Investing in a car wash

[yankeeboy]

Im sure this is a pretty common topic on car wash forums. My name is mike and i may be looking to invest in a car wash project within the next couple of years. Currently im in the water treatment business and looking to get into something a little more exciting at this time in my life. I also have built a few buildings in my time. My concerns arent the construction of a building or water quailty. My main focus is to get a handle on wash equipment costs. Understanding thats a broad question ballpark figures would be appreciated.
I also understand there are different quality levels of equipment, it would be nice to see a high med and low. I honestly think i belong somewhere in the middle range but you guys tell me. I look forward to the feedback

1 Touchless bay with dryers

3 self-serve bays

 

[pitzerwm]

Yankeeboy, Welcome to the Forum and you are right, your question has a lot of variables.

There are about 20K pages in this forum and lots of things have been discussed, so if you use the search it will help you get started with your quest.

 

[Waxman]

Many of the operators who respond may not have bought equipment recently enough to give accurate numbers. Alot has changed in the industry in the past few years.

Why not check manufacturers instead?

That said, I paid about 70k for my IBA 6 years ago. I bought an inexpensive machine.

 

[tobaccofarmer]

Whenever someone refers to a carwash as an investment I immediately think they will learn, although the definition of investment is as follows:

in·vest·ment
   [in-vest-muhnt] Show IPA

noun
1.
the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

2.
a particular instance or mode of investing.

3.
a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.

4.
something that is invested; sum invested.

5.
the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.

I will always consider a carwash a JOB not an investment, if I were an investor the last place I would throw money at would be a carwash unless I was running it full time and was my most important priority, at which this point would be considered a job again? Remember I am only basing this on self serve/automatic business model any other carwash model I can't comment on. One thing I would definetly warn you of is if your market is big enough for an express tunnel then I would absolutetly forget about self serve/auto, but if you are in a smaller town/country then its possible. Good Luck

 

[4csuns]

The ICA Trade show is the first week of May. You could learn a lot there and meet operators as well.

 

[robert roman]

“Currently im in the water treatment business and looking to get into something a little more exciting at this time in my life.”

With a background in water treatment, you may want to consider leveraging your experience with one of the equipment manufacturers that make waste water reclaim systems.

The carwash industry is fairly mature but the demand for reclaim continues to grow.

“My main focus is to get a handle on wash equipment costs.”

At this early stage, equipment requirements and its cost is the least of your worries.

If you want to chart a course to get into the business, you may want to begin by reading about what you are getting into.

Try these links.

http://www.carwashplan.com/new_investors

http://www.autocareforum.com/self-serve.html

 

[Buzzie8]

Sorry for the shameless self promotion, but I have a 178 page book I recently published on Amazon called Car Wash Business 101. It will answer a lot of your questions and has been getting good reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Car-Wash-Busi...7966/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331299083&sr=8-2

While it is more focused on self-serve start-ups many of the chapters will educate you on many aspects of the business.

I wrote it exactly for the questions asked in your post.
Buzz

 

[mac]

Hello yankeeboy and welcome to our socalled industry. If you are serious about getting in, I can save you literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. Right now there are many, many washes for sale. The market was overbuilt in most all places of the country. Many are upside down in the mortgage. Banks have a lot of them. Unless you have found that magical spot in the country that has a market for a wash and none there, I suggest you look at existing ones. Many owners are willing to sell but do not have their places listed for sale. This way you will avoid the year long, or longer, process of building one, and have immediate cash flow with an existing one. I see washes selling here in FL for half or less from banks that were built less than 10 years ago. Good luck.

 

[Waxman]

FWIW

I have found that good customer relations and marketing/promotion are areas to focus in on.

So many of my customers come back because we are attended, friendly, and helpful. Many have known me since I was a boy.

I go WAY above and beyond with service we provide at my place; free pickup and delivery for detail (and wash), and unconditional re-washes.

I just ordered new uniform shirts for all employees that are nice, button-up collared shirts in colors that match the wash.

We give a 'we suggest' marketing piece to detail customers, notifying them if they need new wipers, tires, the car drips oil, needs a wax job or a scratch touched up. It is full color, 2-sided and has our 3 most popular detail packages on the back.

