Population Minimum for Express

[soapy]

I think he meant 3500 cars per month, otherwise a lot of competition is on the way.

 

[cebo]

Cebo are saying with that demographics and 14,000 cars per day passing your wash your washing almost 3,500 cars per day?

I fixed that. It's less than 3500 per month

 

[OurTown]

Cebo, what is your median or average household income in that area?

 

[cebo]

Median household income is $41,935 for the city and $43,501 for the county. Also, I'm in the southeast so no salt on the roads in winter. I have talked to people up north in markets similar to mine that do much better.

 

[OurTown]

Median household income is $41,935 for the city and $43,501 for the county. Also, I'm in the southeast so no salt on the roads in winter. I have talked to people up north in markets similar to mine that do much better.

Thanks. I'd say you're doing pretty good then.

 

[cebo]

Thanks. I'd say you're doing pretty good then.

That depends. I spent a lot of money to make not a whole lot more than I was making before. At least I lost it to myself and hopefully made the market too thin to be built on anytime in the near future. Tunnels are moving into small markets and if you look at the cost of the mini tunnels they are not much more than a couple of friction autos plus have twice the through put.

 

[Greg Pack]

For those doing the math and wondering if they should install one in their market, don't forget there is another tunnel on the other end of Cebo's small town that is less than 10 minutes away. That guy is probably doing 3K cars. So 3500 could maybe be 6K if he wasn't there.

 

[jtownathan]

I have a 4/2 and a 3/1 in a city of 9000. County has 42000. Traffic count of 14k cpd. I had to build an express tunnel on my 3/1 next to Walmart for purely defensive purposes. Wash owner north of downtown CBD that leases the tunnel fairly cheaply were going to build just a few hundred yards of my 3/1. Since I already had my variance I built first. We have been open 1 year and the touchless autos are down about 50% across the board. The SS gross overall is looking at about a 30-40% hit. No effect on the SS revenue. We are less than 3500 cars per month on average for the first year. My price points are 7. 12,15, and 20 while the competition is 5, 8, 10, and 13. We offer more but the price competition hurts numbers. Overall it was a good move considering what I lost but just building one from scratch in a small market may not be worth the investment. You may consider putting in a 5/1 with room to make it a 4/2 and have enough land to add an express later. Just make sure you check the agenda at the planning commission every month so nobody sneaks in on you.

How long is your express tunnel?

 

[cebo]

It's a 70 foot front pull.

 

[jtownathan]

It's a 70 foot front pull.

At the risk of being terribly nosey, what was the total cost for you to build your tunnel and do you do well enough at 3500 per month to pay it, or have you found that it takes some of the money from your SS business to cover the tunnel expenses?

 

[soonermajic]

At the risk of being terribly nosey, what was the total cost you to build your tunnel and do you do well enough at 3500 per month to pay it, or have you found that it takes some of the money from you SS business to cover the tunnel expenses?

Excellent questions

 

[cebo]

I did it for about 1.6 and owned the land in 2018. Being in a small town I didn't have a lot of local government restrictions to deal with so that probably helped some on cost, especially carrying cost. We were washing cars 4 months and 2 days after we broke ground. Due to site size we did a 2 story for extra vac area. The SS got killed after the build but is slowly coming back. It hasn't been much of a factor. It was pretty thin the first year but we are up to about 4200 cars a month. It is working out fine considering I lost the SS business to myself. If you are in a smaller market I think the shorter, less expensive tunnels will work fine. Not a get rich deal, but it is cash flowing with a decent return.

 

[jtownathan]

I did it for about 1.6 and owned the land in 2018. Being in a small town I didn't have a lot of local government restrictions to deal with so that probably helped some on cost, especially carrying cost. We were washing cars 4 months and 2 days after we broke ground. Due to site size we did a 2 story for extra vac area. The SS got killed after the build but is slowly coming back. It hasn't been much of a factor. It was pretty thin the first year but we are up to about 4200 cars a month. It is working out fine considering I lost the SS business to myself. If you are in a smaller market I think the shorter, less expensive tunnels will work fine. Not a get rich deal, but it is cash flowing with a decent return.

Thanks for that information!