You can get your car washed while driving through a haunted house at this car wash in Greenville, SC. We checked it out and have all the details!
Having never been to a car wash nor a drive-through haunted house, I was pretty excited to try this unique combo at Whatta Wash Car Wash in Greenville, SC, right off I-85 on Highway 14. It was better than I expected and I think you’ll love this fun Halloween activity.
We’ve got all the info on what to expect during the Haunted Car Wash and tips on enjoying it with your family.
About the Whatta Wash Haunted Car Wash
You may think that putting together a haunted car wash is easy – dress up in some costumes, be scary, and wash the car. But no, that’s not even close to the work that went into Whatta Wash’s Haunted Car Wash!
Each night of the Haunted Car Wash, there are at least 30 actors all there solely to scare you (and wash your car well). There are clowns, zombie cheerleaders, terrifying skeletons, serial killers (my own guess, I could be wrong), and other spooky characters.
The lights, other Halloween decorations, and fog machine are all part of this massive effort to create a must-do-worthy event in the Upstate for Halloween lovers. The entire Haunted Car Wash is about 2.5 minutes long – so you get a clean car and scared passengers. Fantastic.
Car Wash for a Cause
This year, the owners of Whatta Wash Car Wash are donating a portion of every car wash during this event to the medical care of a local 12-year-old boy, Griff, who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia after discovering a mass in his neck after a baseball tournament this summer.
“His busy schedule changed from school and baseball to doctor’s visits, hospitalizations, tests, treatments, and schooling from home. It’s been a trying road to travel, taking a once strong and competitive child and putting him through life-saving, but body-altering treatments. He has met this challenge with grace, strength, and determination,” writes Whatta Wash on their Facebook page.
Tips on Enjoying the Haunted Car Wash
We learned a few helpful tips on enjoying the Haunted Car Wash this Halloween at Whatta Wash Car Wash:
Get there early. This is a really popular event and waits can be long. See the next line.
Prepare to wait. The owners told us that in previous years, sometimes the wait was up to two hours. So be prepared with snacks, be sure to take a bathroom break before you go, and maybe bring games or a movie on your iPad.
Be sure to get in line by 10 pm. If you’re in line after that, you won’t be able to get in.
Drizzle is ok but downpouring rain isn’t. Light rain is ok but if it’s really downpouring, the Haunted Car Wash won’t be able to happen.
If you don’t want the characters opening your door, lock your car. The scary characters will try to jiggle the handle of your car doors and if they are unlocked, you’re in for a surprise. Lock your doors if you don’t want that kind of surprise.
Tickets are not presold. You have to wait in line.
There are things not allowed at the car wash. These include: cracked windshields, roof racks, bikes and bike racks, no dually trucks, no trucks or vehicles over 7’ 2”, no trucks with wide tires not fitting properly, and all open truck beds need to be empty and free of any loose items.
But really, how scary is the Haunted Car Wash?
Ah, the ever-important question we always get asked by parents. And rightly so. No one wants to be up at 3 am with their kid who had a clown nightmare.
But it’s really hard to answer that question because it all depends on the kid. The actors cannot touch you or bang hard on your car. But it’s a car wash and there is a lot of loud noise with the water, wind, and other contraptions. Add onto that scary characters that will get up close to your windows and run up to your car and appear out of a drenching inside the car wash.
We don’t have an answer for you. We didn’t find this as scary as say, Madworld, but the characters’ costumes look really great and to some kids, probably too realistic. It’s easy to see how seriously Whatta Wash takes their Haunted Car Wash. There are other decorations around the car wash as well like huge skeletons and creepy dolls and clowns. So take that all into account when you plan your trip here.
The owners suggest that if your kids are on the fence, go right at 6 pm so it’s still a little light out. After dark, the scare factor goes up!
Dates & Hours of the Haunted Car Wash
Because this event takes a lot of work to pull together, the Haunted Car Wash will only run for six days, every Friday & Saturday the rest of October:
- October 13 & 14
- October 20 & 21
- October 27 & 28
Hours are 6 pm – close. To go through the Haunted Car Wash, you have to be in line by 10 pm. Cars that line up after that won’t be able to get their scare on and have their car become all sparkly clean.
The cost is $30 per car, which gets you the experience of the Haunted Car Wash plus a car wash itself. If you want to do it multiple times, you’ll have to pay again.
If you want to add to your Haunted Car Wash adventure, try one of our Halloween Driving Routes for extra spooky (and free) entertainment!
Whatta Wash Car Wash
2788 South Highway 14, Greer
Whatta Wash Website