New member! Looking to build a car wash

[Blanco]

35’ 2 guys around here own 10 IBA / SS. One is a mini tunnel. It was as short as one of my sites that has markvii combo wash(s). Couldn’t believe how they cram equipment in there. I was leaning towards doing this at mine site that’s extremely busy to push people through faster. I don’t want to field quality issue calls all day and hire someone to load customers. This particular one I wasn’t impressed

Ya 35 feet is just stupid. After 20 ft of loading that leaves you with 15 feet for equipment. How much can you possibly squeeze into 15 feet? one Mitter, set of wraps, and 1 dryer arch back to back. It will never clean. There is also no drip zone. The dryers will be blowing water and soap back onto the cars. You would also have to slow the conveyor down quite a bit to attempt to clean which takes away the throughput. Shortest tunnel I ever seen was a sunny tunnel and I believe it was 40 ft and gave a absolutely garbage wash. With all the new multi million dollar 120ft+ tunnels popping up everyday the last thing I would do is install a "mini tunnel". ITs kind of a joke. Customers probably feel like there getting ripped off going through such a short wash. I owned a 60ft tunnel at one point and that was too short but manageable. Thats probably the shortest length I would ever do a tunnel and that has to be on a remodel. If I was building new 120ft if the only way to go but no one build new tunnels anymore besides big corporations and PE. If you need more throughput install a second IBA. When one goes down your still in business and when you have busy days your pushing through a ton of cars.

 

[traveler17]

Ya 35 feet is just stupid. After 20 ft of loading that leaves you with 15 feet for equipment. How much can you possibly squeeze into 15 feet? one Mitter, set of wraps, and 1 dryer arch back to back. It will never clean. There is also no drip zone. The dryers will be blowing water and soap back onto the cars. You would also have to slow the conveyor down quite a bit to attempt to clean which takes away the throughput. Shortest tunnel I ever seen was a sunny tunnel and I believe it was 40 ft and gave a absolutely garbage wash. With all the new multi million dollar 120ft+ tunnels popping up everyday the last thing I would do is install a "mini tunnel". ITs kind of a joke. Customers probably feel like there getting ripped off going through such a short wash. I owned a 60ft tunnel at one point and that was too short but manageable. Thats probably the shortest length I would ever do a tunnel and that has to be on a remodel. If I was building new 120ft if the only way to go but no one build new tunnels anymore besides big corporations and PE. If you need more throughput install a second IBA. When one goes down your still in business and when you have busy days your pushing through a ton of cars.

My busiest site has 2. One is markvii soft touch the other is the combo wash. These were in when I bought this place. I didn’t know these machines but they do a great job, my only dislikes are the lack of speed and lack of floor space. I really looked hard at these “mini tunnels” just to get people through faster. I’ve read some do a good job but not trying do the multiple employee route again. I rode through that one and it was terrible. I’m not sacrificing quality for speed. Down the road when it’s time to replace I’ll probably put 2 washworlds in, one friction, one touchless.

 

[Blanco]

My busiest site has 2. One is markvii soft touch the other is the combo wash. These were in when I bought this place. I didn’t know these machines but they do a great job, my only dislikes are the lack of speed and lack of floor space. I really looked hard at these “mini tunnels” just to get people through faster. I’ve read some do a good job but not trying do the multiple employee route again. I rode through that one and it was terrible. I’m not sacrificing quality for speed. Down the road when it’s time to replace I’ll probably put 2 washworlds in, one friction, one touchless.

Two typhoons can do what 4 wash worlds can and you don't sacrifice a thing when it comes to cleaning. My top wash is under three minutes. Faster and cleans better then a "mini tunnel". Last weekend I ran 250+ a day per machine. Walk in the park. I agree stay away from employees. You don't need to do tunnel numbers of 500+ a day. Half that with no employees/over head is the same profit and the way to go with less headache.

 

[traveler17]

Two typhoons can do what 4 wash worlds can and you don't sacrifice a thing when it comes to cleaning. My top wash is under three minutes. Faster and cleans better then a "mini tunnel". Last weekend I ran 250+ a day per machine. Walk in the park. I agree stay away from employees. You don't need to do tunnel numbers of 500+ a day. Half that with no employees/over head is the same profit and the way to go with less headache.

I’ve heard of the typhoons but never looked at them. Are they TF and/or friction?

