Turtle Wax Car Wash & Wax Review - Garage Dreams (2024)

For many car owners, washing the car is a drag.

Waxing the car? Forget about it … waxing is for Mr Miyagi.

No wonder the time-saving appeal of a wash and wax product is so strong.

I mean how great does the concept of washing and waxing your car at the same time sound?

The problem is that with any “innovative” product, some enterprising company is there to relieve you of more money than you probably need to spend. Car wash and wax is a good example of this, with some high price point products available on the marketplace.

But the average motorist has a champion in his/her corner, with Turtle Wax generally providing very affordable car detailing products. While pro detailers, serious hobbyists and the like will generally steer clear of Turtle Wax, for ‘Joe Average’ it’s hard to argue with the value for money that Turtle Wax offers.

While Turtle Wax is definitely not the pinnacle of automotive detailing, you can score decent products that work well for a fair price. For the average motorist, that’s probably all you need.

One of these products is Turtle Wax’s “Car Wash And Wax”.

This product (as the name suggests) falls into the ‘wash and wax’ category. A wash and wax is a bit different to a normal car wash or shampoo. The idea behind a wash and wax product is that car wax is effectively “blended” into the wash so that you transfer some of the wax onto the paint.

In this review of Turtle Wax Car Wash And Wax, I’m going to talk you through my ‘real world’ experiences with this product, and also share what I like and dislike about it.

Please note that this product appears to be sold in different packaging and with slightly different names depending on where in the world you live, so please forgive me if it’s called something else in your region (and also I can’t guarantee that the formulation is the same for your area).

Does It Work?

Long story short, this Turtle Wax wash and wax product does (mostly) what it says on the tin.

I’ve written in the past about how wash and wax products are a bit of a “have”. You can read that article here for a far more detailed explanation. They do a good job at cleaning (and for the average person you won’t notice any loss in cleaning capability versus a proper, standalone car wash/shampoo) but the wax part is really not that great.

Wax works a lot better when it is applied as a paste/cream, and then properly buffed off.

The principle behind wash and wax is basically that you get some of the wax transferring to the paint finish during the washing process, and this therefore imparts some amount of protection and shine like you’d expect from a normal wax product.

The problem is that the wax part just doesn’t work as well in practice as in theory.

However, the upshot of a wash and wax – even this cheap Turtle Wax product – is that you do tend to get a shinier finish than a normal car wash that doesn’t contain wax, and also you will probably get some minor benefit from the wax in terms of protection.

Basically, if you just want to keep your car clean, for a good price, and come out the other end with a shinier finish than you’d get from most regular car wash products, then you can’t go too far with this Turtle Wax offering.

In other words, for the price you pay for this product, I think you’ll be pleased with the performance (as long as you don’t have excessively high expectations with regards to what the wax component can do).

I’ll try to get some before and after shots next time I clean mine or my wife’s car.

What I Don’t Like

As I said above, Turtle Wax Car Wash & Wax works pretty well.

I wouldn’t bet the farm on the supposed wax protection you’ll get with this product. But in terms of it being a good value-for-money way of cleaning your car and making it look nice? In that case, you can’t go too far wrong.

As far as any dislikes about the product go?

Apart from the obvious issue of wash and wax productsin general(which I detailed above) there honestly isn’t that much I don’t like when I look at the price.

Okay, something like Meguiar’s Ultimate Wash & Wax is a better product. I’ll be reviewing that in the near future. Meguiar’s wash and wax goes on easier, smells better, foams up much more and also leaves a superior sheen and the wax protection – whatever you actually get – probably lasts longer. However, I think every product, regardless of what it is, should be judged relative to its cost. For the price you pay, Turtle Wax has done a good job here.

The only other gripes I have are that it doesn’t smell particularly good, nor does it feel as “smooth” to apply as some more premium products. But realistically, these are minor tradeoffs.

Conclusion – Turtle Wax Car Wash And Wax Review

Overall, I quite like this product.

It’s “cheap and cheerful” but does a sufficient job at getting my cars clean.

Provided you properly wash and towel dry your car, there is a noticeable (albeit shorted lived) sheen from the in-built wax.

As I’ve covered in the past, wash and wax is a bit of a meme. If you want to wax your car, you are much better off investing in something like this Meguiar’s Ultimate Wax and doing a proper job.

However, I understand that for many car owners, washing your car is a pain in the ass process and you just want to get it done quickly and make your car look better.

At the end of the day, using this Turtle Wax product is far better than not washing your car, and there is probably some minor benefit to the wax component.

When you consider just how affordable it is, it’s not a bad product at all.

I definitely prefer Meguiar’s wash and wax, but it is much more expensive – keep an eye out for my review of that in the neat future.

If you are trying to keep your car clean on a budget, then this Turtle Wax product is worthy of your consideration. You don’t need to spend big bucks to look after your car … although I might catch some flak from detailing enthusiasts and professionals, I think that Turtle Wax products offer great performance for their price, and there’s nothing wrong with trying to save some money while looking after your car.

You could then save your money towards something like Turtle Wax’s premium “Hybrid Solutions” wax and polish for occasional deeper detailing of your car, or even Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax. Or just pocket the difference and put it towards something else.

Let me know what you think of this product if you’ve used it, and feel free to leave a comment below.