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Operator Comparison

ClearWater Express Wash vs ModWash

Data updated · May 24, 2026

ModWash is larger (127 vs 24 locations); ClearWater Express Wash is rated higher (4.91★ vs 4.85★); ClearWater Express Wash has the lower reviewer-reported damage rate (0.69% vs 0.83%).

The Comparison in Brief

These chains operate at different scale tiers: ClearWater Express Wash is local-tier, ModWash is national-tier. ClearWater Express Wash edges ahead on review-weighted rating (4.91★ vs 4.85★, a narrow gap). Reviewer-reported damage rates are nearly identical at 0.69% vs 0.83%.

ClearWater Express Wash vs ModWash — head-to-head comparison
Metric
ClearWater Express Wash
clearwaterexpresswash.com
ModWash
modwash.com
Locations
24
1 state
127
12 states
Reviews
31,267
22,769 LLM-scored
182,068
70,105 LLM-scored
Avg rating
4.91
4.85
Damage rate (lower better)
0.69%
0.83%
Membership cancellation friction (of mem-discussing reviews)
5.7%
12.4%
Dominant format
Express Tunnel
Express Tunnel

ClearWater Express Wash operates 24 locations across 1 state (24.0 sites per state on average). ModWash runs 127 locations across 12 states, 10.6 per state. ClearWater Express Wash is single-state (Texas), so the comparison is most useful for customers and operators in that footprint. Total customer signal is 31,267 Google reviews for ClearWater Express Wash (22,769 LLM-scored) vs 182,068 for ModWash (70,105 scored).

01 Customer Experience

How do customers rate each chain on the 7 pillars?

Aspect scores aggregate WashIndex's LLM extractions across each chain's reviews. Each score is (positive − negative) / total mentions, ranging −1 to +1. Numbers above zero mean customers say more positive than negative things about the aspect; below zero means the reverse.

Aspect ClearWater Express Wash ModWash Winner
Wash Quality +0.93 +0.75 ClearWater Express Wash
Staff & Customer Service +0.98 +0.94 ClearWater Express Wash
Wait Time +0.86 +0.64 ClearWater Express Wash
Per-Wash Price +0.72 +0.24 ClearWater Express Wash
Equipment Working +0.34 -0.33 ClearWater Express Wash
Facility Cleanliness +0.97 +0.79 ClearWater Express Wash
Membership Value +0.66 +0.25 ClearWater Express Wash

ClearWater Express Wash's strongest aspect in customer reviews is Staff & Customer Service (+0.98); the weakest is Equipment Working (+0.34). ModWash's strongest is Staff & Customer Service (+0.94); the weakest is Equipment Working (-0.33). ClearWater Express Wash comes out ahead on Wash Quality, Wait Time, Per-Wash Price, Equipment Working, Facility Cleanliness, Membership Value; ModWash doesn't have a clear win on any of the 7 pillars.

ClearWater Express Wash has the lower cancellation-friction rate (5.7% vs 12.4% of mem-discussing reviews) — a substantial gap. The dataset-wide rate is roughly 10–15%.

02 Format Mix

Do they operate the same format of car wash?

Format ClearWater Express Wash ModWash
Full Service 11.3% 3.6%
Hand Wash 4.2% 1.5%
Express Tunnel 3.4% 2.1%
Detail Shop 1.0% 0.4%

Format share is computed across customer review mentions, not over locations. A chain with mostly express-tunnel sites but heavy detail-shop talk in reviews will show both at non-trivial rates.

Both ClearWater Express Wash and ModWash run as Express Tunnel chains — same format, same customer occasion. Brand, pricing, and location convenience drive the choice, not format differentiation.

03 Geographic Overlap

Where do ClearWater Express Wash and ModWash compete?

ClearWater Express Wash metros
3
MSAs with at least one ClearWater Express Wash location
ModWash metros
32
MSAs with at least one ModWash location
Shared metros
0
where customers can choose between the two

These two chains don't overlap geographically — no shared US MSAs in the WashIndex dataset. In short: If customer-rating consistency is the deciding factor, ClearWater Express Wash is the safer pick; if location convenience matters most, ModWash has more sites to choose from.

Frequently Asked Questions

About ClearWater Express Wash vs ModWash

ClearWater Express Wash vs ModWash: which is bigger?

+
ModWash is the larger operator with 127 locations across 12 states, compared to ClearWater Express Wash's 24 locations across 1 states.

Which has the higher customer rating, ClearWater Express Wash or ModWash?

+
ClearWater Express Wash is rated higher at 4.91★ across 31,267 Google reviews, vs ModWash's 4.85★ across 182,068 reviews. The 0.06-star gap is computed as a review-weighted mean across each chain's locations.

Which has the lower damage rate, ClearWater Express Wash or ModWash?

+
ClearWater Express Wash has the lower reviewer-reported damage rate at 0.69% of reviews mentioning vehicle damage, compared to ModWash's 0.83%. Both rates are computed across WashIndex's LLM-extracted review pipeline.

About this comparison

Both chains' numbers are pulled from the same WashIndex per-location dataset — Google reviews processed through LLM extraction across 55 dimensions, format classification from each operator's website, and competitive-density analysis. See each chain's full profile — ClearWater Express Wash / ModWash — for monthly trends, per-location drill-down, executive summary, and anomaly detection.

See our full methodology for the extraction pipeline, validation samples, and aggregation logic.

See every car wash in the platform.

Drill into any ClearWater Express Wash or ModWash location, see its competitive set, monthly review velocity, and per-aspect sentiment.