Building a new carwash

[Andrei]

Hi everyone , I have been wanting to open a carwash but I honestly don’t have much insight on building costs .
I have gotten some quotes from 360 carwash systems USA (ranging from 70k to 160k) but that is pretty much it
Can you please share how much would cost to open a one bay wash, brushless or with brush
How much are the costs on electricity, water, chemicals , and or any other bills
Also how many cars do you get in a month usually based on your location
Thank you in advance for reading my post

 

[Roz]

This week I visited a new (solo) IBA location that was built from the ground up in Maryland. According to the site manager the company spent $1M for the building and equipment (WW) (not including the cost of the land which they had for years). Most of the workers and teams were employees of the company so outside construction and contractors would increase the costs. Place was well thought out.....

 

[Andrei]

Good day everyone!

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

Hi Roz thank you for your feedback! That is a lot of money , seems like building a new one will be close to a million or more than likely over
Ridiculous I would say

You think? Sounds about in ballpark?

WW machine + dryers - $250k
Land - $100k - $250k+
Planning/Fees/etc - $25K
Construction @ $500/sq/ft ( 45' x 15' building)- $340K
Teller - $25k
Landscaping - $25k
Signage - $10k

 

[Andrei]

You think? Sounds about in ballpark?

WW machine + dryers - $250k
Land - $100k - $250k+
Planning/Fees/etc - $25K
Construction @ $500/sq/ft ( 45' x 15' building)- $340K
Teller - $25k
Landscaping - $25k
Signage - $10k

Good morning! thank you for the price list! After all those numbers paid would you say its a great investment? How many cars are coming in daily roughly if you dont mind me asking. I want to think 100 cars a day would be a good minimum in order to make a good income after paying all bill(rent/mortgage, machines, water, chemicals...)

 

[Andrei]

This week I visited a new (solo) IBA location that was built from the ground up in Maryland. According to the site manager the company spent $1M for the building and equipment (WW) (not including the cost of the land which they had for years). Most of the workers and teams were employees of the company so outside construction and contractors would increase the costs. Place was well thought out.....

Hi Roz thank you for your feedback! That is a lot of money , seems like building a new one will be close to a million or more than likely over
Ridiculous I would say

 

[Waxman]

You think? Sounds about in ballpark?

WW machine + dryers - $250k
Land - $100k - $250k+
Planning/Fees/etc - $25K
Construction @ $500/sq/ft ( 45' x 15' building)- $340K
Teller - $25k
Landscaping - $25k
Signage - $10k

yes, plus:
paving $25-50,000.
site work-$$$$$$

 

[Roz]

paving $25-50,000.
site work-$$$$$$

Plus softener, spot free, pressure pump, and heated floors. $$$

 

[OurTown]

Water, sewer, gas, and electric taps. We just finished a large remodel, and the electric work alone was $180K.

 

[Andrei]

Water, sewer, gas, and electric taps. We just finished a large remodel, and the electric work alone was $180K.

How is 180k possible ? What could cost that much ? Really ?! How many hours and parts are worth 180k $ ? This price is beyond any common sense at this point honestly

 

[Roz]

1. Common sense is no longer common or easily found these days.

2. Cannot compare residential costs to commercial costs. Commercial grade installations cost more and you want to build to commercial specs. Just one example. Our PVC piping is the grey schedule 80 not the white schedule 40 found in homes. Will schedule 40 work, sure, until something goes sideways when you least expect it on an amazingly busy day.

3. $180K could be low depending on the town or county. Some places charge $500K just for the ability to connect your water and sewer lines to the town system. And before you say that’s nuts (which at first blush is true) they do need to pay for their new treatment plant or raise property taxes which we all know how that goes over with voters.

 

[OurTown]

How is 180k possible ? What could cost that much ? Really ?! How many hours and parts are worth 180k $ ? This price is beyond any common sense at this point honestly

It may have cost less if it were a new normal IBA build. This was a remodel, and a lot was changed. I mean a lot. We removed the entire flat roof so some circuits that were attached to that had to be removed and rerun. Also, the Autec In-Bay-Express model we were installing has a lot of conduit and wires out to the bay. Commercial three-phase electrical components are crazy expensive. Some of it is built to order and may take a year to get. Our electrician bought our 800-amp switch gear used because of the long lead time of a new one. They paid as much as a new one which IIRC was around $16K. The plumbing bill was close to $100K.

 

[Andrei]

1. Common sense is no longer common or easily found these days.

2. Cannot compare residential costs to commercial costs. Commercial grade installations cost more and you want to build to commercial specs. Just one example. Our PVC piping is the grey schedule 80 not the white schedule 40 found in homes. Will schedule 40 work, sure, until something goes sideways when you least expect it on an amazingly busy day.

3. $180K could be low depending on the town or county. Some places charge $500K just for the ability to connect your water and sewer lines to the town system. And before you say that’s nuts (which at first blush is true) they do need to pay for their new treatment plant or raise property taxes which we all know how that goes over with voters.

I assume all these electrical and plumbing and plumbing crews did the work are a part of the big electrical companies charging usual and normal rates.
It’s worth looking into good electricians and plumbers that would do the work on the side not under the company clock. Thank you Roz, your inputs are very appreciated !

 

[Andrei]

It may have cost less if it were a new normal IBA build. This was a remodel, and a lot was changed. I mean a lot. We removed the entire flat roof so some circuits that were attached to that had to be removed and rerun. Also, the Autec In-Bay-Express model we were installing has a lot of conduit and wires out to the bay. Commercial three-phase electrical components are crazy expensive. Some of it is built to order and may take a year to get. Our electrician bought our 800-amp switch gear used because of the long lead time of a new one. They paid as much as a new one which IIRC was around $16K. The plumbing bill was close to $100K.

So much money it’s unbelievable.
A rebuild can cost more than a new build sometimes, but also you don’t have a choice but to go with what you have .
I hope you were able to make those money back quickly.
great feedback ! Thank you very much !