I’m new here and excited to join because I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I’ve enjoyed reading all your stories and questions!
I’m planning to open my own car wash and hopefully expand into a local chain.
I’ve researched and found that many new car washes use Sonny’s CarWash Factory for machinery, education, marketing, and service. Has anyone here worked with them or run a car wash business?
I think a well-positioned car wash could be lucrative if set up and scaled properly.
Feel free to share your experiences or DM me! Thanks!
I’m not sure how this could be profitable. I’m just thinking out loud here, and I have no experience.
A good location is crucial, but the land and building costs will be high. Specialized equipment, especially for automated washes, will also be expensive. These will be the main factors affecting your return on investment, which I think will take years to achieve.
There isn’t much to differentiate one car wash from another, so advertising or quality alone won’t likely draw customers from competitors. Pricing will be very sensitive. Personally, I tend to go to the nearest car wash or one connected to another business, like a gas station, to reduce my stops. There’s nothing stopping those businesses from setting up car washes and competing with you, especially since you’ll want a prime location with lots of traffic.
Water will be a significant operating cost. If you need to staff the location at all times, that will add a substantial expense. Equipment failure and maintenance will be major concerns since you’re working with water. You’ll also need to mitigate risks related to wastewater and contamination; you can’t just send oily water from bad customers down the drains. All of this affects your downtime, during which you won’t be earning revenue. Having a few bays is good, but a single bay could drive customers to more reliable operations that can serve them promptly. I don’t wait for a wash; I’ll just do it another time, which means lost revenue, not deferred revenue.
Sorry, I don’t have better thoughts. My nature and training lead me to focus on risks, which often makes me talk myself out of business opportunities that might actually be a good fit.
Car washes are ubiquitous in small towns across the USA, but truck washing facilities are scarce. Trucks often line up 4-5 deep at these locations 24/7, usually situated out of the way at truck stops, far from where the trucks originally needed their trailers washed out.
Positioning a truck wash near a large industrial park with refrigerated warehouses would ensure constant business. Surprisingly, this setup is rarely seen outside the midwestern dairy states. Elsewhere, truck drivers often have to drive 30-60 miles to the nearest truck wash, only to find a long line, even at 3 a.m.
