Starting a carwash business

[Aquaman183]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and have some questions regarding starting a carwash business.

I see online numbers all over the place..you can start a carwash business for as little as $50..others say at least $250k.
How much money on hand would I actually need to start something smaller?

Do I find an existing business and try to buy/lease it? Or buy land/build?

I feel like buying a piece of land and building on it would be way out of my ballpark financially so I'm assuming that's not what most do when they start out.

I like the idea of having a few self serve bays and a simple automatic bay if possible.

I currently have a pretty good job but I would like to own my own business, if I were to start off with a low budget carwash and build from it, how long would it take to get my initial investment out/make enough money to quit my day job? Is it realistic or a pipe dream? Lol.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[washnshine]

There are just way too many variables to answer your questions. Geographic location, demographics, traffic counts competition etc. all play into your numbers.
It’s also impossible to say if you will be able to quit your pretty good day job. Everyone’s definition of a pretty good day job is probably different.

 

[OurTown]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and have some questions regarding starting a carwash business.

I see online numbers all over the place..you can start a carwash business for as little as $50..others say at least $250k.
How much money on hand would I actually need to start something smaller?

Do I find an existing business and try to buy/lease it? Or buy land/build?

I feel like buying a piece of land and building on it would be way out of my ballpark financially so I'm assuming that's not what most do when they start out.

I like the idea of having a few self serve bays and a simple automatic bay if possible.

I currently have a pretty good job but I would like to own my own business, if I were to start off with a low budget carwash and build from it, how long would it take to get my initial investment out/make enough money to quit my day job? Is it realistic or a pipe dream? Lol.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Have you looked at car wash listings for sale in your area? That may answer a lot of your questions.

 

[Waxman]

besides asking a question on this forum, what research have you done on your own? I personally researched the heck out of the car wash business before I jumped in. I went to work for a car wash chain that was outside my area so I could learn. Maybe you can do that too.

To answer your question, for someone brand new I would suggest looking at listings for other car washes for sale. Verify the income with three years of tax returns from the business, no exceptions. Then plan on 20% down. You talked about a simple automatic bay but in my opinion there's really no such thing. Automatic car washes are complicated. What is your background with fixing things?

 

[eckert16]

define 'car wash business'... if it's using the $50 you reference, then I guess yes, if you are just walking the local neighborhood with soap, a bucket, and a sponge then $50 would be a start I guess to hand wash cars as a business. If you are starting with $250k.... and that sounds like your MAX amount per 'How much money on hand would I actually need to start something smaller?' comment.

Then maybe others can help you refine your 'business' idea... but you'll need to provide more info such as what type (self serve, automatic, etc; where (city, countryside); population/traffic counts; etc. $250k is not a lot depending on what you are wanting to 'start'.