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Used Touchfree make sense?

robert roman

Bob Roman
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“You would have to spend $190 K to get 20 CPH from a roll-over.”

“Belanger Freestyler is $75k and can do a good wash in under three minutes.”

That’s how a sales person would answer.

I’ll qualify.

Base price for five-brush roll-over is $50K to $75K then add-on accessories, support equipment, dryer, options for top package, touch-screen pay station, installation, FOB and sales tax.

How many quotes would you need to see?

I tried Belanger’s build-a-wash program but it didn’t send an e-mail to activate my account.

“….can do a good wash in under three minutes.”

Roll-over moves average of about 30-seconds a pass. So, soap, wash and rinse takes 3-minutes (includes enter/exit bay) or 20 cars an hour, wet wash.

Standing dryer would add 30 seconds or 17 cars an hour or less. Soap, wash, wax, rinse and dry take 4.5-minutes or 13 cars an hour or less.

Most “systems” I’ve seen that can produce 20 cars an hour and high average ticket cost between $175K and $200K.

Yes, NASCAR "team" is as much as $15 million for campaign but you can buy a sprint series "car" for $150K (6-cylinder baby NASCAR), not team.

A shot of Jack and draft beer with a raw egg in it will fix that upchuck feeling.
 

bighead

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Gosh Dang it... I was just going to lurk on this thread, but you all sucked me in....

Short answer to the title of this thread: Waxman, since you are now an experienced operator and can do most things yourself, it is the only thing that makes sense.

Let's talk depreciation cost: I know you went inexpensive with your first wash, but all in i believe from memory you were $90-100k all in. Most people are closer to $150k all in (as bob described above with installation and options etc.) Now here's the kicker::: how many washes have you done? I'm going to assume 90k washes for easier math. With those assumptions, you are looking a $1 per wash depreciation cost on your automatic. That is what people don't factor when they do their CPC math, and they really should, because i think that cost is "too damn high."

Now here's where bob's race care analogies come short: engines and transmissions. with a lot of racecars, you are swapping those suckers out constantly, and they're really expensive. With an automatic wash, the direct analogy is electric motors and gearboxes. Now on a $100k race car, a motor is $10k (again, rough numbers for easy math). On a $100k car wash the electric motor is $600 on the high side, same with the gear box roughly, and they are switched out much less frequently. Let alone, the labor required isn't that much (4 bolts and 5 wires) vs. rebuilding a gasoline motor.

What we sell is performance and show. First, everything must work, second, everything must look good. So when you rehab: wrap your auto in new vinyl, or give it a nice acid wash. Make sure lexan is polished as well as the metal. (IE: make it look to the customer like you give a damn, and are keeping things refreshed and new.) Does it mean you need new equipment in the equipment room? Hell no. Not if its working. Put in a new meter face, and let the customer think the magic behind the wall was updated with the meter.

Installation and rehab: all in your cost should be $40kish- spread that over even 100k washes and your depreciation cost per wash is now $0.40. And being an experienced operator, you should be able to pull off the change and get the bugs out of the new machine before it adversely effects anything.

Get a WW 1.0 or 2.0, put 200k more washes on it than it already had, and keep everything looking new and cleaning well, and you will be fine.

And since I am throwing my opinion around: go to a true tri foam (over the single color)... your cpc will be the same, the only thing that will rise is your inventory cost.

man, i must've had stronger coffee than usual this morning. Sorry for the diatribe, if even you all read this whole thing.
 

Waxman

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thanks everyone! i am very interested in used equipment at this point.

i highly prefer the inverted L design over gantry style for may reasons.

i am on the hunt and performing due diligence.
 
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