Zips Car Wash After Chapter 11: Membership, Cancelling, Damage Rules

Zips Car Wash is an express tunnel chain based in Plano, Texas, that also runs Rocket Express Car Wash and Jet Brite Car Wash. It came through a Chapter 11 case in 2025 and is still open, under new owners, with fewer sites on its location pages than the “approximately 230” it counted on emerging. On 16 October 2026 we read the case page kept by its claims agent, Kroll Restructuring Administration; Zips’ February 2025 announcement as reposted by the International Carwash Association (Business Wire, where Zips issued it, refused every request); its May 1, 2025 release; and its Terms of Use, Membership Program Terms of Service and website pages. Zips’ terms bar automated copying, so we read each page once, by hand. This site has no commercial relationship with Zips or any car wash.

What happened to Zips Car Wash: the 2025 Chapter 11 case

On February 5, 2025, Zips Car Wash, LLC “and 9 affiliated debtors” each filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. The case page says the cases were jointly administered under Case No. 25-80069 before Judge Michelle V. Larson. The ten debtors include Express Car Wash Holdings, LLC, Zips Operating Holdings, LLC and four companies named Zips Portfolio I to IV. The plan and its disclosure statement were filed the same day, and the court entered an order giving the case complex Chapter 11 treatment two days later.

It moved fast. The court confirmed the plan, which the docket calls the Third Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization, on April 18, 2025, and “On April 30, 2025, the Effective Date of the Plan occurred and the Plan was consummated.” That is 84 days from filing, by our arithmetic, inside the “approximately 2-3 months” Zips had predicted when it filed.

The case is not entirely over. On October 21, 2025, the court closed the cases of the nine affiliates but kept the main case, Zips Car Wash, LLC, open. What remains is sorting out creditors’ claims: the listed hearings concern objections filed by the reorganized company and by “the GUC Trust,” the next on December 2, 2026. Both claim deadlines passed in 2025.

What we could not read matters as much. Every filing on the claims agent’s site sits on a path its robots.txt file closes to automated readers, behind a “Verify you are human” check, so we opened none. This page therefore can’t say how many washes the case closed or sold, or what the confirmation order says about memberships; those filings are on the court’s PACER docket. What follows is the case page’s summary and Zips’ own words.

What the plan did, and who owns Zips now

In its February 2025 announcement Zips said it had agreed a restructuring plan “with a group of its existing lenders” that would “reduce its debt obligations by approximately $279 million and secure $15 million of new capital.” It asked the court to approve a $30 million “new money debtor-in-possession” loan to keep running during the case, and said it expected “to emerge from chapter 11 quickly under the ownership of its existing lenders.”

Its May 1, 2025 release confirmed the outcome in general terms: Zips “reduced its debt obligations and secured access to additional liquidity through a new revolving credit facility,” and “ZIPS emerges under the ownership of a group of its existing institutional investors.” Neither release names those investors, and the plan that would is one of the filings we could not open. The release names Paul Hastings LLP as legal counsel to “the new ownership group.”

The same release named Pete Nani chief executive. Zips says he “brings more than three decades of car wash industry experience” and most recently ran Clean Freak and Rainstorm Car Wash, “owned by Circle K.” It describes Zips as headquartered in Plano and operating “approximately 230 locations under three brands.”

The contract carries the lead debtor’s name: Zips’ Terms of Use, last updated February 1, 2026, are an agreement with “ZIPS Car Wash, LLC” covering all three brands. For another chain that went through Chapter 11 in 2025 and sold most of its stores, see our page on Car Toys.

What the bankruptcy meant for Unlimited members

Zips’ message to members was that nothing would change. Its February 2025 announcement said all three brands would run in the ordinary course “with no expected changes to its retail and membership proposition,” and that its first-day motions asked to keep paying staff, keep “maintaining customer programs” and keep paying vendors. Its May 2025 release repeated the promise: “no change to its service offerings, customer experience or value proposition for ZIPS Unlimited Wash Club Members.” We could not read the court orders on those motions, so we can only report what Zips said it asked for.

