Coin op car washes, any real experience?

[t6dpilot]

Well Fred, I have a dozen years developing from scratch, operating, and ultimately selling a 120’ conveyorized flex service car wash. That was far and above the roughest 10 years of my life. I know way more than I should about the industry and a bit about self service biz model. PM me and I will share what I can. All I can say is be careful for what you wish for.

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

A friend of mine just sold his after 20 years.
Too many lawsuits. Slip and falls are all the rage these days.

There is an angle I had not thought about before. Thanks . Pa winter and a car wash, I would be constantly de icing the place , You would need really good insurance, and constant up keep in the bad weather .

[t6dpilot]

Constant maintenance constantly...it is NOT an absentee owner business - even the self serve model.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by seafeye

I worked with a guy who has two in the Pittsburg area. Going for a third. Says he is going to retire early. “One quarter at a time”.

20 years or so ago when I was still into sailing I knew a guy with a real nice 42' Beneteau named "Lots of Quarters"... he said his car washes generated a lot of quarters and they paid for the boat. That was still in the days of washing your car yourself with the wands. All the washes around here now are automated conveyor types and require a lot of capital to build or buy I suspect. As others have posted, I think times have changed.

I pay 19.95 a month for unlimited washes at a nearby car wash. Drive up, it reads your tag, a guy guides you into the conveyor tracks, hand washes the windshield, grill and bumpers and off you go then to the covered stalls with serious vacuums and microfiber cloths for drying... that is hard to beat as handwashing a F-150 crew cab is a real pain as you need ladders.

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by flipper35

U-Haul did that to the local K-Mart here. Rent the trucks and storage all in one place.

Yup, she mentioned K-Mart locations too.

The car washes in our city are required to use recycled water. Not sure how they get rid of the waste.
I wash my cars on my front lawn. Not allowed to have any water enter the street, so, I water my grass instead.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by 74-911

20 years or so ago when I was still into sailing I knew a guy with a real nice 42' Beneteau named "Lots of Quarters"... he said his car washes generated a lot of quarters and they paid for the boat. That was still in the days of washing your car yourself with the wands. All the washes around here now are automated conveyor types and require a lot of capital to build or buy I suspect. As others have posted, I think times have changed.

I pay 19.95 a month for unlimited washes at a nearby car wash. Drive up, it reads your tag, a guy guides you into the conveyor tracks, hand washes the windshield, grill and bumpers and off you go then to the covered stalls with serious vacuums and microfiber cloths for drying... that is hard to beat as handwashing a F-150 crew cab is a real pain as you need ladders.

$20 a month? The guys here charge $80 for unlimited monthly.

[TimT]

I know of three places that are Laundromats/Coin Op Car washes..... great idea I think, while you're waiting for the laundry, go wash the car.. One of the places also has a Bar/Restaurant owned by the same family.... That one must be a huge headache.. operating three businesses...

Also these are located in fairly rural areas in northern NY

[emcon5]

I wonder what the environmental exposure/risk would be. Seems like oil/gas contaminated water could be a problem, once the enviornmentanazis think about it.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by t6dpilot

Constant maintenance constantly...it is NOT an absentee owner business - even the self serve model.

I've never owned one, but I knew a guy named 't6dpilot' who used to constantly ***** about owning them and couldn't wait to get out of the game

[speedster911]

family had them- They had full time managers living at a couple of their stores ( selfservice) due to maintenance, theft and management required.

Cannot tell you how many coin boxes and outside vending machines were attacked around bar closing time on friday and sat. Twice someone tried to steal the ATM machines.

The younger customers just loved breaking off the wands and taking them after they were done. Sold all the stores after complaints that music was to loud from folks washing their cars, neighboring business complained that it was 24 x7 and they got tired of the theft - even the managers stole money.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by speedster911

....... Cannot tell you how many coin boxes and outside vending machines were attacked around bar closing time on friday and sat. .

When I was in college many decades ago a roommate's family owned some car washes. He had what apparently was a master key to the quarter boxes. He would open a box and flip a lever inside and get free time on the wash wands. He never stole any money from the boxes, just the occasional free washes.

[mattdavis11]

Only time I use a bay and self wash, there's nasty chit I don't want near the house.

[drcoastline]

There is a place in my area that has a convenience store flanked by a laundromat on one side and a car wash on the other. Carwash is two DIY washes and a single automatic. The place is always busy. Synergy, each feeds the other emptying the customers pockets. I bet the place is on less than half an acre. Mind you it is in the low rent district part of town.

