How do you see the future of self serve wash business?

[Kobe]

I'm in a position where I can sell 3 rental properties to buy 3 self serve car washes within 10 minutes from each other. Each one revenue is $180-$220K a year.

I'm worried about how self serve business will be with all the crazy inflation and the express washes popping up left and right. I'm essentially trading in solid appreciating assets for businesses that may see a decrease in popularity in years to come.

Could use some general advice about this business. Do you see self serves still being around in 20-30 years? Would you recommend getting intothis business with absolutely 0 car wash or mechanical knowledge? Would you recommend getting into this business at all? I'm also curious about what day to day is like for a self serve car wash owner? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[wrightwash]

Hello Kobe,

This is just from my experience but the customers I get primarily only use self-serve washes, as the customer that uses tunnels primarily only use tunnel washes. As long as this type of customer exists, there will always be a business model for self-serve. The car wash industry is very lucrative but it is also a niche market so you must keep with the times. You are seeing this a lot in the industry by adaptations for credit cards, tap pay, ceramic coatings, etc.

I'm early to the punch here but some more experienced owners will chime in on income. If you are stating that each self-serve has revenues of 180-200k a year that is unusually high for self-serve locations. I would check with the owners for a PL statement. Also, be sure to get traffic counts for the locations, similar to real estate rentals, know the metrics of the area!

In simple form, a self-serve car wash is an industrial machine that runs 24/7. With that, it's going to have breakdowns and regular maintenance. Some items are very easy to learn, some are more complex.

I'm in a rural town so I do not see as much usage as some on here but that still requires 5-10 hrs a week for trash, cleaning bays, minor repairs, checking chemical levels, checking functions, etc.

If you have contact information for the owner(s) of the self-serve car washes you mentioned, I would reach out to them! Ask to shadow them for a week or two. This will give you an idea of their day-to-day tasks, the workings of the systems, etc.

Good luck to you! If you have any specific questions I would be glad to answer, feel free to send me a message.

 

[Kobe]

Hello Kobe,

This is just from my experience but the customers I get primarily only use self-serve washes, as the customer that uses tunnels primarily only use tunnel washes. As long as this type of customer exists, there will always be a business model for self-serve. The car wash industry is very lucrative but it is also a niche market so you must keep with the times. You are seeing this a lot in the industry by adaptations for credit cards, tap pay, ceramic coatings, etc.

I'm early to the punch here but some more experienced owners will chime in on income. If you are stating that each self-serve has revenues of 180-200k a year that is unusually high for self-serve locations. I would check with the owners for a PL statement. Also, be sure to get traffic counts for the locations, similar to real estate rentals, know the metrics of the area!

In simple form, a self-serve car wash is an industrial machine that runs 24/7. With that, it's going to have breakdowns and regular maintenance. Some items are very easy to learn, some are more complex.

I'm in a rural town so I do not see as much usage as some on here but that still requires 5-10 hrs a week for trash, cleaning bays, minor repairs, checking chemical levels, checking functions, etc.

If you have contact information for the owner(s) of the self-serve car washes you mentioned, I would reach out to them! Ask to shadow them for a week or two. This will give you an idea of their day-to-day tasks, the workings of the systems, etc.

Good luck to you! If you have any specific questions I would be glad to answer, feel free to send me a message.

Thank you for the advice! great points.

 

[washnshine]

Good points. Also - building new self serves these days is more rare. Many are sold and change hands- chances are you will not see someone building a brand new self serve that will compete with your newly acquired washes - especially if the three you have are fairly local to each other. If I were looking to obtain more self serve washes, I would look for one that is on the market, but I would not build - at least in my location.

 

[MEP001]

I think my wash is best-case, it's at a traffic count on a road with over 30,000 count, and no competition nearby on the main road. There are two other washes nearby, both doing very well, but their traffic count is way lower than mine. So my outlook on the SS is good. If I were to build new in the same spot right now, I probably wouldn't be making anything.