The same documents say the footprint would shrink. In February, Zips said it would “right-size and optimize its portfolio” and had hired Hilco Real Estate LLC “to assist with lease negotiations”; in May it spoke of “an optimized real estate portfolio.” Neither release says how many washes closed or were sold, or what happened to their members. The “Customer Landing Page” the case page links, zipscarwash.com/financialrestructuring, answered “404 Not Found” on 16 October 2026, and Zips’ press page has no item on the filing. Its help-ticket form does list “Site Closed permanently” and “Site Sold?” among the reasons a customer can pick.

The membership contract does not protect you if your usual site goes. The Membership Terms say plans “may not be offered at all locations,” and that Zips does “NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT ANY CAR WASH MEMBERSHIP PLAN WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY OTHER LOCATION.” Meanwhile a subscription “WILL AUTOMATICALLY RENEW ON A MONTHLY BASIS” until you cancel it. A closed wash does not cancel the charge.

How many Zips are left, and where

Zips gives itself three sizes. The May 2025 release says “approximately 230 locations under three brands”; its membership and fleet FAQs say “over 180.” Its own location lists, which we counted on 16 October 2026 without using the search box, show 171 Zips washes in 16 states, 5 Rocket Express washes in Idaho and Utah, and 12 Jet Brite washes in Illinois: 188 in 19 states, by our count, which matches the 188 location pages in Zips’ sitemap.

That is 42 fewer than the May 2025 figure, by our arithmetic. It is a rough gap, not a closure count: the release’s figure is approximate, and nothing we could read counts closures or sales. People still search for Zips in Wichita and Little Rock; the location page lists no Zips in Kansas and none in Little Rock.

The brands do not share one rulebook: the Membership Terms allow two washes a day at a Zips, one at a Jet Brite and no limit at a Rocket Express, and the FAQ’s “any ZIPS location” speaks only of Zips. Ask before assuming a Zips plan works at the other two.

The four washes, as Zips describes them

Zips sells four washes, Premier, Pro, Basic Plus and Basic, each adding services to the one below; a fifth tab, “ZIPS One,” lists no services on the pages we read. The same comparison grid appears on its washes and membership pages. Zips prints no prices on either: the washes page says “Find Your Local Pricing” and asks for a ZIP code or city, which we did not enter, and the Family Plan page says pricing “varies by location.”

Tire Shine is “Not available in MN or ND.” None of the 12 services Zips lists is an underbody wash, so on salted roads read our page on protecting a car from rust before relying on a tunnel wash. And Zips does “not offer interior cleaning services,” though every wash comes with free vacuums and microfiber towels.

The tunnel has rules. “A Team Member will safely guide you into the tunnel,” and then you “put the car in neutral and take your hands off the wheel.” Trailer hitches “must be removed before entering the wash,” open pickup beds must be “free of debris or material,” and the Safety page says “No Dually Trucks.”

How ZIPS Unlimited works: washes a day, one car, family and fleet

ZIPS Unlimited is a monthly subscription to one wash tier under the Membership Program Terms of Service, which win where they conflict with the Terms of Use. At a Zips, “unlimited” means “up to two (2) car washes per day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.” The FAQ says the plan pays for itself if you wash “twice a month,” a claim we can’t test without printed prices.

