Why Are There Suddenly So Many Car Washes?....report

turkeydance

turkeydance

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quote:

From the Snow Belt to the Sunbelt, companies are scrambling to add locations and grab a piece of a $14 billion-plus industry.
With 60,000 locations across the US, the sector has been expanding at roughly 5% annually, with some forecasts predicting
the market to double by 2030. More car washes were built in the last decade than all the preceding years combined.

www.bloomberg.com

Why Are There Suddenly So Many Car Washes?

Fueled by private equity and a subscription-based business model, the auto wash industry is flooding the US with new outlets. Some towns and cities have had enough.
www.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com
 
For $20 something a month, you can run your car through it every single day. It’s a no brainer
 
I will say the local church youth group used to have a car wash to raise funds for various projects fairly often. I did not mind giving them some cash as I felt it helped them out and I got a fairly decently washed vehicle. But, I have not seen that in a long time either. I guess they don't want to wash a car either.
 
The cost about 1 million to buy the land and the whole nine set up. Pay for themselves in under 2 years. Last about 5-7 years before then need mega maintenance. Then they get abandoned. You still own the land.
 
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I love the new carwash where you sign up for unlimited for like $20 per month. I dont even go monthly, but when I do, its awesome to have plenty of time to vacuum the inside, wash the floormats, all that jive. Much easier to do there than in my driveway.
 
Took said:
slowly raises hand......I hate washing a car and am guilty of doing the drive through about once every two months. I keep the inside of my car spotless, I do that myself. I just don't like taking the time on the outside.
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Amen. There are several things I despise doing in this life, and car washing, working on riding mowers, and painting are in the top 10 somewhere.
 
I normally do not wash any of my five used high mileage cars, unless I need to wash off the road brine in the winter.
 
Do any of yall own these car washes, or personally know someone first hand that does?

I have family that have owned multiple "spray and go" and "touchless" car washes. From cities to rual locations.
All have been sold except for one location.
They are not  all insanely profitable or pay themselves off in a couple years.

Yes, you can make a honest living.

That honest living also includes dealing with the service van with a ladder rack that rammed through the steel and concrete clearance header and into the wash bay, killing a 6 figure wash machine. The frame, hydraulic lines, and electrical sensors are destroyed.
At 11 PM on a saturday night.

So you call the car wash machine store on the following monday morning, right? Oh wait, they don't have a car cash machine sitting around in inventory. It's backordered from the factory for 6 months, and there is a shortage on technicians to install said car wash machine. So half of your revenue is shut down for half a year. Then you have to go after the service van driver in court for multiple days...
Yep, money printing machines! 🤣
 
Fullboost21 said:
That honest living also includes dealing with the service van with a ladder rack that rammed through the steel and concrete clearance header and into the wash bay, killing a 6 figure wash machine.
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...Or dealing with the aftermath of some errant, degenerate F-head kids wiring window sash weights up into the roller brushes?
 
I hand wash my own vehicle, all the automated brush type car washes scratch your vehicles paint every time you use them. Even in a touchless automatic car wash as these use very strong special cleaning agents, these cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts...........But that's just me I guess.
 
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pirate said:
I hand wash my own vehicle, all the automated brush type car washes scratch your vehicles paint every time you use them. But that's just me.
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I've been waiting to hear what the forum said about this. I do like the convenience, and a Tundra has a lot of surface area when you're hand washing. But I don't want my truck messed up, either. So I've compromised by not doing the automatic thing and using the foam brush at a manual car wash.
 
MostWanted said:
I've been waiting to hear what the forum said about this. I do like the convenience, and a Tundra has a lot of surface area when you're hand washing. But I don't want my truck messed up, either. So I've compromised by not doing the automatic thing and using the foam brush at a manual car wash.
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The spinning brush types are scratch machines. They are typically very abrasive, and all the dirt, sand, grime, grease and abrasive road debris from all of the other vehicles that have gone through car wash before you are now being applied to your cars finish at a high rate of speed. Even the “soft-cloth” car washes do the same. They are more gentle than the spinning brush type car washes, but they are still very abrasive to your paint. The “soft cloth” isn’t so soft after its caked with abrasive debris and dirt from all of the other vehicles that have been there before you as dirt, micro pieces of sand and rocks rake over your car/truck finish. The relatively small amount of water being sprayed on them between each wash is not remotely enough to thoroughly clean the cloths. Most folks don't really care i guess so to each his own. Your vehicles finish takes enough generally unavoidable abuse every time you drive but I just choose not to self inflict unneeded damage.
 
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B00ger said:
I love the new carwash where you sign up for unlimited for like $20 per month. I dont even go monthly, but when I do, its awesome to have plenty of time to vacuum the inside, wash the floormats, all that jive. Much easier to do there than in my driveway.
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I have one about 3/4 of a mile from my house. I got the unlimited plan there, basic wash with the tire shine, $14.95 a month. I get my moneys worth too, especially now, a black car in pine pollen hell. Plus on a nice day, there are always some hot things out there cleaning their rides.
I wish I would have got into this business about 5-10yrs ago. Sometimes the line at that place is 10deep, and that's pretty often when the sun is shining, gotta be a cash cow.
 
Two things I wish I had jumped on years ago (about 7) with a coworker - car washes and/or mini storage.
Once you get a piece of land, the building is pretty basic. For one it's [mostly] just water and maintenance. The other it's just keep some semblance of security and make sure people are paying monthly their 60 bucks for about the same in square footage

And within five miles of me there have been two of each spring up in the last year...
 
Dated a girl in college, family owned a car wash, they weren’t rich but they got by. Their views were not politically correct, being from rural Indiana, her initials were KKK and she kept them after she got married.
 
The ones near me have all shut down, and nobody is buying them to fix them up.

My car has a ceramic coating, so only hand washes for that car. What I need is more of the wand-type washes so I can vacuum/rinse floor mats easily.
 
pirate said:
I hand wash my own vehicle, all the automated brush type car washes scratch your vehicles paint every time you use them. Even in a touchless automatic car wash as these use very strong special cleaning agents, these cleaning agents can damage the paintwork or plastic parts...........But that's just me I guess.
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One other thing I noticed at Auto Bell. I went a few times 20 years ago or so. My windows were always a mess in the morning, streaked and smeared. So I started paying attention the next time I went. The guys that dry the cars and wipe the windows after the wash use the same towels car after car. Each car does not get a fresh towel.

I never went back after that. MY wife has but I told her to tell them not to touch the windows.

.
 
GoWolfpack said:
It takes 4 hours to hand wash, wax and vacuum my truck. Takes 20 minutes at the carwash, including travel time. It isn't about laziness.
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I guarantee that at a car wash they don't take as much care, or do as good of a job, as you do.
My truck will be right over...🤓
 
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Walter White keeps expanding his money laundering empire.
And with the ever increasing focus on apartments and other foolishly high density housing, washing a car in the driveway is not an option for more people.
And money laundry expansion.
 
Burt Gummer said:
For $20 something a month, you can run your car through it every single day. It’s a no brainer
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Yep. It’s the first thing my son pay for when he got his first job. He pays $25/mo. There’s one right near our house, one right near our church, and they’re building one right near his school.

He goes multiple times a week. Sometimes just goes there for the vacuums. I think you can add a second vehicle for $7-$8?
 
I have a company car and can expense my car washes. And I cannot tell you the last time that car got washed. But there is enough crap on the floor mats that I should probably address that soon.

I have washed and waxed my Jeep a few tines though. Might do it again. Maybe.
 
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