Capture rate

[slk8901]

I'm looking at buying a carwash that's been in business for 30 years by the same owner that's in need of new equipment,before I jump in with both feet I have a few questions.current owner is not too helpful with numbers,he just said I've been here 30 years it must make money..I quess he's right

1)what is the average capture rate for a 2 bay auto/3 bay self serve ?

2).what would be a good price to pay for a wash that needs a complete rehab ?.building is in pretty good shape with the exception of cosmetics.

3) the wash is in a heavy residential area,apartments condo's and single family houses.how far around the wash should I market ?

 

[buda]

i'm looking at buying a carwash that's been in business for 30 years by the same owner that's in need of new equipment,before i jump in with both feet i have a few questions.current owner is not too helpful with numbers,he just said i've been here 30 years it must make money..i quess he's right

1)what is the average capture rate for a 2 bay auto/3 bay self serve ?

2).what would be a good price to pay for a wash that needs a complete rehab ?.building is in pretty good shape with the exception of cosmetics.

3) the wash is in a heavy residential area,apartments condo's and single family houses.how far around the wash should i market ?

if he will not share numbers with you then i would not touch this deal. Of course an operator might want to not share information, but if he is selling you must know the numbers to determine if it is econonically feasible for you to purchase the wash and make money. That is business.

I believe that national average income per bay for a self service wash is about $1100 a bay plus a few hundred more on vacuums.

There are many that are much lower and a few that are higher, but this gives you an idea of what your possible income might be.

You tell us nothing about the city in which this wash is located (population) number of self service washes in the area. About the site? Visible from the street; easy access in and out and 24 hour traffic count past the location. We can't help withour more information

regards
bud abraham

 

[robert roman]

The preliminary value of an income producing property is calculated from available cash flow.

“….current owner is not too helpful with numbers, he just….been here 30 years….”

Without numbers, how can the value of property be determined?

Second issue is 30-year old store that needs new equipment - as in probably obsolete from technology and marketing perspective.

Worn out wash and tight-lipped seller isn’t a good combination for new-to-industry.

The practice of selling a lemon to a newbie is called “pig in a poke.”

“….someone buying a low-quality pig in a bag because he or she did not carefully check what was in the bag.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[rph9168]

Without a good set of financials I would steer clear of this deal. In addition it sounds like the site is in need of new equipment and work on the building. That can get into a lot of additional money. Basically without financials and more information about the revenue history this should basically be considered as a land deal, not a carwash business deal.

 

[Waxman]

look you are crazy to even think about this without the last 3 years tax returns for the business.

if they are not available, no deal.

capture rate and marketing are the least of your concerns. you have to see the numbers on a going concern. Capture rate is for building new, not buying existing.

come on and lets get real.

 

[WikiWash]

A few years back I had someone interested in buying my location and he wanted to know how much money I made and every little single detail about the car wash business. The thing was I never put my business up for sale. I didn't give up any information, especially not knowing who this was or where this person was from. For all I know he could have been my competitor trying to get proprietary information from me. Then who knows what they would have done after giving all that information. Its a little different circumstance than what was originally stated but I can understand from the seller's perspective. Question is did you come off as a serious buyer to the sellers perspective of you? The seller just might not be comfortable with you.

 

[rph9168]

The difference is that your wash was not for sale. Anyone that wants to sell is going to have to give up information to legitimate buyers. Chances of your information going to a competitor are not really that great unless they are legitimate buyers. Any business broker worth their salt would always qualify potential buyers including current businesses they own if any.

 

[WikiWash]

"The difference is that your wash was not for sale."

Yeah I mentioned that above by saying "Its a little different circumstance than what was originally stated but I can understand from the seller's perspective." I am sorry I should have made it more clear.

"Chances of your information going to a competitor are not really that great unless they are legitimate buyers."

That is your opinion unless you know who was trying to buy my business.

 

[rph9168]

"Chances of your information going to a competitor are not really that great unless they are legitimate buyers."

That is your opinion unless you know who was trying to buy my business.

I made that statement in reference if you were using a business broker that would screen and qualify any legitimate, potential buyer. Even after that you would have to approve release of information.

 

[slk8901]

Thanks to everyone for your comments,I'm supposed to meet with the seller on Sunday to go over the "books" but we all know about that,
My thoughts are to try and buy this property for land and building value and offer a small amount for blue sky.
Robert your right...the equipment is old and out dated and I'm sure with all the new technology with new equipment the wash could do a lot better than what it does now...
Buda the town I live in has a population of about a 150,000 people,this wash is in a middle class area with a low crime rate.there are 16 self serve bays,8 iba and 2 worn out tunnels within 3 miles of subject property.traffic count is 9400 cpd going the 35 mph speed limit.this town gets a lot of snow..about a 100 inches a year and the municipalities use a salt/sand mixture and they use a lot of it.
That being said...what can 2iba's and 3 self serve bays make a year,i'm not asking to see what you guys make I'm just looking for a average.

 

[WikiWash]

Rph, no worries brother I understand

 

[rph9168]

No problem WikiWash. I have seen way too many problems when someone tries to sell their own wash. When I sold my business I hated to take the hit for commissions but in the long run it was much better and smoother than trying to do it myself.

 

[robert roman]

If you want averages, there are a number of sources of information.

For example, there is International Carwash Association’s cost of doing business report and wash count program and the industry journals both publish annual benchmarking surveys.

People who aren’t willing to learn about this industry usually don’t get very far, very fast.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

2/3 carwash in the south should average gross sales 140,000 on the automatics and 36,000 in the bays now that's a well maintained very clean site attendant 2x a day very smooth operation total gross =176,000 - equipment debit 4,000 per month chemicals service work water/power bill taxes and the list goes on it would take 5-7 years just to get your equipment paid off before you even start making money and then your still going to have a bank note. I would not invest in the carwash business if I had that much money laying around. The ROI is so low and slow in this business. (fact)