What you pay, and when. The terms’ main billing rules:

• The first charge. It covers “the first months’ Membership Fee as well as any other applicable on-boarding charges communicated to you.” Ask what those are before you pay.
• In advance, every month. Fees are “CHARGED MONTHLY IN ADVANCE ON YOUR MONTHLY BILLING DATE,” with an invoice by email. Account notices come “in electronic form only” to the email on the account, so keep it current.
• Introductory prices end. On 16 October 2026 the home page advertised an in-person introductory membership offer. The terms say that when any such period ends, your card is charged “THE THEN-CURRENT MEMBERSHIP FEES,” and that Zips can revoke the discount if it decides you were not eligible.
• Failed payments. Zips may suspend or end your plan after an email notice, retry the card, and end access “if payment is not successfully settled within 5 days of your monthly billing date.” To reactivate, “you must visit an applicable car wash location,” and you “may be charged additional fees.”
• Price changes. Zips may change “the details, fees and other information” at any time, “without notice or liability,” though the next sentence says it will tell you by email or by posting a notice.
• Prepaid plans. Paid up front for a term (“e.g., annual, 6-month”), they “WILL NOT RENEW”; see the cancellation rules below.
• Gift cards and points. Gift cards “cannot be used to purchase or pay for memberships,” and a membership fee “not paid through the App will not earn your Account any points.” Points expire nine months after the month you earn them, and vanish if the account is closed.

One car, identified by sticker or plate. The terms say each plan “MAY ONLY BE USED WITH A SINGLE, PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL VEHICLE.” Sites read an RFID sticker on the windshield or the plate, and “your vehicle make and model must match the license plate number you register.” Don’t “tamper with, copy or share” the sticker; dealer plates are barred, and a commercial vehicle on a personal plan may be cancelled or moved to a commercial plan. Jet Brite, the terms add, “may offer separate car wash plans for commercial taxi and rideshare use.”

New car. If you sell the car, the terms say you “must transfer the Car Wash Program to another vehicle through the Service,” and the help center offers “a new RFID tag on the spot,” though the same section bars transfer “TO ANOTHER VEHICLE OR PERSON.” Do the swap at the site and keep the receipt.

More than one car. The Family Plan page allows “up to nine total vehicles” on one app account, “one full-price membership and eight discounted memberships,” with add-ons that “start as low as $12/month” and “savings up to 40% off per month.” Each added car can be on any tier and its own card, and Zips may change or end the offer “at any time.” The membership FAQ describes a different deal: “add up to five additional vehicles to your account for just $20 a month.” Get the price of every added car in writing.

Businesses. Fleet accounts need “10 vehicles or more” and are paid by “Check, Credit Card or EFT.” Zips’ terms require users to be at least 18.

Other express chains write these rules differently, and we read each chain’s own terms on separate pages: Quick Quack, Club Car Wash, Flagship Carwash, Whistle Express, Crew Carwash and Go Car Wash.

Cancelling, refunds and prepaid plans

Zips’ terms open the cancellation section by saying you may cancel a monthly plan “WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST OR PENALTY” at any time. The conditions follow in the same paragraph:

• Two ways to cancel. In the app, “BY TAPPING THE GARAGE MENU, ‘MANAGE,’ THEN ‘CANCEL PLAN,’” or by contacting the Customer Care team. The help center says the call center is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm CST; you can also submit a help ticket.
• Signed up on paper? If you joined in person on a paper enrollment form, “YOU MAY NEED TO MIGRATE YOUR PLAN TO THE APP BEFORE USING THE APP TO CANCEL” (in the app, the More menu, then “MIGRATE MY PLAN TO THE APP”).
• Seven days ahead. A request must be made “NO LATER THAN SEVEN (7) DAYS BEFORE THE MONTHLY BILLING DATE,” and one made later “MAY RESULT IN CHARGES FOR ONE ADDITIONAL MONTH.” By our arithmetic, if you are billed on the 15th, the last safe day is the 8th.
• Refunds are up to Zips. Zips “MAY ISSUE REFUNDS OR DISCOUNTS AT THEIR SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW.” Nothing in the terms entitles you to one for a part-used month.

