Hand Car Wash

[PaulMys]

Well, if you go ahead with this concept, I'd wish you all the success in the world.

Like I said, I would be in heaven if a place like this was anywhere near me.

Great idea.

[Rtrick87]

Well, if you go ahead with this concept, I'd wish you all the success in the world.

Like I said, I would be in heaven if a place like this was anywhere near me.

Great idea.

Thank you sir. Trying to find a way to gather the money.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

[sudsmobile]

Personally, I think it sounds like a money pit and a bad idea. You're trying to do it right, with high end product and techniques, but at $20 per plus the associated $5 or $10, you're still washing cars for $30. Me and my son did 8 production style washes today with an average ticket of around $70 including tip and I still feel like we got ripped off. I can't imagine trying to cover that nut at $30 a pop. I like the idea, somewhat, but I hate your pricing.

Give us an idea of what you think it would cost to run that operation per month. I have an idea already in my mind.

[JDGolden]

I've considered the conveyor belt thing as well. The further I dove into it, the more discouraged I got. After expenses (on paper, not real world), I figured my price for a simple hand wash and dry would be so high people wouldn't even consider it.


If you do move forward with the plan, please keep us updated. I wish you the best of luck, it would be nice to see someone go for it and succeed.

[Rtrick87]

YouTube

Something like that. Except we would actually wash the roof. But maybe skip the conveyor. One less thing to worry about breaking down.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

[JDGolden]

YouTube

[Rtrick87]

YouTube

Ya when I thought about starting a hand wash, I YouTubed it and this was the first one I saw and wanted it similar to this. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

[usshelena725]

Hey OP - shoot me a PM and I will send you my email address. I'm a CPA and have a Master's Degrees in accounting/business finance. I can take a look at your business model and initial CAPEX, Pro Forma P&L, etc. for no charge.

I imagine you can make this profitable, but I think you will really need to scale the size appropriately and have sufficient capital reserves to start.

There is a select market for specialty detail/wash shops. While we true enthusiasts don't want to admit it - probably 90% of the market you are trying to capture has never heard of swirl marks nor do they care. So you have to factor in your true market and look at demographics in your location area, drive times from areas you want to capitalize on, and city taxes, regulations, approval processes, etc.

The vast percentage of small businesses fail quickly. This isn't to scare you, just to encourage you to plan appropriately. Most fail for one of two basic reasons - they either didn't plan appropriately and with enough detail before proceeding or they didn't have enough capital reserves to overcome initial ROI's. Rule of thumb for a start up small biz would be to have at least 5x in liquid assets as compared to annual EBIT. So if expected earnings for year one before interest and taxes is $40,000, then you would want at least $200,000 in the bank in cash.

[UncleDavy]

YouTube

Something like that. Except we would actually wash the roof. But maybe skip the conveyor. One less thing to worry about breaking down.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app

This is certainly better than a standard machine wash with filthy brushes but it bothered me that they didn't change wash mitts during the process. They also used the same mitt and motion to wash the front then lower side panels and came up top again in one motion and the same mitt. Do they change mitts after each vehicle?
The Australian car wash seemed like a better process. They claim to rinse the lambs wool wash mitts and they offer higher end services.

[usshelena725]

OP - Thanks for the email - sent you a pro-forma P&L. Hope it works for ya!