Brandwave

Mister Car Wash vs Tommy's Express:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, Mister Car Wash had more branded searches than Tommy's Express among car wash chains in the United States. Mister Car Wash had about 823,000 branded searches, while Tommy's Express had 14,800. Mister Car Wash made up 30.1% of all car wash chain searches we track, and Tommy's Express accounted for 0.54%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about car wash chains, Mister Car Wash and Tommy's Express each appeared in three of the four answers. Mister Car Wash was mentioned before Tommy's Express in two out of three answers.

Among car wash chains in the United States in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

Mister Car Wash, about 56 searches for every 1 for Tommy's Express

Mister Car Wash 823K searchesTommy's Express 14.8K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both were mentioned in 3 of 4 answers.

Mister Car Wash in 3 of 4Tommy's Express in 3 of 4

Who does AI recommend more?

Mister Car Wash, named ahead of Tommy's Express in 2 of 3 answers

Mister Car Wash first in 2Tommy's Express first in 1

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Top car wash chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Mister Car Wash and Tommy's Express were each mentioned in three out of four: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in the Google AI Overview. Mister Car Wash was listed before Tommy's Express in two out of three answers.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Mister Car Wash1st
  2. Tommy's Express2nd
  3. Quick Quack Car Wash3rd
  4. Tidal Wave Auto Spa4th
  5. Club Car Wash5th
  6. Whistle Express Car Wash6th
  7. GO Car Wash–
  8. Flagship Car Wash–
  9. Zips Car Wash–
  10. Super Star Car Wash–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Mister Car Wash3 of 4Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Quick Quack Car Wash3 of 4Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Tommy's Express3 of 4Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Tidal Wave Auto Spa2 of 4Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Club Car Wash1 of 4Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Whistle Express Car Wash1 of 4Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • GO Car Wash0 of 4Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Flagship Car Wash0 of 4Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Zips Car Wash0 of 4Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Super Star Car Wash0 of 4Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers

See every answer about car wash chains

4 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in United States on October 22, 2026.

Is Mister Car Wash or Tommy's Express more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for Mister Car Wash and Tommy's Express by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all ten car wash chains we track, month by month, from searches in United States.

Mister Car Wash and Tommy's Express among car wash chains in the United States, by month

Share of searches by month for Mister Car Wash, Tommy's Express. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthMister Car WashQuick Quack Car WashClub Car WashTidal Wave Auto SpaWhistle Express Car WashGO Car WashFlagship Car WashZips Car WashSuper Star Car WashTommy's Express
Oct 202526.1%21.7%11.7%10.1%4.6%6.4%5.2%5.2%7.8%1.1%
Nov 202528.5%19.4%10.4%11.1%4.1%7%4.7%5.7%8.5%0.77%
Dec 202530.9%17.2%11.3%11.5%4.3%7.5%6.2%5.1%5.1%0.83%
Jan 202633.8%22.2%10.1%9.3%4.7%6.8%5.6%4.5%2%0.91%
Feb 202628.6%18.8%12.8%11.1%4.9%7%8.6%5.7%1.7%0.77%
Mar 202629.9%24.2%11%11.2%5.1%6%4.9%4.9%1.8%0.81%
Apr 202629.2%19.8%10.7%12.8%6.1%5.8%7.1%5.8%1.8%0.79%
May 202634%22.4%10.2%10%3.9%6.8%5.6%4.6%1.7%0.75%
Jun 202630.6%24.6%11.2%9.3%5.3%6.1%6.1%4.1%1.8%0.67%
Jul 202630.4%25.3%11.1%8.9%6.5%6.1%5%4.1%1.8%0.67%
Aug 202629.8%24.8%10.9%8.7%6.3%7.3%4.9%4.9%1.8%0.65%
Sep 202630.1%24.1%11%10.5%6.3%6%4.9%4.9%1.5%0.54%

How has the Mister Car Wash and Tommy's Express comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for United States car wash chains in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Mister Car Wash in the United States rose 22.3% over 12 measured months, from 673K to 823K in September 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Tommy's Express in the United States fell 45.4% over 12 measured months, from 27.1K to 14.8K in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Mister Car Wash’s and Tommy's Express’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Mister Car Wash

1 branded search term

  • mister car wash

Tommy's Express

1 branded search term

  • tommys express

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among car wash chains

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