So, to sum up, there is a mindset you must possess to even get by in this business, let alone succeed with your investment. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[madscientist]

Sorry for the shameless self promotion, but I have a 178 page book I recently published on Amazon called Car Wash Business 101. It will answer a lot of your questions and has been getting good reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Car-Wash-Busi...7966/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331299083&sr=8-2

While it is more focused on self-serve start-ups many of the chapters will educate you on many aspects of the business.

I wrote it exactly for the questions asked in your post.
Buzz

This is my favorite review of your book:

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Plethora of Knowledge, December 13, 2011
By James - See all my reviews
This review is from: Car Wash Business 101: The #1 Car Wash Start-Up Guide (Paperback)
Scott gives you the inside track and the real deal in starting a car wash business..
From location selection down to the soap, he covers it all.

When I get out of prison, Im going to open one.

Thanks Scott..

Inmate #23878
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment

 

[MEP001]

I'll bet it's by I.B. Washincars.

 

[Buzzie8]

This is my favorite review of your book:

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Plethora of Knowledge, December 13, 2011
By James - See all my reviews
This review is from: Car Wash Business 101: The #1 Car Wash Start-Up Guide (Paperback)
Scott gives you the inside track and the real deal in starting a car wash business..
From location selection down to the soap, he covers it all.

When I get out of prison, Im going to open one.

Thanks Scott..



Inmate #23878
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Report abuse | Permalink
Comment Comment

I know... one of my buddies jerking me around. Amazon wouldn't retract it either.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Step by step guide on how to make $1 million investiung in the car wash industry:

Step #1. Start with $2 million......

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I'll bet it's by I.B. Washincars.

Nope, I've been out of prison for some time now.

 

[Jimmy Buffett]

Whenever someone refers to a carwash as an investment I immediately think they will learn, although the definition of investment is as follows:

in·vest·ment
   [in-vest-muhnt] Show IPA

noun
1.
the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.

2.
a particular instance or mode of investing.

3.
a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.

4.
something that is invested; sum invested.

5.
the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.

I will always consider a carwash a JOB not an investment, if I were an investor the last place I would throw money at would be a carwash unless I was running it full time and was my most important priority, at which this point would be considered a job again? Remember I am only basing this on self serve/automatic business model any other carwash model I can't comment on. One thing I would definetly warn you of is if your market is big enough for an express tunnel then I would absolutetly forget about self serve/auto, but if you are in a smaller town/country then its possible. Good Luck

I'd have to agree with this. I'm in the investment business and am getting clients 7.5% on senior secured debt instuments. They never break, they never freeze, it doesn't matter if it's rain or shine and the notes never ever call you and say "yeah, I'm up here at the car wash"... Nothing wrong with the car wash business but it ain't what lots of people think it is.

 

[Kevin James]

Can you say “LOW PROFIT” The car wash business is one of the worse businesses that I can think of to get into? There are a few that do fairly well, but the majority of them are going sideways. We’ve looked at a lot of car washes and the only value in them is the land they sit on. We’d never get into the car wash business if it wasn’t for the land they sit on. It’s not all that important to keep a clean car when you’ve got other expenses that are more important. Most of the people who come to self serve car wash aren’t the most affluent folks, most are low income.

 

[mmurra]

It will require your ongoing investment, so be prepared to monitor your cash flow (that's cash from your wife's paycheck flowing into the car wash checking account, waiting for "the good old days" to come back). Mark

 

[robert roman]

WOW, what a bunch of sour grapes.

A great number of washes that are sideways or upside down merits the position.

What is the rationale for building a self-service carwash for $1 million when anticipation is to gross only $165,000?

Answers

1) Believing carwash is a recession-proof business
2) Poor marketing or no marketing
3) Absentee owner
4) Failure to keep up with the times; no website, no credit card acceptance, no attendants, slow in-bay, no additional profit centers, etc.
5) Cheap debt and over leveraging

For every horror story in the carwash industry, I can show you a success story.

Build for success, build for mediocrity or build for failure, the option is yours.