ModWash vs Mr. Clean Car Wash
Data updated · September 26, 2026
ModWash is larger (127 vs 23 locations); ModWash is rated higher (4.85★ vs 4.34★); ModWash has the lower reviewer-reported damage rate (0.83% vs 1.78%).
ModWash is a national-tier operator and Mr. Clean Car Wash is regional-tier, so they're competing at different scale points. ModWash edges ahead on review-weighted rating (4.85★ vs 4.34★, a meaningful gap). On reviewer-reported damage, ModWash runs lower at 0.83% vs 1.78% — a modest operating-quality gap. The dataset-wide average across all car wash chains is roughly 1–3%.
| Metric | ModWash modwash.com | Mr. Clean Car Wash mrcleancarwash.com |
|---|---|---|
| Locations | 127 12 states | 23 4 states |
| Reviews | 186,237 73,461 LLM-scored | 11,865 4,037 LLM-scored |
| Avg rating | 4.85 | 4.34 |
| Damage rate (lower better) | 0.83% | 1.78% |
| Membership cancellation friction (of mem-discussing reviews) | 12.3% | 7.2% |
| Dominant format | Express Tunnel | Full Service |
ModWash operates 127 locations across 12 states (10.6 sites per state on average). Mr. Clean Car Wash operates 23 locations across 4 states (5.8 per state). ModWash has a denser per-state footprint (10.6 sites/state vs 5.8 for Mr. Clean Car Wash), suggesting a more saturated regional strategy. Total customer signal is 186,237 Google reviews for ModWash (73,461 LLM-scored) vs 11,865 for Mr. Clean Car Wash (4,037 scored).
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 | ModWash | Mr. Clean Car Wash | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wash Quality | +0.75 | +0.72 | ModWash |
| Staff & Customer Service | +0.94 | +0.86 | ModWash |
| Wait Time | +0.64 | +0.63 | ModWash |
| Per-Wash Price | +0.25 | +0.07 | ModWash |
| Equipment Working | -0.33 | -0.01 | Mr. Clean Car Wash |
| Facility Cleanliness | +0.79 | +0.87 | Mr. Clean Car Wash |
| Membership Value | +0.25 | +0.47 | Mr. Clean Car Wash |
ModWash's strongest aspect in customer reviews is Staff & Customer Service (+0.94); the weakest is Equipment Working (-0.33). Mr. Clean Car Wash's strongest is Facility Cleanliness (+0.87); the weakest is Equipment Working (-0.01). Head-to-head on the 7 pillars: ModWash wins on Per-Wash Price, while Mr. Clean Car Wash wins on Equipment Working, Membership Value. The remaining pillars are too close to call.
Mr. Clean Car Wash has the lower cancellation-friction rate (7.2% vs 12.3% of mem-discussing reviews) — a substantial gap. The dataset-wide rate is roughly 10–15%.
Do they operate the same format of car wash?
| Format | ModWash | Mr. Clean Car Wash |
|---|---|---|
| Full Service | 3.6% | 4.4% |
| Express Tunnel | 2.1% | 3.9% |
| Detail Shop | 0.4% | 4.4% |
| Hand Wash | 1.5% | 2.6% |
| Self-Serve Bay | 0.6% | 1.8% |
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.
ModWash is predominantly a Express Tunnel chain while Mr. Clean Car Wash is Full Service. They're not really competing for the same customer occasion — different formats serve different price points, throughput needs, and wash expectations. Customers who care about wash result might pick one; customers who care about speed might pick the other.
Where do ModWash and Mr. Clean Car Wash compete?
These two chains overlap in 3 US metros — material head-to-head competition for customers choosing between them. In short: If customer-rating consistency is the deciding factor, ModWash is the safer pick; if avoiding vehicle damage is the priority, ModWash runs the lower reviewer-reported damage rate; if location convenience matters most, ModWash has more sites to choose from.
About ModWash vs Mr. Clean Car Wash
ModWash vs Mr. Clean Car Wash: which is bigger?
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Which has the higher customer rating, ModWash or Mr. Clean Car Wash?
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Which has the lower damage rate, ModWash or Mr. Clean Car Wash?
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Where do ModWash and Mr. Clean Car Wash compete head-to-head?
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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 — ModWash / Mr. Clean Car Wash — 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.