 

[mac]

Remember you can wash a lot more than cars in a ss bay. Boom trucks, motor homes, motorcycles, boats, and patio furniture come to mind. One enterprising owner washed an elephant when a circus came to town.

 

[MC3033]

More and more SS washes will continue to close down over time. It isn’t a market that is capturing new customers as a whole (and is likely losing some) but with bad/unkept washes being closed other operators gain opportunity. The majority of SS customers don’t overlap with auto/tunnel customers

ImO the most important thing is to drive volume into a SS. Expenses rise far quicker then we can comfortably raise prices

 

[mac]

A lot depends on your location/customer base. I’m in a relatively affluent area with many retirees, and high growth. We’re doing quite well.

 

[Greg Pack]

The business will still be around but there will be very few new facilities built. New investors are much more interested in the express tunnel format and they will be built most everywhere but the smallest markets. The fallout from that will spill over into impacting the IBA segment. The existing SS facilities may indeed see an increase in business due to attrition. Due to land and construction costs new SS facilities are hard to pencil out as a good investment.

This business is not a passive investment. It requires some time-three car washes doing that $$$ volume is going to be a full time job for someone.You, or someone you hire will need some basic mechanical and electrical troubleshooting experience and will be getting dirty. SS only washes are pretty simple and any general handyman type person can keep one running with a little education. The in bay automatics can be a challenge to keep running correctly and require more electrical troubleshooting ability. Although service companies do exist it's expensive to call them for every little thing and the downtime before they get there can cost quite a bit in lost revenue.

Also

• Verify Income through tax returns
• Express Tunnels will heavily impact the In Bay Automatic segment if built nearby.
• Don't' pay too much. You should get a significantly higher return than standard rental property The rule of thumb of 3-5X gross still kinda works as a sanity check. More than 5X gross and you are looking at probably looking at sub 10% return.
• Don't finance too long-15 years max is what I like.

 

[traveler17]

Remember you can wash a lot more than cars in a ss bay. Boom trucks, motor homes, motorcycles, boats, and patio furniture come to mind. One enterprising owner washed an elephant when a circus came to town.

You left out grills and smokers

 

[Waxman]

I don't think you should buy three car washes all at once without any experience and little mechanical know how. With an apartment building it's a lot different because in my experience the problems that arise are best handled by licensed plumbers and electricians and contractors. The apartment business is more passive and the car wash business is more active. If you're looking for a reason to be outdoors and more active than may be owning three self-serve car washes is a good idea for you. He didn't mention how many rental units you have, But that is a good place to start with your comparison.

 

[cmawash]

we sold rental properties to get into the coin op car wash business, don't regret, we bought other owners car washes that were run down, lack of Maintenace, no reinvestment in new equipment. and turned them around, we do our work, repair, upgrades were practical. Our main focus is making sure all equipment works, looks good and is easy for the customer to use, we may have over paid for some locations but in the long run we are way ahead. your income est, seems like these car washes are in prime locations with high visibility

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

Keep rental properties, do a refi and use that money to buy the washes. I own a bunch of rentals, from MF to commercial and office as well as 2 washes, a SS and a EE. I like having the diversity. Rentals give me way more freedom.

I've actually considered selling the washes. This is a great time to sell and I would just travel more. The washes will tie you down somewhat depending on how you run them.

 

[MEP001]

This is a great time to sell and I would just travel more.

This brings up an important con of this business. Unless you have VERY reliable help, say goodbye to vacations of more than a couple days.

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

This brings up an important con of this business. Unless you have VERY reliable help, say goodbye to vacations of more than a couple days.

I guess I've been fortunate. I'm able to be away for up to 2 weeks in the winter and 3 in the summer. I hire retired guys and ex military and have had good luck.

 

[Wash4Life]

I'm in a position where I can sell 3 rental properties to buy 3 self serve car washes within 10 minutes from each other. Each one revenue is $180-$220K a year.