Prepaid plans follow stricter rules. They “MAY ONLY BE CANCELED WITHIN THE FIRST MONTH,” with a refund for the rest of the term; Zips’ own example is that a six-month plan cancelled in its first month is refunded “for months two through six,” which is 5 of the 6 months, by our arithmetic. “AFTER THE FIRST MONTH, PREPAID MEMBERSHIP PLANS ARE NON-CANCELABLE AND NON-REFUNDABLE.”

When Zips ends it. Zips may end a plan or account “for any reason,” and is “not obligated to credit or discount your Membership Fees” when it does. Money left in the app is a muddle: Section 1.6 of the Terms of Use says Zips “shall not refund” it, while Section 3.4 says “we will refund you for the balance associated with your App Account in accordance with Section 1.6.”

The law on easy cancellation. Three laws our other car-wash pages have read bear on how a monthly membership may be stopped. We copy their wording from those pages’ records (read 16 October 2026) and make no finding on whether Zips’ process meets them.

• Federal. 15 U.S.C. 8403 bars charging consumers online through a “negative option feature” unless the seller, among other things, “provides simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges.”
• Virginia (8 Zips washes). Code of Virginia § 59.1-207.46 says the cancellation mechanism “shall be at least as easy to use as the mechanism the consumer used to initiate” the plan, and that for a plan “initiated in person, the seller shall offer a simple cancellation mechanism through an interactive electronic medium, such as a website or mobile application, or by telephone call.”
• Minnesota (6 Zips washes). Minn. Stat. 325G.60 says a seller whose website has “profile or subscription management capabilities” must include a “termination election” on it, and 325G.59 says ending a continuous-service agreement must take effect “no later than 31 days” from a verified consumer’s notice.

Damage: the 24-hour cut-off and two different lists

Section 5.3 of the Terms of Use, headed “Vehicle Damage,” starts by saying Zips does “not represent that the car wash services are suitable for your vehicle(s).” It then disclaims liability for damage involving 11 items, sets three tunnel rules (truck beds “completely empty,” “No excessively muddy vehicles,” “no dually trucks”), and ends with the sentence that matters most after a bad wash: “We will not assume liability for damage claims submitted more than 24 hours after a vehicle leaves the premises.”

Zips’ Safety page has its own list, and it is longer. It says “ZIPS is ONLY responsible for car wash malfunctions or employee errors” and that “We are NOT responsible for damage caused by or to” 13 items, the first of them “Vehicles over 7 years old or 100k miles.” Read literally, that is not a kind of damage but a kind of car. The terms’ list has no age or mileage limit. The two lists side by side:

By our count, four of the Safety page’s items (older cars, side mirrors, decals and wraps, wheel covers) have no match in the terms, and one of the terms’ items (unsecured personal items) has none on the Safety page. Read both before you queue with a wrapped car, a shark-fin antenna or aftermarket parts.

Section 5.4 adds that Zips “WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND” from using its washes, and caps any liability at “THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID TO ZIPS, ROCKET EXPRESS, OR JET BRITE IN THE SIX (6) MONTHS PRECEDING” the event; the Membership Terms repeat the six-month cap. The Terms of Use concede that “some jurisdictions” don’t allow such limits. You also agree to indemnify Zips for claims “arising out of your use of the car wash services.” Neither document sets out a claims procedure beyond the 24-hour limit; the help-ticket form does offer “I want to file a damage claim” as a topic.

So look the car over before you leave the lot, photograph anything new and report it, in writing, well inside 24 hours. For cracked glass, see what a windshield replacement costs; for a dent, our Dent Wizard page reads one repair company’s terms.

Texas courts, no arbitration clause, and texts at any hour

Zips’ terms send disputes to court, not to arbitration. We searched all three documents on its Terms of Service page and found no arbitration clause or class-action waiver. Section 6.1 says Texas law governs and you “consent to the jurisdiction of the District Courts of the State of Texas in Collin County and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Plano Division,” with any proceeding to be held in Collin County “to the extent permitted by law.” You must bring a claim “WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR” of the event, and for damage the 24-hour rule comes first.

