New to the laser wash game, any advice?

[jirski]

Hey guys I'm trying to figure out the logistics of building a laser wash. How do you figure out the yearly earning potential? What things do I absolutely need to figure out before I buy the equipment, lease a property, and get started? Are there any resources out there already you can point me to? Any help would be appreciated.

Thinking of building a single bay touchless wash from the ground up in a town of 90k. Great location found in front of theater with other major stores nearby that bring traffic (eg home depot, best buy, etc). Auto park across street. No competition nearby. Traffic count of 40 with easy access from both sides of the road.

-John

 

[Waxman]

what does traffic count of 40 mean? The international car wash association has numbers that you can use for averages. I don't think a single inbay automatic wash is a good business model for a lot of reasons. The car wash business in my mind is best when you have multiple revenue streams at one site. What happens if your automatic wash breaks down and you don't have any other revenue for a period of time?

there are many considerations to putting in a car wash. There's building equipment and improvements, which are things like site work, drainage, water and sewer connections, main electrical connections, curb cuts, parking lots etc.

some thing I did before I built new was to get a job working for a car wash like what I wanted to build so I Could see what the business actually operates like on a day-to-day basis. I find a lot of people resisting this idea but I think it's a really good way to go about determining if this business is even for you. Best of luck.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. A single IBA is not going to do anywhere near the capacity that your demographics suggest. If it does great, there will be an express built right on top of you, then 2-3 more within the next couple of years. The express segment appears to me, to be as cut throat as it gets. Overbuilding is rampant. If you're still wanting a car wash in 5 years, there should be many of them on the market, probably foreclosures.

 

[MEP001]

What things do I absolutely need to figure out before I buy the equipment, lease a property, and get started?

Why would you spend half a million dollars or more of your own money to put a building and equipment on someone else's property?

Great location found in front of theater

Why do you think building a car wash in front of a theater is a good idea? If you can't build next to a McDonald's, build in a residential area. People don't go out to see a movie and wash their car.