Best Electric Pressure Washer To Clean Your Car

If you love taking care of your vehicles and are looking for the Best Electric Pressure Washer for Cars in 2023 – You’ve come to the right place. Today we’ll help you narrow your search (and your workload) with this pressure washer buyers guide – including the Six Best Electric Pressure Washers for Cars, Trucks, RVs, or ORVs you can buy.

In a hurry? Then check out the Sun Joe SPX3000.  It has a max psi of 2030 PSI and a dual detergent tank to help you get your cleaning done faster. 

Editors Pick: Sun Joe SPX3000

What is the best pressure washer for cars?  Our research concluded that the best pressure washer for cars (trucks and RVs) is the Sun Joe SPX 3000. We have heard a lot about Sun Joe (and Snow Joe) products, and I have to say this manufacturer is quickly growing on me. 

Besides having a great price point, we love this model’s specifications:  14.5 amp, 1800 watt motor with a staggering 2030 psi with 1.76 GPM (gallons per minute) water flow. After all, you don’t want to rip the paint off your vehicle 🙂

For these reasons, we picked this Sun Joe pressure washer as our first pick for cleaning a car or truck.

Video: How to use a Pressure Washer (By Sun Joe)

The Verdict

Overall, this is one of the better electric pressure washers you can purchase without emptying your wallet. There are some review comments,  but nothing to the extent that gave us any due caution.

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Runner-Up: Briggs And Stratton Pressure Washer #20680

Anyone with a lot of experience doing lawn work knows that Briggs and Stratton is a name worth remembering. They always produce quality items that provide top-notch power without the top-tier price tag.

Although the PSI rating on this machine is a bit small, it gives you enough pressure to wash your vehicle with 1800 psi and a 1.1 GPM flow rate. Or 900 psi at a 1.2 GPM flow rate.

We also know an ORV craze is going on in the U.S. – and with all those plastic or fiberglass body parts, you don’t want to ruin the part or the finish.  With only 1800 PSI, we recommend the Briggs & Stratton as the best pressure washer for ORVs.

Where this machine truly stands out is in its rigid metal frame. Where some pressure washers use lesser quality frames, The Briggs & Stratton washer uses Steel.

The Verdict

This electric pressure washer is ideal for people who will use it to wash their vehicles and perhaps windows and siding.  For concrete driveways – bump up to something over 2,000 psi.

There isn’t enough psi flowing through this machine to clean driveways and other projects that require maximum pressure.

Need a little more power to clean a concrete driveway – Check out the best pressure washer for concrete here

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Best Battery Pressure Washer:  Greenworks  40v  For Boat, RV, and More

If you are looking for a portable, battery-powered pressure washer you can use at the lake, or when camping near a water source, the Greenworks battery pressure washer is the one we recommend.

With stellar ratings, this very competent but low psi assure washer handles a particular niche in the pressure washer world.

Although we wouldn’t recommend it for cleaning decks, siding, or other heavy-duty applications, it is perfect for light-duty jobs when you don’t have electricity to run your pressure washer.

With this machine, you’ll get three different spray nozzles that offer just enough versatility for your job.

The Verdict

This enormous portability and convenience, however, comes at a price. At 240 dollars +/-its fairly expensive for a lower-rated PSI and GPM water flow. However, convenience over price will win out for users who want to clean their boat before they leave the dock,

Or daytime warriors who want to clean their ORV before leaving the campsite.

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Best Onboard Accessories:  Paxcess 2300 PSI Max Power Pressure Washer

If you are looking for high psi in a complete pressure washer package for under $150, then you are probably looking for this pressure washer from Paxcess.

With this machine, you’ll get four different spray nozzles that offer plenty of versatility for your job.

The Verdict

If you need high power output but aren’t willing to pay premium prices, this pressure washer has your name written all over it. We were astonished at how well it cleans, especially since it is not considered inexpensive compared to other models we’ve researched.

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Best Portable Washer: Greenworks  Pressure Washer PW1800

Best Value: Whole Sun – 2.4GPM – 3,000 PSI Electric Pressure Washer

Benefits of Electric Pressure Washers

Aside from making your cleaning jobs significantly easier, these benefits will keep your car, truck, or camper looking spotless!