The first question that pops into my mind is why you are considering getting out of the rental properties? Are you tired of the business? Are you trying to strike while the iron is hot? Are you the sort of entrepreneur that likes to establish a business, sell it and go to another one? Are there too many headaches?

I'm worried about how self serve business will be with all the crazy inflation and the express washes popping up left and right. I'm essentially trading in solid appreciating assets for businesses that may see a decrease in popularity in years to come.

The inflation part wouldn't deter me. I don't believe the inflation is going to last forever like this. As for the express washes, I don't see them as competition for self-serves. It's a different kind of customer.

[/quote]Do you see self serves still being around in 20-30 years?[/quote]

Yes. There are always going to be people who want to do it themselves.

Would you recommend getting into this business with absolutely 0 car wash or mechanical knowledge?

In your situation, I wouldn't recommend it. I would start small. Three car washes at once for a novice is too much. You have a lot of experienced people in the business who wouldn't never dream of acquiring a second location, and those with multiple locations who would never go with acquiring three at once.

Would you recommend getting into this business at all?

I do recommend getting into the business. The key is to smart small, then grow. You don't make your first run a marathon for instance. You do smaller runs training and smaller races.

I'm also curious about what day to day is like for a self serve car wash owner?

Odds are, you're going to emptying out money multiple times per week. If you got employees, there is payroll to run. The place will need to be cleaned several times a week. Regular maintenance and mechanical breaks are going to happen. Make sure to test your equipment. Provide a car wash phone number and/or email address, and you'll be interacting with customers. If you choose to have a website and social media (both strongly recommended), you'll be doing things there.

There isn't a typical day. What's not working and customers will make sure of that.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Other advice:

Do these locations have credit card acceptance? If not, they need to.

Do any of these locations have in-bay automatics? It may be worth looking into and is nice to have on cold days when customers may not be inclined to do it themsleves.

Try to get a part-time gig at a car wash to learn the ropes. Go to conventions. Read trade magazines to learn about new technology and trends. Keep coming here. I would say this is way better than solely relying on sales people and the trade magazines. Sales people are trying to sell you something. Everything's rosy. The trade magazines are great for industry trends and new technology. They're not going to tell you to avoid say for instance a certain product because that product may be a sponsor or a potential one.

Best of luck in whatever you decide.

 

[MEP001]

I haven't had a vacation since 1992.

I'm also curious about what day to day is like for a self serve car wash owner?

This can be pretty much whatever you want it to be. To expand on some of Wash4Life said, you can hire an attendant or attendants to do the day-to-day stuff, and if you're lucky to find someone you can trust to handle the money you can potentially be almost completely hands off. If you plan to do most of it yourself, you need a cool head to deal with the messes, the damages done by both normal wear and tear and the possible break-ins, the drug dealers making exchanges in your bays, people coming through harassing your customers, etc. Talking to and getting to know your customers will help more than you might imagine. Keeping the place clean and everything working well is most important. Most people don't care what the place looks like as long as they're getting good value and don't get their clothes dirty using it. If you want to run it well and maximize your profits, expect to spend a minimum of an hour per wash every day.

 

[mac]

I guess I've been fortunate. I'm able to be away for up to 2 weeks in the winter and 3 in the summer. I hire retired guys and ex military and have had good luck.

Good idea car wash guy. I do a similar thing and can leave for a couple of weeks. Having remote viewing helps.

 

[SanDiegoSS]

I bought 4 carwashes in the same city 3 years ago and had no previous experience in the industry. These were well run and the owner was retiring. There was a lot to learn and more still but it has been a great investment.
I have a full time job and 2 young kids - this would have been impossible if the current staff did not remain. Even with them its still probably 5-10hrs week. Counting coins and cash actually takes a couple hours in itself.

Best of luck!

 

[soonermajic]

I'll say what others haven't. Id call BS on 3 SS washes making $600,000! If they were doing that great, who would sell?
Stay @ 3xGross or under!