cost per wash

[devonfwright]

hello, i am a new investor in a car wash (half automatic, half manual). For my two auto bays, how can i figure out how much each wash costs me, including wages, material, etc. is there an existing formula for this that i would be able to apply? Any/all help is much appreicated.

 

[MEP001]

There's no "formula," you just have to extract your costs from other expenses and divide it by the number of cars washed.

 

[Earl Weiss]

hello, i am a new investor in a car wash (half automatic, half manual). For my two auto bays, how can i figure out how much each wash costs me, including wages, material, etc. is there an existing formula for this that i would be able to apply? Any/all help is much appreicated.

By "manual" I am guessing you mean self serve (SS)bays and not where your employees manualy wash the car.

If this is correct, the first thing you need to do is adjust how you think of various expenses. For instance, labor may vary little for the autos If you wash 100 cars a month or 500 cars a month. For some items (and this will vary greatly by climate) you will have a base cost and an incremental cost. An example might be electricity for lighting as a base, and then running equipment that will vary with sales volume.

For SS bays, the cost is not measured by number of cars but by total cycle length or number of cycles. For the above items incremental cost is calculated by expense divided by car count or cycle time and you may need to guestimate a base cost for natural gas (heat) or electricity.

Finaly, unlike some I do not factor Extra Service (In my case tunnel wash but it's the same for IBA) costs as an incremental cost for total volume only as incremental cost versus incremental revenue rec'd.

 

[Turbo]

So has anyone calculated the DIRECT cost per minute of their ss bays? DIRECT costs are water, gas, electricity and chemical. I know there are large varuiations in water and electrcity but I imagine 80% of country is +/- 20% on all of these costs. I am curious what ball park is?

 

[Turbo]

So has anyone calculated the DIRECT cost per minute of their ss bays? DIRECT costs are water, gas, electricity and chemical. I know there are large varuiations in water and electrcity but I imagine 80% of country is +/- 20% on all of these costs. I am curious what ball park is?

I found this post:

http://forum.autocareforum.com/showthread.php?t=2243

If Sequoia is directionally correct then chemicals and water are the least of my concerns for self serv bays. Makes intuitive sense now that I think about it. I will be making sure that we provide a little more water (bigger tips), chemical (bigger tips) and heat (will be installing instant water heater soon) than most. It takes a lot of water, chemical and gas to get close to my 1400/month property tax bill. That's right, $1400/month

 

[Earl Weiss]

I found this post:

http://forum.autocareforum.com/showthread.php?t=2243

If Sequoia is directionally correct then chemicals and water are the least of my concerns for self serv bays. Makes intuitive sense now that I think about it. I will be making sure that we provide a little more water (bigger tips), chemical (bigger tips) and heat (will be installing instant water heater soon) than most. It takes a lot of water, chemical and gas to get close to my 1400/month property tax bill. That's right, $1400/month

AFAIAC Fixed costs, rent / mtge Ins. basic labor are huge factors. While variable costs should be monitored to make sure their are no holes in your bucket, , the higher they are in total the higher your profit should be.

Oh, and BTW $1400 a month in Property tax? I envy you. Mine run from $4000 to $5000 a month depending on location.

 

[Earl Weiss]

So has anyone calculated the DIRECT cost per minute of their ss bays? DIRECT costs are water, gas, electricity and chemical. I know there are large varuiations in water and electrcity but I imagine 80% of country is +/- 20% on all of these costs. I am curious what ball park is?

You would have to take it as an average and somehow back out the base such as gas for floor heat and elec. for lighting.

To do it directly would be a yardstick, but not realistic. For instance, turn on the Foam brush and it runs. Turn On HP, or low pressure and it runs but only at full volume when the trigger is squeezed. To compare to someone else is virtualy impossible. Are they paying the same for chemicals? Are they running the same pressure and tip sizes? Are their utility costs the same?

Now if you have multiple locations in similar areas with similar setups it then becomes more interesting if you comapre income and expenses and see where one might be morre efficient than another.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I found this post:

http://forum.autocareforum.com/showthread.php?t=2243

I will be making sure that we provide a little more water (bigger tips), chemical (bigger tips) and heat (will be installing instant water heater soon) than most.

Sometimes less is more. A bigger tip may provide water but give a fell of less "kick" / pressure. Play with this, and search the forum for tip size and pressure preferances.

More chemical may also be a waste. If you are getting a good show - Foam or scent and cleaning / beading, there is no need to give more.

 

[robert roman]

You can obtain annual benchmarking surveys and cost of doing business reports from the following sources.

The International Carwash Association
Auto Laundry News magazine
Professional Carwashing & Detailing magazine
National Petroleum News magazine
National Association of Convenience Stores
Carwash equipment manufacturers

This information can serve as an indication of your protential operating expenses but the actual expense to operate a carwash will depend on your particular circumstance; region of the U.S., wash process, business model, degree of conservation and technology employed, etc.