New to the Carwash business

[Jimmyhd]

New guy here looking for some advice and direction.
I’m taking over a car wash that has been neglected for some time now.

I would like to add new CC devices at each bay. Which one do y’all recommend?

The bay control panels need to be redone. Has anyone done the push button style over the rotary switch?

I am open to any recommendations. The place is getting a full refurbish including paint.

Lastly I will be removing the automatic wash to open up the large bay back to self service. They have multiple new auto washes in the area within 2-3 miles. Is it worth trying to sell this auto wash or just scrap it?

 

[OurTown]

I'll give you some suggestions and it will be worth every penny you pay. Clean the brick well, but if you paint it, you may have a lot more maintenance later. Paint the facia a different color than blue (or gray)as it blends in with the sky. For now, stick with the rotary switches as they are fine and probably less maintenance. Do you have functions that don't work? Get new decals made for the meter box doors. You can get custom ones at a local sign shop or there are a few online places that may have your Coleman door die cuts and component location. Upgrade to Dixmor LED6 timers. It looks like you already have Cryptopay as your credit card equipment but there is some duct tape residue on the one swiper so I assume that it is not working. Find out what is wrong with it and start using it. The automatic is a debatable subject and could be a whole thread in itself. Does it operate? What manufacturer is it?

 

[Jimmyhd]

As far as I know all the functions are operational. Everything is in pretty rough shape as of right now. It does have Crypto pay swipers at each bay but they have not been operational for some time, the crypto pay network box is missing which is $400 I believe. I’d really like to put swipers that except Apple Pay etc…but not sure which ones to go with.

The auto wash is a Jim Coleman Fusion. My area has some newly built fancy auto washes so I’d rather just sell the auto wash if it is worth selling and have another SS bay.

 

[OurTown]

You can add these to the swipers:

https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-66043-cryptopay-cryptotap-contactless-payment-unit.aspx

OR replace the swipers with these but can't accept swipe or use their attendant cards.

https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-71899-cryptopay-cryptotap-plus-cashless-payment-unit.aspx

 

[washnshine]

I’m always in favor of keeping an automatic or replacing it if you can. You get a whole other type of customer with an automatic and the income potential is almost always better than a single ss bay. That being said, the fusion is a notoriously complex machine compared to others, and if this one is not in working order or at a stage where it is down a lot, you will need a knowledge tech to get you going if you don’t have the skills to repair it.

 

[Greg Pack]

I would not go to the trouble to rehab a fusion X (overly complex machine) but Your machine is the E fusion and is a decent machine.It will do a better job than many brands new machines out there. Unless it has extensive damage from a lightning strike you could do an pretty extensive rehab on that machine for less than 10K, cheaper than the install costs of a new machine alone. Get it running right, clean and wrap and it will look like new. They are not hugely popular so I doubt you'll get much for it beyond scrap (or part out for more profit).

https://stacarwash.com/meter-door-decals for new Coleman door decals. Scrap the Coleman timers and get the dixmor LED6 timers. Cryptopay and Nayax are the two popular credit card systems right now.

 

[Waxman]

I definitely think that it would be much better to rehab, clean and re-wrap this machine instead of spending the money to tear it out and then more money to install self service equipment.

The earning potential of an automatic is far greater than one wand bay.

just look at the cost of the new automatic machine (200$k ish). If you could rebuild yours for under $15,000, you may be able to run it for five years and make enough extra money to buy a modern automatic and then you really have a great business.

 

[Keno]

All great advice from pros here, I prefer nayax over crypto pay due to being more modern, both are good systems though

 

[soonermajic]

These guys have given you the blueprint of what to do. Follow their advice to the "T" !

 

[Jimmyhd]

I don’t plan to spend any money on this auto wash due to the reason being they have 2 huge new auto washes with in 2 miles that were just built so I believe opening this bay up will bring me more business over this old auto wash.

 

[soonermajic]

What kind of washes are those new builds, specifically?
Not sure why you'd ask for advice, then say i ain't doing what yall say...

 

[Jimmyhd]

What kind of washes are those new builds, specifically?
Not sure why you'd ask for advice, then say i ain't doing what yall say...

This is the newest one that was just built about 2 miles from me….
Sorry for the confusion but my ask for advice was mainly for the SS side of things.

 

[HeyVern]

You're smarter than everyone here, don't know why you bothered asking

 

[Jimmyhd]

You're smarter than everyone here, don't know why you bothered asking

Don’t know why you bothered commenting….

 

[HeyVern]

Don’t know why you bothered commenting….

I was making a point!

 

[Eric H]

Agree with others. Fusion could be rehabbed and make you more money that the SS bays. It will cost you more to convert that to a SS bay than it will to rehab the machine. Then save some money to replace it with good touchless machine and differentiate yourself from the new tunnels.
Make replacing the SS faceplate decals a priority. It’s the easiest, most impactful improvement the cus will notice before anything else.

 

[washnshine]

Remember - not every customer wants a monthly membership, which I am guessing the tunnels you are mentioning have. Many people are happy to “pay as you go” and even if they want to wash once every six weeks for $10, that eFusion friction wash will clean their car.

 

[Bigmatthew86]

Does the auto run at the moment? If it does it would be crazy to remove it for a ss bay. They are right. You could have that new wash literally right next store & people would still use yours too.

 

[soonermajic]

Is eFusion strictly friction, or hybrid? If hybrid, only an idiot would remove it. Heck, not an expert experienced wash owner on here would remove it anyways.

 

[Greg Pack]

He has an E fusion which is three brush friction machine with high pressure. The brushes have tilt cylinders so to get the best possible car it needs two brush passes. The brushes overlap on the front and rear of the vehicle so no skunk stripe.


Fusion X is true combo machine, essentially a water wizard with brushes added. That machine is huge monstrosity and I wouldn’t recommend it due to complexity, but it does not compromise cleaning. It’s a tunnel on wheels. I owned one six years and cussed it every time I did PM- it’s got over 40 bearings that had to be greased.

both machines are all stainless and will last forever with the right care. I have an eighteen year old water wizard that I’m about to wrap and add audio speakers to. I have no intentions of getting rid of it anytime soon.

I can appreciate the simplicity of a high volume self serve only wash as a business model, but would be tempted to give this unit a try since it’s already there. Perhaps there are long lines at the self serve and a high skip rate. And most of us know that an IBA changes the business model a little. I’m not worried about a self serve bay going down but will usually drop what I’m doing to go fix an IBA that’s down. If I ever own a wash in semi-retirement it will likely be self serve only.