Other clauses worth knowing before you hand over a phone number:

• Texts at any hour. Zips may send texts “at any time of day (including between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. where you are located).” Marketing texts need your consent, which “is not a condition of purchase.”
• Account texts you can’t switch off, in Zips’ words. Other automated texts may cover “appointments, purchases, services, balances, and debts,” and the terms say your consent to them is a “material term of this Agreement that You cannot unilaterally modify or revoke.” The separate Text Messaging Terms are dated “Effective January 15th, 2023.”
• Terms that change on posting. Zips may change the terms “at any time in its sole discretion, with or without prior notice to you,” effective when posted. Both sets of terms read on 16 October 2026 say “Last Updated: February 1, 2026.” Save a copy on the day you join.

Where Zips’ own documents disagree

Read side by side on 16 October 2026, Zips’ pages and terms conflict here. Where one matters to you, get the answer in writing.

• How often you can wash. “every day” and “Unlimited washes” on the website; “up to two (2) car washes per day” at a Zips in the terms.
• Extra cars. Up to five more for $20 a month (membership FAQ), or up to eight more from $12 a month at up to 40% off (Family Plan page).
• A new car. Move the plan to it (terms, help center), or transfer is “EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED” (same section).
• Damage. 11 items and no age limit (terms), or 13 items including older cars (Safety page); “ONLY responsible for car wash malfunctions or employee errors” (website), or not liable “FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND” (terms).
• Money left in the app. Not refunded (Terms 1.6), or refunded “in accordance with Section 1.6” (Terms 3.4).
• Fee changes. “Without notice or liability,” then, one sentence later, notice by email or posting.
• Points. They expire nine months after the month earned, but the terms’ own example runs 10 months, from December 15, 2020 to October 15, 2021, by our arithmetic.
• Where a plan works. “Absolutely” at any Zips (FAQ), but no guarantee of “ANY OTHER LOCATION” (terms).
• Missing documents. Section 6.4 of the Terms of Use cites “Fleet Program Terms of Service,” which are not on the Terms of Service page, and the case page’s customer link leads to a 404 page.

Before you join, and if you already belong

Common questions

What happened to Zips Car Wash?

Zips Car Wash, LLC and nine affiliates filed Chapter 11 on February 5, 2025 in the Northern District of Texas (Case No. 25-80069). The plan was confirmed on April 18, 2025 and took effect on April 30, 2025; Zips says it cut its debt by about $279 million. Zips is still operating, with 188 washes in 19 states on its three brands’ location pages on 16 October 2026.

Who owns Zips Car Wash now?

Zips says it emerged “under the ownership of a group of its existing institutional investors,” and its February 2025 announcement called them its existing lenders. Neither release names them. Zips named Pete Nani chief executive when it emerged, and it is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

How do I cancel my Zips membership?

In the Zips app (Garage, then Manage, then Cancel Plan) or by contacting Customer Care, no later than 7 days before your monthly billing date; a later request may cost one more month. If you joined on a paper form, you may need to migrate the plan into the app first. Prepaid plans can be cancelled only in their first month.

How much does Zips cost?

Zips doesn’t print wash or membership prices online; its pages say to look up local pricing by location. The only figures it prints are for extra cars: Family Plan add-ons from $12 a month (up to 40% off), and, in its FAQ, up to five extra vehicles for $20 a month.

How often can you wash your car with Zips Unlimited?

Up to two times a day at a Zips, every day, under its Membership Terms. At Jet Brite the limit is one a day, and Rocket Express sets none. A membership covers one car, identified by an RFID sticker or its license plate.

Will Zips pay if the wash damages my car?

Its terms make that hard. Zips refuses damage claims made more than 24 hours after you leave, disclaims damage involving 11 listed items (its Safety page lists 13, including cars over 7 years old or 100k miles), and caps its liability at what you paid in the previous six months.