adding a third iba

[bmattivi]

I Am Considering Adding A Third Iba To My Site, I Presently Have Two Jim Coleman Touch Free Water Wizards That Still Perform Quite Well - Recieve A Lot Of Compliments. But Friction Has Become So Popular I Am On The Fence, We Are Polling Our Current Client Base With A Survey But I Was Wondering From The Forum?

If You Were Going To Add An Additional Automatic To A Site With Two Existing Touch Free Would You Add Friction Or Another Touch Free

Brad Mattivi

 

[frside1]

skip the survey, as most people are going to say touchless,
i have 1 touchless and 1 touch. touch wins 75% to 25%. once they
try they love them. my touchless is a karcher which is 4 years old and works very
well.

 

[raisetheprice]

I think it comes down to current volume at your site. If you're washing 5000 cars a month with 2 autos, a third would probably be needed. I'd go touch just to add flare and another option at your site.

 

[aggressive]

What part of country is your wash located

 

[Another carwash owner]

Definitely add a friction machine! We have a double bay site and our customers use the friction more than the touchfree 60/40 split for friction. There is a clear client?le for touchfree and for the friction.
Good Luck.
ANO

 

[calcar]

I have a 2 IBA site as well 1 friction 1 touchless. I do about 30% more friction than touch free. I also have less problems with friction machine no complaints about cleaning quality and the chemical/utility costs per wash are less.

 

[Ric]

I owned and operated a successful friction tunnel wash for over 20 years. The part I hated most was dealing with the "you damaged my car" claims. I know it doesn't bother some operators but it was something I did not like to deal with. I don't have those issues with my current "touchless" iba. I am looking towards adding a second iba in the future. I have used some friction units and they do a very nice job. I'm just afraid of having to deal with the damage claims again.

 

[Waxman]

I bought touch free for these reasons:

1. It cleans the car well within the customers' expectations of quality and price.

2. It's perceived as safe for the vehicle, so I've had one damage claim in 2 years of operating. It was bogus; a 90's Pontiac with a leaky door gasket that was supposedly damaged by my IBA. I denied the claim.

3. Being in detailing, I've seen and repaired damage customers claimed happened in friction washes. Not trying to disparage friction washes; just saying there are more damage claims with friction than touch free. If you are the type who can effectively deal with these claims without paying out too much $$ or elevating your blood pressure too much, maybe friction is for you. People say it cleans better and that makes sense to me. But remember; it's about the customer and what THEY want and what THEY preceive is a good value and good for their car.

 

[wardaddy]

I Am Considering Adding A Third Iba To My Site, I Presently Have Two Jim Coleman Touch Free Water Wizards That Still Perform Quite Well - Recieve A Lot Of Compliments. But Friction Has Become So Popular I Am On The Fence, We Are Polling Our Current Client Base With A Survey But I Was Wondering From The Forum?

If You Were Going To Add An Additional Automatic To A Site With Two Existing Touch Free Would You Add Friction Or Another Touch Free

Brad Mattivi

I would add a Wesumat Soft Touch....give them an option and the Soft Touch will wash a bit better with lesser chems and far far less water than the thirsty Wizard.<p>

Mark VII has a 3 minute IBA soft touch coming out asap...worth a look.

I have a bunch of Gt-300s, 500s and 700s.....I wish I had a spare Soft Touch at every wash...especially at high end locales.

 

[briteauto]

Wardaddy,

You said Mark VII has a soft touch coming out soon - is this actually made by Mark VII? I thought they were letting Wesumat take care of their friction line. Will it compete with the Wesumats?

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Wesumat, or whatever the parent company's name is, bought Mark VII a few years ago. They are the same company now. I haven't heard of a new soft wash machine yet, but I'm not in the market for anything right now. I'm sure I'll find out at the show next month.

 

[wardaddy]

Wesumat, or whatever the parent company's name is, bought Mark VII a few years ago. They are the same company now. I haven't heard of a new soft wash machine yet, but I'm not in the market for anything right now. I'm sure I'll find out at the show next month.

Wesumat is the Soft Touch owned by WashTec, a German firm near Stuttgart which bought Mark VII two years ago and now owns a number of their distributors here in the US including mine here in Metro Nashville area.

The Wesumat is a fine animal and washes as good or better than most conveyors and is pretty reliable now. They have an Americanized version now. They are designed for high traffic rollover washes and benefit from an attendant within range of a phone call during high traffic since their resets are in some instances manual but otherwise automatic. They need little chems to clean well and I have yet to have a damage claim besides maybe 3-4 antenna(s) after 50,000 washes on that machine.

The new Mark VII rollover I alluded to is almost ready to market I hear and will wash cars like the Wesumat but in 3 minutes and change for 6-7 passes. Two of those with dual fancy pay stations could compete with a moderate tunnel....throw up an 11 station free vac common area in the back and make the Express cannibals sweat.

They are scourge here in Middle Tennesse....a manufacturer driven beast with very few success stories but for now folks keep drinking the koolaid. I own a Mark VII Softline Express...I believe the second or third in the US just as a defensive venture near one of my spots.

The over saturation in Middle TN is disgusting..............there are a lot of casualties and still they keep overbuilding. I wonder how many more car washes are now in the US versus just 5 years ago.

Anyhow...sorry to be so pessimistic but it's a bloodsport around here. Hope it's better for you.

 

[briteauto]

Yeah - over saturation is present in many markets. It sounds like the E.E. is the beast near you. I do not see too many E.E.'s in the northeast, but we get saturated with IBA's and S.S's.

Some larger tunnel chains have forced smaller tunnel operators to either close or convert to IBA's, which only further aggrivates the problem. I've seen 90 foot + tunnels converted into long IBA's in order to get rid of the labor and operate in a smaller market. It is bad for everyone.

I'd be interested in seeing one of the new Mark VII's you spoke about -
I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[wardaddy]

I'm not a fan politically of liberal abortion financing Warren Buffett.

BUT.........his mantra about never entering businesses that have a lower than normal barrier to entry is very sage.

Car washes exmplify that and we are living it.

Everytime some yokel drives by my wash after a snow on a Saturday and sees cars lined up he thinks he needs a piece of that. The idiots don't know that it doesn't normally go like that.

Building a car wash next to another is like building a Waffle House next to a Waffle House or a Greek Diner next to a Greek Diner.

Dumb as hell but folks do it and some manufacturers and distributors help.

It takes talent to find a good spot.

 

[Doug P.]

Wardaddy,
I have a Wesumat Softwash that has about 40 000 washes on it and the side brushes are in good shape but the top brush is wearing in the middle. Have you replaced any of the foam strips on your top brush or are they still in good shape? Interesting quote from Buffett, I respect his business saavy but his popitical views are pretty far to the left.

Doug P.

 

[Gabriel]

First determine what your personal tolerance for pain, loss of sleep, and damage claims is. They do clean in a different way and some people love them--some don't. Attended or not attended would almost certainly play a hugh part in the decision. I had a mixed pair--once upon a time.

 

[carwash1]

frside1 is your karcher touchless or friction?

 

[frside1]

my karcher is a combination. works great after 4 years

 

[bmattivi]

southeast kansas

 

[bmattivi]

what touch free iba do you use