After the thrill is gone...

[dusovt]

I am evaluating converting 2 of my SS Bays to IBA. Recently, my concern is not for the first 3 years of ownership; it is the years following it. I realize that that any equipment requires diligence to keep running smoothly - - my thoughts are that the there is a tipping point when the equipment failures increase notably. Any opinions/experiences on the maintenance frequency, to include preventative, after the 'shine' is gone is greatly appreciated..

Considerations:
How much time passed after it was new before a marked amount of maintenance and labor became required for operation?

Did it level off? Or is it increasing?

What percentage of your income do you reserve for repairs/maintenance?

Do you find the labor needed to support went upward as well?

Did you project a 'useful' life for the equipment up front?

Thank you in advance!

 

[raisetheprice]

I always say to myself..."If I had a car with this many problems, it would have been gone along time ago."

Funny thing is a good vehicle doesn't cost near as much. One of my cars has 345,000 miles on it...original drivetrain and a/c.

But I keep coming back for more...it's an addiction. I will not give up! Just when I think I can't take another day when all the gremlins attack...the wash will cash flow, run perfectly for a few weeks and all is well again.

 

[Waxman]

My IBA is relatively new and I found the opposite; IBA machine was quirky at first and needed many adjustments and tweaking . I call this the 'break in ' period.

Once my machine was broken in (about a year) it ran and continues to run great. Really great.

I think with many IBA's you'll fuss with prox switches and ultrasonics, determine if shear bolts should be replaced by regular bolts, etc.

There are complicated or simple machines, based on number of moving parts and parts only available thru mfg. or dist. (not Grainger, auto parts, etc), so choose wisely, as your choice of machines , as well as dist. tech support, will largely, dictate required tweaking, fixing and maintaining. I think the simpler the machine the better.

Also, your volume will obviously make things wear out faster.

The amortization schedule I had in mind for my machine was 10 years.

Good luck!

 

[madscientist]

by year 5 or 6, most of the parts in your wash will be new again, and some of them will be new again, again.

 

[MikeV]

My Auto is over 5 yrs old, has over 120k washes on it. I don't do anymore maintenance on it now than I did last year, year before, year before, year before. Its a workhorse and keeps on ticking.

 

[mac]

dusovt, you're thinking in the right direction. My guess though is that there isn't an easy answer to this. Just too many variables. My question to you is why are you thinking you need two machines? If your wash is all self serve, chances are it was not laid out for sufficient stack room for two autos. You will also most likely need larger water and electric service. For some good pointers to help you, see my article in Professional Carwashing & Detailing in the Dec '07 issue. If you really want to do this, I would suggest just one to start, inless you have a killer location with no competition.

 

[dusovt]

Thanks for all the posts, as always appreciate everyone taking the time.

Mac, good points and will take a look at the article - thanks for the tip!

 

[Jim Caudill]

Go read the thread in the "General" forum about 2003 being the last good year. I brought it to the top so that it would be easier to find.

 

[dusovt]

Hi Jim -
Really interesting insight on the IBA market. Must say that I am having a tough time with the numbers on the IBA model. Increased debt service, equipment, energy, water, labor and maintenance consumes much of the extra volume that an IBA would seemingly provide. Unless I am reading my market too conservatively, I am seeing that the IBA would only increase my bottom line nominally over the SS bay in place. I guess I must be missing something....

 

[Jim Caudill]

No, you probably are not! I think most IBA operators fail to take into account all the expenses. My take on how to analyze it, is to treat it as though it were an entirely separate business. Think of it as a "stand alone" with its own property taxes, insurance, claims, etc. Don't think of it as putting something in a bay you already own. After all, that bay is providing something for you right now (if nothing else it is a "spare"). The other thing that gets overlooked is: "if you were to spend the money and time that you are going to invest in this IBA venture, what else could you be doing with those same resources and what would the ROI for that venture be?"

I went to get my oil changed the other day and asked if I get a discount on their automatic wash since I was an oil-change customer. The guy sort of sneered and said, "we ain't got a wash anymore - got rid of that piece of crap. Just ain't got the signs down yet". I walk out back and there, in a scrap heap, is a D&S 5000. I'd love to hear the owner tell me about his decision making process to add that wash to his oil change; and then have him tell me how much money he made with it. I'm very confident it never even paid for itself.

If I could take ever dime of profit from my Powerain over the course of 13 years, it still would not be enough to pay for a replacement wash and the bay that it occupies. He!!, I can't really justify operating it, and it is already installed and paid for.

