 0.20% |
| 3 | Auto Shine Car Wash | 4 | 959 | 4.05 | 4.03% | — | 1.61% |
| 4 | Whistle Express Car Wash | 3 | 2,347 | 4.74 | 1.18% | 9.6% | 0.10% |
| 5 | Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash | 3 | 862 | 4.67 | 2.19% | 28.8% | 0.16% |
| 6 | Zips Car Wash | 3 | 2,148 | 4.29 | 2.16% | 15.3% | 1.66% |
| 7 | Take 5 Car Wash | 2 | 1,736 | 4.31 | 1.95% | 14.5% | 0.43% |
| 8 | Circle K | 2 | 78 | 3.01 | — | — | — |
| 9 | MOJO Car Wash | 2 | 822 | 4.76 | 2.42% | 12.7% | 0.74% |
| 10 | Bori Auto Spa | 1 | 24 | 5.00 | — | — | — |
| 11 | Shine-N-Go Car Wash | 1 | 44 | 4.40 | — | — | — |
Which counties have the most car washes in Savannah?
Savannah's 233 car washes distribute across 3 counties. Chatham County leads with 177 locations (76.0%). Cross-county rating dispersion is usually narrow at this scale.
Cross-county rating dispersion: 0.14★ between the highest- and lowest-rated counties with meaningful sample size.
| County | Locations | % of MSA | Reviews | Avg Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham County | 177 | 76.0% | 28,485 | 4.57 |
| Effingham County | 30 | 12.9% | 1,597 | 4.44 |
| Bryan County | 26 | 11.2% | 2,962 | 4.47 |
What do customers love and complain about in Savannah?
The aspect grid below summarizes 12,385 AI-extracted reviews across 233 Savannah car wash locations. Each aspect lands on a -1…+1 scale (negative = customers complain more than they praise; positive = the reverse).
Where are all the car washes in the Savannah metro?
The complete inventory of car wash locations in the Savannah MSA is captured in the underlying dataset; the table below shows the highest-review-volume sites for at-a-glance comparison. Each row shows operator, address, format, chain affiliation, rating, review count, and the IRS mean AGI for the ZIP.
| Location | City | Format | Chain | Rating | Reviews | ZIP AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grainger Honda 1596 Chatham Pkwy | Savannah, GA | — | — | 4.6 | 5,051 | $40K |
| LUV Car Wash - Abercorn Extention 10509 Abercorn Extention | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | LUV Car Wash | 4.7 | 2,947 | $64K |
| LUV Car Wash - Pooler Pkwy 420 Pooler Pkwy | Pooler, GA | Express Tunnel | LUV Car Wash | 4.4 | 2,412 | $80K |
| LUV Car Wash - Ogeechee Rd 5702 Ogeechee Rd | Savannah, GA | — | — | 4.7 | 1,691 | $81K |
| LUV Car Wash - Ogeechee Rd 5909 Ogeechee Rd | Savannah, GA | — | — | 4.9 | 1,490 | $64K |
| Whistle Express Car Wash 38 Magellan Blvd | Port Wentworth, GA | Express Tunnel | Whistle Express Car Wash | 4.8 | 1,300 | $59K |
| LUV Car Wash - US-17 1792 US-17 | Richmond Hill, GA | Express Tunnel | LUV Car Wash | 4.8 | 1,189 | $104K |
| LUV Car Wash - Abercorn St. 11303 Abercorn St | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | LUV Car Wash | 4.9 | 1,164 | $64K |
| Whistle Express Car Wash 2001 Pooler Pkwy | Pooler, GA | Express Tunnel | Whistle Express Car Wash | 4.7 | 991 | $80K |
| Zips Car Wash 10000 Abercorn St | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | Zips Car Wash | 4.4 | 925 | $91K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 351 S Columbia Ave | Rincon, GA | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.4 | 913 | $78K |
| LUV Car Wash - Ford Ave 8990 Ford Ave | Richmond Hill, GA | — | LUV Car Wash | 4.7 | 897 | $104K |
| Chatham Parkway Lexus 1120 Chatham Pkwy | Savannah, GA | — | — | 4.6 | 837 | $81K |
| Take 5 Car Wash 1545 Pooler Pkwy | Pooler, GA | Express Tunnel | Take 5 Car Wash | 4.2 | 823 | $80K |
| Zips Car Wash 302 Commercial Dr | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | Zips Car Wash | 4.2 | 766 | $91K |
| Car Wash Express, Inc. 214 Grand Central Blvd | Pooler, GA | Express Tunnel | — | 4.0 | 660 | $80K |
| MOJO Car Wash 27 Janet Dr | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | MOJO Car Wash | 4.8 | 516 | $81K |
| Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash 2001 E Victory Dr | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | Tidal Wave Auto Spa | Car Wash | 4.7 | 472 | $53K |
| Zips Car Wash 4747 US-80 | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | Zips Car Wash | 4.2 | 457 | $124K |
| Auto Shine Car Wash 239 E Montgomery Cross Rd | Savannah, GA | Full Service | Auto Shine Car Wash | 4.0 | 351 | $91K |
| Magic Touch Mobile Detail Savannah 533 E 38th St | Savannah, GA | Detail Shop | — | 4.9 | 351 | $94K |
| Top Tint & Detailing 45 Columbia Dr | Pooler, GA | Detail Shop | — | 4.6 | 314 | $80K |
| MOJO Car Wash 920 Chatham Pkwy | Savannah, GA | Express Tunnel | MOJO Car Wash | 4.7 | 306 | $40K |
| Louis Truck Wash 110 Sommers Blvd | Richmond Hill, GA | — | — | 3.3 | 304 | $104K |
| Auto Shine of Rincon 6151 GA-21 | Rincon, GA | Full Service | Auto Shine Car Wash | 4.1 | 296 | $78K |
Compare Savannah to other GA car wash markets
Each link drills into a full per-metro analysis — operator concentration, format mix, and customer-experience signals against the same methodology.
Data as of 2026-09-26. Pick a format and click Copy.
WashIndex. (2026, September 26). Savannah car wash market analysis. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/savannah
WashIndex. "Savannah car wash market analysis." WashIndex. Last modified September 26, 2026. https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/savannah.
"Savannah car wash market analysis." WashIndex, Sep. 26, 2026, https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/savannah.
@misc{washindex_car_wash_markets_savannah_2026,
title = {{Savannah car wash market analysis}},
author = {{WashIndex}},
year = {2026},
month = {Sep},
url = {https://washindex.com/car-wash-markets/savannah},
urldate = {2026-09-26},
} About this analysis
Car wash inventory for the Savannah, GA CBSA is determined by point-in-polygon test against the official US Census county boundaries (TIGER/Line, 2024) for the 3 counties that make up the MSA. Each location was verified to fall inside one of those county polygons; lat/lng comes from Google Maps metadata.
Operating-quality signals are derived from 12,385 customer reviews processed through WashIndex's 55-field LLM extraction pipeline. Format classification comes from a separate per-location website-reading classifier. ZIP-level income data is from the IRS Statistics of Income (tax year 2022) — mean Adjusted Gross Income per tax return, which is directionally aligned with ACS median household income but available without authentication.
See our full methodology for the extraction pipeline, validation samples, and aggregation logic. Term definitions in the glossary.
Machine-readable: JSON ↓ · API root
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