If you have a few acres still room to do the storage gig.

[t6dpilot]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

I've never owned one, but I knew a guy named 't6dpilot' who used to constantly ***** about owning them and couldn't wait to get out of the game

I knew that guy too. He was a grouchy sumb!tch! I call those 10 years, "the lost years."

Fred, I think the self serve wash market is on the decline. They were very strong in certain markets, Colorado being one, but it has been 10 or 12 years or so since I have looked at that data. IIRC, the average self serve model generated $1,500 of revenue per bay. Some operators installed in-bay automatic washes to increase their revenue. That is why you see some of those combos. Location is absolutely everything in the wash business. Daily car count and access is critical. Do a ton of research, subscribe to the car wash industry magazines, search out the annual self serve industry analysis, talk to operators (if they will share), and talk to more operators. If you are looking at a self serve for sale, I can guarantee you it is for sale for a reason - probably a poor performer.

At the time that I developed mine, flex service was a new concept to the Chicagoland market and I was fighting an uphill battle educating the traditional full service customer. The market has changed to an express exterior model with automated pay stations, free vacuums, and very few employees. I had planned on converting to that model, but I was out of reserves - mental, emotional, and financial. And I had the leading POS system integrator was going to fund the conversion for a share in incremental revenue growth. I was done at that stage. New operator redeveloped the site into that model and they seem to be doing pretty well.

Back to the SS model. Fred, if you are going to retire from the auto maintenance biz and do this in retirement, then I think it would be good for you. Being mechanical helps a ton and you have that box checked. You will need to live relatively close to the site and be available to respond to issues quickly. With a SS, it is helpful to have someone on site to answer questions and maybe help with minor issues during the day and that could be you or a paid employee. I do think that the SS model lends itself more to an absentee (relatively speaking) owner of all the car wash business models. Good luck and keep us posted.

Do a copious amount of research and then do more. Verify the operator's numbers carefully if buying an existing site. And make sure that site is a good location. Buy some 55 gallon drums for the quarters that will be stored in your garage.

[speeder]

I'm a bit of a self-serve car wash connoisseur and use them all the time. Keep in mind that I'm a guy who knows how to detail and has a regular hose and bucket home facility as well as hot and cold power washers, etc.

So it's not like I have no choice but to use them, I just like them that much. I washed my DD at one yesterday after back-to-back storms in L.A. left my car pretty filthy. They are just so convenient if they are good facilities and you know how to use them properly.

98% of people don't know how to use a SSCW properly and that is where the hatred and the profit comes in. People take WAAAY too long to wash their cars and/or run out of time on the coin box w soap still on the car, etc... There is an art to it.

Secondly, the reason that many people don't use them or hate them is because in much of the country, the SSCW business is seriously ghetto. Nasty facilities w/o up-to-date technology or payment systems, etc. I've used them everywhere while driving cross-country and they generally suck in the heartland. In Los Angeles, while there are some out of date, crappy ones, most are state-of-the-art and do extremely well. The ones w no capital investment showing are generally empty and probably don't make much. Strangely enough, I've never seen any evidence of vandalism or tagging at the ones I use, even though they are definitely in the congested, urban locations.

As far as the "cash business" aspect being discussed, if you mean unreported income, I cannot imagine how that would work. Could you simply trade the quarters in for paper $$ at a bank every day and stash the cash? Or are people thinking of spending thousands of dollars in quarters on purchases in the future?

The major breakthrough in the industry from my perspective is cc readers. I never use quarters anymore, just pull into a facility and use my debit card. The quarters were such a PIA. I spend more, (as does everyone else), and who gives a schit? What is $6 or $7 on my VISA to wash my car w that convenience? It's fast and I get it really clean.

The card readers have been a game-changer for the owners, the places are almost always busy and I know that the $$ per visit is WAY up. I've talked to owners in the midwest who don't have the modern card readers and they have dumb excuses of why they don't install them, too expensive, etc... They just don't get it.

Here is one from my most commonly used SSCW, on Santa Monica Blvd. and Cahuenga in Hollywood:

[speeder]

Sorry about the sideways photos, not sure what happened there.

[jrdavid68]

Originally Posted by UconnTim97

Something like this?

Hey Skyler, I have another load of soda to bring in...

[cairns]

Self storage for a while..... when all those baby boomers die off and all the millennials throw away their stuff the game's over.