Well two weeks in the car wash business, Now two washes?????

[lilb93]

There is an old 3 bay SS 6 miles away. It has soap , rinse , wax. 2.00 for 3 minutes all cold water. There are about 10K people in a 8 mile area.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

What a deal on the wash and apartments the land alone is worth that I am sure. Like I said above what's your closest competitors and town population is your wash in a good location or off the beaten path. All those questions matter and I sure other guys on here will say the same. I would check all that info out before I poured money into the place. Might be better off tearing wash down and sell the lot if not in a good location don't take it the wrong way.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Puting a nice laser might be worth checking into if you are in a really good location. The traffic count infront of your wash is good and easy to get in and out of. Depends on your cliental and house hold income of the area might be better off with all self serve bays, and the hot water will not make or break your sales unless you are up north where winters are extremely cold. The chemicals, image, customer service, well lighted, very clean, attended, reliable Carwash equipment checked daily is what makes a good site more than anything.

 

[lilb93]

Your right have to take a close look at demographics. Like I said the closest is 6 miles away and went by there 20 times so far and never see anyone in there. That could be a sign also?? People don't wash cars here. I think we are going to throw 25 to 35 K in it with upgraded SS equipment. If I can find a Cheap lazer wash we would look into it.The only thing we got going is we never have to get outside service. We can fix anything if we cannot find the parts we will make them. It need new meters and equipment.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

sounds good nothing wrong with doing a little at a time so you won't be out a lot of money try to figure out why the other guy isn't washing cars might be a sign like you said just so many factors can mess you up in this bussiness. Good luck my freind this form is very helpful and the guys on here.

 

[lilb93]

Well today there taking down the excavator, skid loader with a broom, and Tree chipper down to clean up all around the site.

 

[lilb93]

If it need paving the kids have there own equipment, would cost about 3500.00 to pave the whole lot.

 

[DiamondWash]

Keep the pics coming.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Why do so many recommend a used Laser. There are other quality brands of equipment out there. Frankly, watching an inverted L wash a car is about as exciting as a grilled cheese sandwich and apple sauce.

 

[Waxman]

Why do so many recommend a used Laser. There are other quality brands of equipment out there. Frankly, watching an inverted L wash a car is about as exciting as a grilled cheese sandwich and apple sauce.

I have an inverted L style machine now and I think it's only partly about creating excitement. it's also wash quality, overall value , speed, up-time vs down time of equipment etc.

i would get another L (washworld etc) in a heartbeat. it would be faster and more highly programmable than my set up now (Side Trac 700R). That means more money for me and THAT is what i find exciting!!!!!

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

The inverted L is the most proven reliable design there is for Touchfree. PDQ, Washworld ect. They clean so much better than other designs and size the car better than any Gantry touchless system out there. That's the last thing a newbie needs to start on is a POS gantry system cutting his teeth on that and foreclose the wash again. Grilling a cheese sandwich is so easy and tastes so good why mess up the process. I like making money and not working on my equipment all the time that's why I like the Inverted L Design.

 

[mac]

My eyes perked up when you stated that you had a drain field for the waste water. That MAY have been legal 30 years ago, but if any environmental person comes by, you could be out of business.

 

[lilb93]

I did call the local DEP thay said if it has not changed building size and no automotive repairs and STILL only a carwash. It still is fine.

 

[mac]

You might want to get that in writing. Just because they OK it now doesn't mean it will always be that way. For instance the imperial government deemed it necessary a few years ago to have all gas stations go to double wall underground storage tanks. Sounds nice, right? Well the cost of that was so high that many of the smaller, mom and pop stations just closed. And I would like to bring to
tdlconceptsllc attention that not all gantry touchless machines are the same. Istobal has a touchless gantry that the top bar with high impact nozzles contours the top and ends of the car. It will out clean any inverted L. It stays about 16" from the surface while the L is 4 feet from most hoods and trunks. It's a relatively new machine so that's most likely why he didn't know about it.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Mac your right about the part getting it in writing and record keeping for this gentlemans carwash. My family has owned 16 convience stores and we are always in a constant battle with the state spending hundred of thousands at each location for underground storage tanks and gas contamination over the years. I would have got the soil tested before buying any commercial property from now on due to what I have experienced. Which is the main reason we are getting out of the store business and only have 6 stores now. Mac as for Istobal(Japan) co. my freind is a distributor now for them and I personal just would not have one and yes istobal does have there own laser 4000 look alike. Gantry systems have so much more things to go wrong, I would just have a mini tunnel which most operators have in my area and do well with them or the Touchless. Another example my wife has a very clean black SUV and I went through a MCNeil mini tunnel and it had fine scratches all over the car when I got home, those brushes hold dirt in and do not get cleaned between every car vs a touchless Carwash. I like making money and not spending my all time fixing something that's broke all the time used to have one. People in this industry are giving away gantry washes for free all the time if you want to take them out. Just saying buddy I am sure other guys on here would agree with me.

 

[Greg Pack]

Well, to add to the Inverted L vs gantry discussion, inverted Ls are virtually non-existent in my metro area of about 1 million people. I know of one vector at one car wash and a couple of lasers at C-stores. here, they don't clean nearly as well as a decent gantry unit. I pulled out two vectors out of a wash 9 years ago, and am glad I did. But inverted Ls seem to be popular up north. i do agree they are simpler machines and should be more reliable. My gantry units can be a pain at times.

Whats the dimensions of that building?

If you're going to stay in the auto business you need a decent used auto that is no more than about ten years old. If it is touch free it needs to size a vehicle. See what is popular in the nearest city. Ebay is a good place to pick up used SS equipment.

if it is low volume,SS only is much simpler to operate.

 

[rph9168]

The inverted L was invented to combat the multitude of problems that operators were experiencing with the early gantry models. As far as cleaning goes I believe that the right combination of chemicals has a lot to do with performance but from my experience I believe gantries do clean better but as has been already mentioned they can be a real pain to maintain.

 

[lilb93]

Well we are going to TRY the old Mark VII. If it does not do well washing will look for a Laser wash.