 

[ted mcmeekin]

Our experience is same a Mike V above. Our oldest is going on 7.

Ted

 

[Jim Caudill]

Ted, would you mind sharing the brand and model of your IBA's?

 

[ted mcmeekin]

Jim,

We have a MK VII Aqua Jet which entered service Jan 02 and a MK VII GT 300 which entered service June 05. They have both been very reliable and fairly easy to maintain. As I have noted before , we have a super distributor who can help with tougher problems in 5 minutes on the phone and as a result we have never had a service call. We have not called him in well over a year. The first machine has about 70K washes as we are in small market. I would higly recommend both the manufacturer and the distributor but am sure there are others that perform well also.

Ted

 

[MEP001]

An auto most certainly can be profitable, but it takes a specific formula. Low operating costs, including minimal visits from a distributor, a good customer base that is willing to spring for the top wash most of the time and can afford a pricey "ultimate" wash, and of course a good location. I can repair anything on our Vector and spend an average of $1,000 a year on maintenance now that it's "broken in." I know of people who spend that much each month with their distributor on parts and PM. It's no wonder some think they're not profitable.

 

[MikeV]

I think that typically, an auto will generate as much revenue as 3-5self serv bays. If you are handy and can do most of your own work, it will save you not only down time, but repair costs as well. Yes, there is added expense - elec, water, chemicals, but if you are washing cars, the income far outweighs the expense. It typically costs about $1.25 to do my top wash (including all expenses) and generates $7.00. Do the math.

 

[Red Baron]

My D&S 5000 is now 3-3/4 years old and 50,000+ washes. Up until 2 weeks ago it had just required periodic repairs, i.e., busted hyd hoses, side spinner bearings, etc. Two weeks ago my gantry driveshaft snapped in half. It cost me around $5,000 to have a loaner gantry installed while waiting for the new shaft, then to install the new shaft. Ouch!!!

My dist bent over backward to bring out a loaner gantry and get me back in business, on a Saturday no less, but it sure was a frustrating and costly experience.

 

[Jim Caudill]

Mike, I'm glad you have your location listed, it makes it easier to understand. Your area is not suffering like those of us in the "rustbelt", you have no heating requirement , and probably no need for doors on your wash. I pay as much for water alone as you do for your whole wash. My chemical cost is around 75 cents per wash and heat in the wintertime was adding about another 50 cents per wash. That heating number has probably gone up by 1/2 if not more (naturally it has to do with how many cars you actually wash). My maintenance used to be around 50 cents per wash, but that was before some of the "big ticket" items (such as radiant heater and my Ultimate door)needed to be replaced. My Gates Poly-Chain II belt is up around $300 and needs replaced every year. Banner photo eyes and proximity sensors are always in stock as well as a couple of Browning pillow block bearings. I don't know about Houston, but here, all commecial 3-phase service is on demnad metering. What this means is that if I don't operate the automatic, my demand remains low and the utility sells me electricity for around a dime per kWh. When I run the automatic, they now charge me around 20 cents for EVERY kWh. So, simply operating the automatic doubles the cost of operating my lights and everything else. This extra cost has to be added to the cost of operating the auto wash. Lastly, IBA type washes only command around $5 around here. IT has been a few years ago, but the last time I ran the numbers, my $5 wash cost me $3.50 and there was no equipment depreciation involved. Plug $1.50 gross profit in your business model and figure out how to pay the bank for that additional equipment and the brick&mortar of that extra bay.

 

[Greg Pack]

Ouch-I feel your pain...

Opposite scenario here. IBA Income here at this 4/2 accounts for 73% of site revenue. Would love to hack the SS off and build something that isn't an overpriced dumping ground for every redneck in a five mile radius.

I'm in a very good area and the economy is stable. Still, I'm down YTD about 10%- that's my house payment every month. With express washes in the immediate market, it will be harder to make really good money anytime soon in SS or IBA. They keep the going prices of washes down and are very value oriented.

I probably won't buy another touch free unit- they are just too inefficient on water, chemical, and utilities.

 

[Red Baron]

Would love to hack the SS off and build something that isn't an overpriced dumping ground for every redneck in a five mile radius.

Ditto. I'll never build another SS bay. The income/stress ratio is way too low.

 

[Jim Caudill]

cfcw, appreciate the empathy. Would be nice if you could change "my mom's basement" to something a little more meaningful.