 

[Rapidoil]

@Roz I wonder if jacks was/is a challenging location? It appears to be off the beaten path near a highway and a gas station.There must be some lessons to learn here.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

In the Jacks video the owners said the only way to get on the wash property is to enter through the Sheets Gas station property. That certainly doesn't help.

 

[Roz]

In the Jacks video the owners said the only way to get on the wash property is to enter through the Sheets Gas station property. That certainly doesn't help.

Yes access is an issue as the town did not allow them a new direct cut onto the road the last time I was there. I have no idea why they are selling, perhaps they want to cash out or there is some other reason. Always busy whenever I have driven past them (although I am not in that area often). Not certain of their total cost (I thought they said $2.5M but it has been a long time since speaking).

I think if a wash offers free vacs you need to keep them behind a gate for access, otherwise you will get abused.

 

[OurTown]

In the Jacks video the owners said the only way to get on the wash property is to enter through the Sheets Gas station property. That certainly doesn't help.

I'm seeing this more and more with new washes built. There is a new EE built about an hour or so drive from me that on first look it seems really difficult to find the entrance. Multiple property crossings to get there. I guess all the good properties are gobbled up.

 

[Waxman]

You can't expect the customers to try too hard to get to the property if it's not obvious and easy.

I can only think of a few business models where customers will do anything extra or with effort to find a place: brothel, strip club, liquor store. Everything else you need to make it painfully easy for the customer because they don't wanna try too hard.

 

[edredtop]

I guess you don't know what a mini tunnel is. You do know there are 100+ foot tunnels, are there 100 foot long cars?

"Remove your helicopter before entering wash"
(they won't)

 

[jfmoran]

Hello everyone, I am looking to get into the car wash business! Me and my business partner have been doing research and trying to put together possible plans to build from the ground up. I did research any for sales car washes in the area with no luck. Basically I have been referencing one car wash design that I have visited as I really liked the layout, the way it ran, and feel it would be perfect for the area I recently moved to. At the moment I am looking into .80-1 full acre of land, to build a building layout of roughly 3,900-4,200 sq ft. (1 option) This would be including one 1 tunnel, 1 IBA (touch-less bay), and 2 self serve bays. The main thing I have been pondering is how long should the tunnel bay be, I know they can be above 100 ft or as little as 30ft? I was thinking of staying between 50ft-80ft but I am not sure how to mathematically choose the perfect length as of course I want to be able to push out as much cars as possible per hour when needed at those busy times so I don't have any customers not even being able to fit in the parking lot while they wait. Which of course I hope the IBA takes off and a good amount choose that route is well for those busy times plus that will be open 24/7 along with the self service bays of course. So with this "1st option", my main questions is there a perfect length for a tunnel wash? While keeping in mind the design I'm doing wouldn't just be one of those 1 tunnel only style option car washes so I do plan on being smaller due to being all one connected building layout.

(Option 2) Two IBA systems, one touch-less and the other a soft touch, along with two self service bays. The reason behind this idea is wouldn't need to hire employees that need to be there every day. I do plan on basically being there daily to make sure everything is running smoothly and be a helping hand for new customers that may have any questions. But other than that so it can run itself (in a way). I do believe I will be able to learn the maintenance that the machines need or at least to be prepared for those common things that go wrong and be ready to know how to fix that when the time comes.

Comparing the two options, will I be missing out on profits with not having a tunnel even though I would have to hire employees to be there, or would the IBA machines still out weigh the profits even though they do run slower than tunnels operate?

I did start looking into possible distributors in the area and seeing who would be able to support my business the most for those days something with the machines goes wrong that I don't know how to fix or unable to. I have been told Motor City is good for tunnel equipment. Carolina pride for self service equipment. This is just references from another car wash owner so I am aware everyone has different opinions and experiences.

For IBA's these are some of the names I have been hearing; Razor from wash world, or 360 laser from PDQ, or oasis typhoon. Anyone have any experience with any of these distributor/equipment? If I went with option 2 maybe for the soft touch IBA oasis i5??

Some quick demographics for the area I am looking at. About 26,000-36,000 rate of visitors per day traffic. Population of about 3,000 within a mile and about 55,000 within 5 miles.

I know I typed a lot, have a lot of questions etc. But as I said I am a newbie to this industry so I am looking for any help and recommendations. Oddly enough I have wanted to open a car wash for years now, so it isn't like I just woke up last week and said "you know what let me try and open a car wash". I am definitely glad I finally started taking steps to my dream.

Thank you!

You need a good distributor, they should be able to answer all your questions, if they can't, find one who can.