Car washes - who owns one and can share their experiences?

Question

Hi everyone,

I am looking to connect with people who own a car wash. I am looking into buying one and want to try to learn as much as i can about them. i have some numbers available from the seller and would love help analyzing them. Please feel free to share your experiences as an owner. Anything helps!

John Titus · Answer

Hi Ryan,   I own several self serve only car washes.  I'm in California, where the land is quite expensive, and I am not familiar with your area,  but $375k seems reasonable.  Maybe try to get the net income numbers.  For myself, it has been a great business, and gives a good return for the limited amount of time required to run them.  That being said, you really have to stay on top of the maintenance.  I have stayed with self serve only, as I think an automatic requires even more maintenance and constant upkeep.  I think you should be mechanically inclined, and be able to do a lot of the maintenance yourself, as if you need to hire a professional every time something breaks, you may not be making much money.

Thanks, John

Dave Carpenter · Answer

@Ryan Deasy

Seems like a decent deal. For what it’s worth, in WI businesses that are in good shape tend to sell (and appraise) for 5x gross yearly sales. Start there and if there’s anything that might hurt the sale, such as a 30 yr old roof or furnace that’s old, deduct from the 5x number. What type of IBA (in bay automatic) system does it have? I have goldline autocashiers and they’re pretty solid, but not new. Crypto pay will help buy you some time before needing to upgrade that pay station.

One interesting test you could run is join a community Facebook page for that city or area (Keep in mind the market for a wash is typically 2, maybe up to 5 miles.) and ask for people’s recommendation on car washes. If everyone says good things about the one you are looking at that’s a great sign. If nobody mentions this one, but talk about the other 2 nearby that tells you something too.

Also consider that the way to grow the value of a business like this is primarily to increase sales. Is this this one car wash in a small town where you have all the customers you will ever get, or could you take on another nearby wash and offer better product or service.

Last suggestion is to find a couple chemical suppliers in the area and talk with the chemical reps. Those guys know everything about the industry and that area. If both of them say, yeah, that place is solid. Thats a great sign. You also will

want a good rep. They are as valuable as anyone on your team. I am out of town, and my rep called. I’m mentioned that one of my bays was having issues and he stopped over and took a look. Find a good rep and hold on to them. There like in the real estate world. Those guys can save you a ton of money, time and hassle if you do right by them.

Seems like the upgrades in the past 5 years are worth while and now start thinking about how to market and increase sales!

Kevin Douglas · Answer

@Ryan Deasy did you end up buying the car wash? I’m exploring getting into the business myself in the Salt Lake City area. I’m curious if you pulled the trigger and had any learned lessons.

Dave Carpenter · Answer

@Ryan Deasy

Seems like this may be a good option to pursue. Have you gotten a hold of the rep yet? The numbers and repairs seem to make sense at first pass. If there’s specific questions as you move forward I’m happy to help!

Ronald Rohde · Answer

SBA is a good route, have you reviewed the PSA and the loan docs yet?

Ryan Deasy · Answer

@Dave Carpenter thank you so much. i just reached out to find the sellers supply reps so that i can talk to them.

there a few car washes in town. population of the city is about 73,000. where this car wash is there actually is not one too close. it has multiple small car dealerships, an Enterprise rent a car and many residential and commercial apartment buildings. if the current owner has not at least spoken with the owners of those dealerships, i would certainly be willing to in order to drum up more business.

the traffic count is 10,500 per year if im reading the statistics right.

i will do just that on the community page. i am already a member so that will be easy.

Bear in my your technical talk about car washes is barely English to me haha, so here are some of the highlights of this particular wash. not sure if this answers your question about what sort of automatic system it has.

4 Self service bays with triple foam feature. $1 & $5 plus credit cards accepted in all bays.1 Touchless Automatic (Southern Pride) $bills credit cards accepted.6 Self serve vacuums - 2 accept $bills.1 carpet shampoo/vacuum combination vacuum1 mechanical vending machineRecently Updated2 3 column electronic vending machines with credit card.2 single column electronic vending machinesRebuilt touchless automatic towerRebuilt Hamilton GoldLine Auto cashier.Hamilton front load change machineRebuilt bay doors (GinSan)L.E.D. Low energy lighting

Thanks again!

Ryan Deasy · Answer

@John Titus thanks so much for your input. happy to hear it has been a good business for you. i agree, it seems, at least for what i am looking for, self serve is the way to go. i am somewhat handy but i am sure i would need some guidance with a wash's mechanics.

is there anything that stands out to you that might be important to me based on your experiences, other than what you have shared already?

Ryan Deasy · Answer

@Dave Carpenter thanks so much. basically what i am looking at is a car wash with 4 self service bays and 1 touchless automatic. guy is asking 375k and it grosses 100k per year. the property is in excellent shape. he owns another one in town too (already under contract) and have been in his family for decades. id be looking to bring the price down a bit and utilize an SBA loan.

the property is in a blue collar town. everyone takes great pride in their honda civics. most of the houses there are multi family and do not lend much space to washing your car at home. the property gets a good amount of traffic and is surrounded by some small auto dealerships and other small businesses, multi family houses and apartments.

it also had this done to it within the last 5 years:New Bay doors (GinSan) & spare. $7,500.00Cryptopay Credit Card System. $3,000.00Gold Line ACW controller $3,300.00Back up Automatic program. $2,500.00Rebuild touchless tower. $3,200.00Vacuum/Shampoo vacuum. $4000.002 Rebuilt Vacuums/bill accepter. $1,600.002 soap barrel mixing motors. $400.00New Security Cameras & DVR $900.00L.E.D. Lighting $800.00thanks so much!

Dave Carpenter · Answer

Ryan, happy to help answer questions. I’ve had 2 in bay automatic for a little over 3 years. Tunnels, in bays and self serve are all different models.

Car washes - who owns one and can share their experiences?

Most Popular Reply