General question on car count

[Vince]

Found a SS 8 bay car wash with one auto drive thru bay for sale. They had a guy who mans the place about 8 hours or so a day. I paid the guy to count cars for me over the weekend. Not the brightest guy I ever met but at least he probably got me in the ball park. While he was there on Saturday he "said" he counted approximately 120 to 130 cars. 35 of which were drive thru's. On Sunday he counted about 80 cars of which 25 were drive thru's. On Friday he said there was about 63 cars. A couple of the SS bays don't even work.

Are those numbers really low, average or decent? Any generalized opinions? Any way of guesstimating what income that may have brought in?
Thanks.

 

[traveler17]

Gotta know how much is auto washes are and how much his self serves cost to start

 

[Vince]

Gotta know how much is auto washes are and how much his self serves cost to start

Just spoke with the guy that counted the cars for me. He said those car counts were for about a 6 hour time period. The SS is a $1 for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes each time. The drive thru prices are $8, $10 and $15.

 

[MEP001]

The SS is a $1 for about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes each time.

Must be in San Antonio?

Those counts don't mean a lot without knowing what each car spent. does it have bay timers that you can check counts on?

 

[Vince]

Must be in San Antonio?

Those counts don't mean a lot without knowing what each car spent. does it have bay timers that you can check counts on?

Yes, it's in San Antonio. I don't know the answer to the bay timers. The guy "guesstimated" that each car was about 3 dollars or so. Though he's a nice simple man, he's not a very bright guy. Are you referring to that Magnet trick where you wave it in front of the LED screen? I'll be there next week and check it out more. Doubt this is a deal to be had but you never know. If nothing else, I'm getting an education.

 

[Vince]

Is there any car count per day number for a Saturday or Sunday that is considered solid? I'm guessing it's all relative to price paid but I have no knowledge basis to fall back on.

 

[Randy]

If you can get the power and water bill they'll tell the whole story.

 

[Greg_T]

Our credit card system that we use at our wash in Australia has simple reporting that shows sales for past 90 days, including coins and credit cards. This would instantly verify the actual sales (perhaps discounting for any coins / cards used to test bays etc.). Do other credit card systems in the US have similar reporting? I would think that its a reasonable request to see such reports if you're a potential buyer.

 

[bert79]

If I were in your shoes right now I would estimate $5 per self serve wash and $10 per automatic wash just for round numbers on a gross for that time period. Those are conservative but will get you in the ballpark.

 

[MEP001]

I would estimate $5 per self serve wash

The "guesstimate" of $3 is more accurate for San Antonio. A lot of washes are still giving around 45 seconds per coin, some are a full minute or even more.

 

[Vince]

If you can get the power and water bill they'll tell the whole story.

I've requested the last 3 months water and electric bill along with the name of the company who services the equipment.

 

[Vince]

I received the water bill from the owner. Here's the water gallon usage by month so far in 2022:

Jan 22,000
Feb 21,000
Mar 30,000
Apr 48,000
May 43,000
June 37,000
July 34,000

To my untrained eye, that doesn't seem like very much usage for a car wash. My apartment communities use more than that just to irrigate the landscape. I'd appreciate any insights from you guys.

 

[Dan kamsickas]

I received the water bill from the owner. Here's the water gallon usage by month so far in 2022:

Jan 22,000
Feb 21,000
Mar 30,000
Apr 48,000
May 43,000
June 37,000
July 34,000

To my untrained eye, that doesn't seem like very much usage for a car wash. My apartment communities use more than that just to irrigate the landscape. I'd appreciate any insights from you guys.

And they could easily be cooked by leaving a faucet or valve open 24/7. Same with electrical. They could have a handful of 100W bulbs burning day and night in the equipment room. Seen both done

 

[OurTown]

I received the water bill from the owner. Here's the water gallon usage by month so far in 2022:

Jan 22,000
Feb 21,000
Mar 30,000
Apr 48,000
May 43,000
June 37,000
July 34,000

To my untrained eye, that doesn't seem like very much usage for a car wash. My apartment communities use more than that just to irrigate the landscape. I'd appreciate any insights from you guys.

That does not seem like much usage for an 8 bay and an auto. Is it a touchless auto?

 

[Vince]

That does not seem like much usage for an 8 bay and an auto. Is it a touchless auto?

Yes, it is touchless. It sounded very low to me as well.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Are you sure that it's gallons? I had one wash in a town that billed in cubic feet. One cubic foot = 7.48 gallons.

 

[OurTown]

Are you sure that it's gallons? I had one wash in a town that billed in cubic feet. One cubic foot = 7.48 gallons.

That would put April at 359,000 gallons.

 

[Vince]

That would put April at 359,000 gallons.

Excellent point and that crossed my mind. That was on my list to call them. I'll double check to be absolutely sure. Thanks!