Fuel

The word “electric” tells you everything you need to know. You’ll never have to buy gas for these machines. Simply plug it in at start pressure washing whatever it is that needs to be washed. You’ll save gallons of money on these machines. Plus, you’ll be lowering your carbon footprint.

Soap

Many of the pressure washers we reviewed have an onboard soap dispenser; however, for those who do not, you can buy an inexpensive soap dispenser attachment with additional spray nozzles, like this one from Tool Daily Foam.

Portability

Another benefit you get from not having a pressure washer that isn’t powered by fuel is how lightweight and portable it is.

Not having a giant gas tank and a motor that needs a way to convert that gas to fuel that can make it work means that you have a pressure washer that is easy to lug around with you wherever you need to take it.

Price

Electric pressure washers tend to be far less expensive than gas versions. Of course, there are some tradeoffs (we’ll get into those later). But you can rest assured that purchasing an electric pressure washer won’t hurt your pockets.

Pressure

There are two sides to this (as with most things), but electric pressure washers typically don’t have as much power as gas-powered pressure washers. Therefore, they are Safe Pressure Washers for Vehicles like cars, trucks, or RV Paint.

The amount of power a pressure washer is measured in two ways.

One is PSI; (pounds per square inch), and the other is the Water Flow Rate. Now, you might ask, “how is less power a good thing?”

The correct pressure washer can simplify your cleaning job and help you complete that job much faster and safer. But as good as pressure washers are at cleaning, they are equally adept at ruining delicate items.  You know, like the paint on your car.

Because electric pressure washers don’t usually have the same psi or water flow as gasoline-powered pressure washers, they are much less risky of damaging your equipment. And this doesn’t only go for vehicles, either. They are safer for your house windows, siding, wooden decks, or sliding doors.

Noise Discipline

Noise Discipline isn’t needed in most cases (unless you are a ninja, of course), but it’s still nice to have a machine that doesn’t wake the baby up from her nap. Your neighbors will be thankful for the quieter engine too.

If you don’t want to hear the loud drone of a pressure washer the entire time you need to use it, then your best option is to purchase an electronic one.

Better for the Environment/ and your Body

This is another spin-off of the whole ‘no fuel’ thing. We somewhat touched on it earlier when we talked about being able to cut gasoline out of the picture.

Gas releases foul, harmful odors when it is burned. Not only is it unpleasant for your nose, but the smoke that blows from the gas pressure washer also pollutes the air around you. Thankfully, electric washers work without having to use any external fuels.

Maintenance

Anything gas-powered has a lot of working parts. They need spark plugs, fuel injectors, fuel lines… The list goes on and on. All these working parts mean more opportunities for something to go wrong.

And even if nothing hasn’t gone wrong, you will need to perform routine preventative maintenance on gasoline-powered pressure washers.

Electric pressure washers don’t have this issue. What that means for you is that you can spend less time fixing and maintaining your pressure washer. And if you pay somebody to do those things for you, you can save more money by nixing almost all of the maintenance costs of a gas washer.

Cost

The relatively low cost of purchasing an electric pressure washer greatly enticed me. It can be why people decide to buy electricity over a much more expensive gas-powered power washer.

While some electric power washers don’t have the same longevity as gas-powered washers, if you do your homework,  you will find models that can outlive their gas counterparts.

By the way – If you need “More Power” than for your Car or Truck – Check out The Best Pressure Washer for Concrete Driveways – These pressure washers are Beasts! 

Make sure you purchase any power washer that has already been put through the wringer and came out on top. You should also ensure that the model you are buying has an extended manufacturer’s warranty.

Power

While electric pressure washers that are moderately powered are great for washing a vehicle or cleaning windows, they won’t be as effective as the higher-powered gas versions unless you opt for something over 2,000 psi.

Wrapping Up

We know how difficult it can be to make your first pressure washer purchase, so we trust we’ve given you a little more information to help you make that decision and better understand what to look for. Don’t miss the rest of our Pressure Washer buying guides.

If you’re looking for a way to take the chill off your patio – Check out these Top 10 Fire Pit Tables!

References and Further Reading

• Great thread on AutoGeekOnline about pressure washers.
• The WRX community also has a thread on the topic.
• Check out the best pressure washer for driveways here.
• Read about the best pressure washer for under $300.

Photo Credit: Simon Harrod via Flickr CC, license/usage info.