Strongly cosidering a new Autec AES 260. Any thoughts?

[hopingforthebest]

I have been in the car wash business 6 years and own 2 washes. Both are SS with IBA. The one location is much higher volume than the other and has more potential. That being said, it was built in 2001 and I purchased it in 2007.


OUR SITUATION:
Our automatic clientele are washing once a month in stead of once a week, so the touch free we have (Coleman Water Wizard 1.0) is not capable of cleaning the oil and grime like a friction unit would. It also is not as reliable as I would like.............. So, we have decided (I think) to buy an Autec AES 260 with heat and doors.

Why? Really cleans a Dirty car, manufacturer is in state, knowledgeable and helpful local distributor. Hydraulic driven instead of electric, (Coleman stuff extremely over engineered in my opinion and we are not electrical savvy enough to do our own diagnostic trouble shooting, so repair bills are eating us alive) overall electric bill (10 hp instead of 35 hp) motor and water sewer should drop significantly.

Above is my reasoning......Can any of you add anything, or punch holes in it? Do any of you have one of these? What has your experience been? ANY comment or insight would be welcomed.

Craig in North Carolina.

 

[briteauto]

I cannot comment on Autec - although they look like a solid machine, I have never personally owned one. I have used them before and have been very impressed - I would consider one in the future - and I like the idea of a mitter for an IBA. Sure - not as aggressive as a top wheel, but you can wash in both directions and amp up your detergent if needed - it will still clean more thoroughly than touchfree.

I can say, you are doing the right thing in going to a friction machine if your customers are washing once per month. Even every 2 weeks with a touchfree can be tough if the soil, season and finish of the car are not in your favor. You will most certainly clean a greater variety of soil more consistently.

Good luck.

 

[Waxman]

Why not keep the touchfree and add the friction machine?

The friction machines I've looked at seem to let the side brushes rest on the floor when stopped and in my area that would let them sit right in the grit.

I'd be concerned about damage claims, both real and imagined.

I'd be concerned with the greater potential for personal injury as well. I got my finger caught in my auto a couple years back and it only has 3 slow-moving parts !

 

[washnvac]

Be prepared to give the friction machine a lot more attention. Attended is best. But if not, it should be checked morning and afternoon. There is a lot more to go wrong, and/or for people to tear up on a friction machine. Also, be prepared for the mess a hydraulic hose break makes.

I will give you an example- last Wednesday an idiot comes through in a pickup. There is a 1/2" thick rope about 20 feet long laying in the back with one end tied to his bed hook. Water pressure blows the loose end up and into a side wrap. The entire brush is wound with the rope; which rope burns/scratches his truck on the last pass. If my attendant had not walked over shortly after, this could have damaged any number of vehicles.

I do not want to discourage, but just wanted to give you an idea of what you may have to deal with.

 

[captain cw]

I have a Ryko SoftGloss and a touch-free. I love the friction a lot more than the touch-free. Lots less maintenance and operating expenses. I've had about the same amount of damage complaints, which is to say very few. Don't know much about the Autec.

 

[robert roman]

Autec's design is based on the Broadway roll-over.

So, the machine is fairly simple and it tends to be very reliable.

I believe Autec compares favorably to Istobal, Ryko and other top brands.

Quality of Autec wash approaches that of a conveyor car wash system.

The curtain can retract and the wrap-around brushes are mix of soft-cloth and foam.

You may also want to consider the capability to wash higher hourly volumes like Autec's In-Bay Express or even a mini-tunnel.

The why is, what happens when you lose on price?

 

[Waxman]

I think if I went friction I may consider a lower price point than my IBA due to increased throughput capabilities as well as lower chemical/water and sewer costs.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

So you would offer a better wash but charge less for it? I would rethink that if I were you.

 

[captain cw]

I charge more in my friction because it cleans better.

 

[briteauto]

I charge more in my friction because it cleans better.

I agree - you have to go with pricing according to the quality of product the customer receives, and charging more for a higher quality wash makes perfect sense - regardless of time.

Just because a customer is sitting in a touchfree bay for 7 minutes does not mean they are receiving the highest quality wash. If you have a friction machine that outcleans it in 5-6 minutes - that should demand a higher price point.

If you go by time equalling quality, any wash with on board dryers should be able to charge top dollar - you can suck up tons of time per vehicle with an onboard, but you don't necessarily get the best dry, and you kill your throughput, as compared to a drive through blower.

Not bashing the tf's here - I do have both.

 

[hopingforthebest]

Thank you all for your insight and comments. Today, I spent my last repair dollar on the touch free. New Autec should be installed by mid Feb. We are hoping to be able to raise prices and provide a better finished product to our customer. I hope this works as we are all in on this one.......follow up with you all in March........Thanks again!

 

[hopingforthebest]

New 260 will be delivered Feb 11th. Looking forward to my first new machine!

 

[Waxman]

I agree about the higher prices for higher quality after thinking about it more.

I'm interested in how your new Autec works out. Please keep us informed and updated.

Will you run this wash attened? What is your package pricing/services per wash? What options did you get? Rear Super Clean? Rocker blasters?

 

[hopingforthebest]

Alright Folks....A little longer than I wanted, but I think our new Autec AES 260 will be open for business tomorrow. Still waiting on some signage and some Neon Lighting, but hopefully, we will be open tomorrow for good. I am a little too late to use the heat and doors I installed this year, but we will be ready for next year. I will post some pics when I get some and let you know how the change worked for me. Thanks for all of your support and commentary......wish me luck.

 

[pitzerwm]

hoping, go to the Photo Galley (you need to re-register but use the same as the forum) and make your own album, with all of the pictures you want.

 

[hopingforthebest]

Up and running

Ok, finally we are 100% up and running. So far so good. Cars are coming out extremely clean. People seem to be really happy. Still trying to get the word out that we have a new machine. Numbers steadily building upward, but nowhere near where we need to be yet......it may have something to do with my impeccable gas price timing.....well...pollen should be falling soon....we'll see what happens. Keep you all updated.

 

[Waxman]

What did the machine cost?

 

[hopingforthebest]

Cost.

I paid about 160,000 for machine, doors, heat, light fixtures and install as well as removal of old unit, and soft costs. (Electric, plumbing, marketing materials)

 

[trip]

love the grille blaster and rocker panel on the 260 ,,, also am appreciating the texting me fault codes if something goes wrong