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Survival; Just bought a car wash, Now tunnel opening a block away

Greg Pack said:
Many tunnels in my area are actually pulling out their SFR systems. They've managed to get the car so dry they don't need them anymore. You'll see a couple of spots in a couple hard to dry places but otherwise the cars are so dry they look fine.

Gotta say, the tunnel segment has continued to evolve and the good operators are putting out a great car and membership is a great value. One tunnel is opening near me with a grand opening special of their top graphene package for $20/Month for life and that's damn tempting to buy!
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I have not seen them being taken out near me, but I don’t doubt they can be and are if the product doesn’t warrant the need for it.
I agree - they have evolved so they are basically what I would consider hand wash quality, but with the online protectant and finishing chemistry to really enhance the appearance of the cars.
 
I was traveling last week, and dropped into an newer AutoBell to check it out. I have a black car, and did the exterior only. They call it Super Ride-Thru with upgrade for $20. Got down the road a few miles to a market. Checked the car out, and it was literally spotted from front to rear; paint, glass, mirrors, everything. It looked absolutely worse than when I went in.

I emailed them, but got no response ofcourse. I frequently stop at all different kinds of tunnels to see how they stack up against my 20 year old Nu*Star friction (Neoglide™ foam) rollover with SFR and dryers for $14. I have not found a tunnel yet that can beat the final result of my rollover.

So do not sweat the new tunnel coming, in my opinion.
 
washnvac said:
I was traveling last week, and dropped into an newer AutoBell to check it out. I have a black car, and did the exterior only. They call it Super Ride-Thru with upgrade for $20. Got down the road a few miles to a market. Checked the car out, and it was literally spotted from front to rear; paint, glass, mirrors, everything. It looked absolutely worse than when I went in.

I emailed them, but got no response ofcourse. I frequently stop at all different kinds of tunnels to see how they stack up against my 20 year old Nu*Star friction (Neoglide™ foam) rollover with SFR and dryers for $14. I have not found a tunnel yet that can beat the final result of my rollover.

So do not sweat the new tunnel coming, in my opinion.
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Well, that it not the norm, but very good for you if that is what you have to compete with. There is definitely a disparity among the tunnels, just as there is among touch free IBA’s self serves, etc. The trick is to be better than whatever you personally are competing with.
 
One tunnel is opening near me with a grand opening special of their top graphene package for $20/Month for life and that's damn tempting to buy!
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Holy cow. I would do it that.
 
Greg Pack said:
One tunnel is opening near me with a grand opening special of their top graphene package for $20/Month for life and that's damn tempting to buy!
Click to expand...
that is actually insane and kind of infuriating. i wonder what math they cooked up to justify that. what's their single wash pricing for that package?

i agree with car wash guy, if you have a good tunnel company coming in the neighbor i would also leverage touchless wash and target the niche market.

sucks to hear this is happening to you, keep us updated on your progress.
 
liftheavy said:
that is actually insane and kind of infuriating. i wonder what math they cooked up to justify that. what's their single wash pricing for that package?
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My guess is the low price helps with an extremely quick ramp up. After a year these members are a relatively small part of the overall membership and are probably a break even.

This deal will probably only be up a few more days, but here's the sign up portal. You also get $100 in credits to give to friends. Crazy good deal.

Birmingham Membership Sign-up - Dirty Dogs Car Wash

dirtydogscarwash.com dirtydogscarwash.com

Looks like they will likely offer an interior clean option for $15.
 
Whitewater Express was also offering their top $40/mo package for $20/mo for life when they first opened around here. The trick is that it is not transferrable to any other car or person and if you ever pause or cancel you go back to normal price.
 
Greg Pack said:
Many tunnels in my area are actually pulling out their SFR systems. They've managed to get the car so dry they don't need them anymore. You'll see a couple of spots in a couple hard to dry places but otherwise the cars are so dry they look fine.

Gotta say, the tunnel segment has continued to evolve and the good operators are putting out a great car and membership is a great value. One tunnel is opening near me with a grand opening special of their top graphene package for $20/Month for life and that's damn tempting to buy!
Click to expand...
Dayummm, $20/ mo FOR LiFE?!!
 
For the life of what is the question. I had a similar membership a while back before getting in the car wash business. At some point, Mammoth took over the wash and a few months later my membership renewed at the new, higher price without notice. When calling to inquire, I was pretty rudely told we can do whatever we want to the membership price according to the fine print, my options were to pay the new price or cancel. I obviously canceled with customer service like that.
 
Get Dencar membership paystations. Make huge signage to let it known you have touch-free and Soft brush automatic services on your membership. You will do fine. I have had great success with tunnels all around me. Club Car Wash just did a grand opening at $1 a wash for a month or 2 and we are thriving with our Dencar membership paystation. Feel free to PM me if you have questions
 
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