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Looking at buying a small one bay self serve Car wash - info / advice please

onebaywonder

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Hello All,
I finally got registered and set up after lurking here and looking around for a while, this is a neat forum!

I am looking for some advice & info on possibly buying an existing small one bay car wash in a small midwest town, population less then 5000 the wash has been around many years and never closed but it is run down and needs updating & cosmetic work, paint etc.

The Good - The Car wash is on the main street which is also a major road through town which leads to other neighboring towns, there is a freeway near by also, not thinking I will get a bunch of that traffic, but alot of commuters and local traffic get off the freeway there and take the road that goes by the car wash.

The Bad - It needs the following, new overhead rollup door that can with stand frigid winter weather, new small walk in door, needs paint or panels inside for sure (probably panels based on what I have been reading here) and the lighting is junk and needs to be replaced (not the wiring just fixtures, I hear the name Scottsdale on here?) the lot itself needs some pot holes fixed and smoothed out.

I can do alot of the cosmetic work myself and have lots of friends and family who are in the trades, carpentry, heating etc.

There is some small vending there, soda machine etc. but could be a lot better, the vacum system was replaced a couple years ago and looks to be in decent shape.

My questions are:

Can these small one bay washes be profitable? nearest wash is 10 miles away in one direction and 15 miles away in another.

What advice can you give to a potential buyer? the current owner claims he will show any and all records?

Please feel free to ask any questions, it will help me make a decision if this is right or not, I have always thought detailing cars or having a car wash would be cool, but I know they dont run themselves.

Thank you.
 

coincarwash.ca

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Do the math
Price per minute
minutes per hour
possible wash minutes in a day
all of this times only 1 bay

Example
.50 cents per minute
x 60
x 10 hours per day
x 365
keep in mind rain days and not 100% efficient use(x.65%)

A little over 70k in wash sales in the very best case sinario.
Take out your wages, taxes,interest payment, supplies and other stuff.......is it still worth it to you?
Keep in mind it will probably be alot less than my quick calculation.
 

onebaywonder

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Thank you.

Do the math
Price per minute
minutes per hour
possible wash minutes in a day
all of this times only 1 bay

Example
.50 cents per minute
x 60
x 10 hours per day
x 365
keep in mind rain days and not 100% efficient use(x.65%)

A little over 70k in wash sales in the very best case sinario.
Take out your wages, taxes,interest payment, supplies and other stuff.......is it still worth it to you?
Keep in mind it will probably be alot less than my quick calculation.
This is good info,and your probably right it could very well be less then 70K,also I would probably work at getting it open 7/24 with cameras, not saying that changes anything you have contributed coincarwash, just adding that for further discussion, Also I was thinking about keeping a vehicle "for sale" on the lot too, my thought was utilizing the lot for marketing other things as well, but keep it neat & clean not junkie and one or two cars would be the max I could keep on the lot, probably one would be best.
Thanks for your feedback! ... keep it coming please.
 

coincarwash.ca

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My math was based on a 24 hour operation, however I only based my figures on the reality of washing times. The washing after 9pm and prior to 8am is very lean.
 

onebaywonder

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wages

Do the math
Price per minute
minutes per hour
possible wash minutes in a day
all of this times only 1 bay

Example
.50 cents per minute
x 60
x 10 hours per day
x 365
keep in mind rain days and not 100% efficient use(x.65%)

A little over 70k in wash sales in the very best case sinario.
Take out your wages, taxes,interest payment, supplies and other stuff.......is it still worth it to you?
Keep in mind it will probably be alot less than my quick calculation.
Question on the wages part, what do owner operators generally pay themelves on a one bay deal like this? I have no idea.

Also out of that 70K, or lets say its 50K, how much is likely profit? what is a general rule of thumb?

I am also quite certain I am going to need to do other things for income but I was thinking this might be a way of supplementing income while doing other things I have interest in.
 

coincarwash.ca

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How much is the wash to buy?
Is the land included?
How much are the property taxes?
Are you in a cold winter area?
Do you require financing or are you an all cash investor?
Will you be working there yourself or will you hire a partimer?

Please answer all of these questions first
 

onebaywonder

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Answers ....

How much is the wash to buy? around 25K

Is the land included? Yes

How much are the property taxes? 750 per year.

Are you in a cold winter area? yes

Do you require financing or are you an all cash investor? half & half

Will you be working there yourself or will you hire a partimer? myself, maybe some partime for a couple months a year but mostly myself, part time help would be limited as per needed basis.

Please answer all of these questions first
I have put the anwsers next to the questions,thanx.
 

onebaywonder

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what is the land worth if you bulldoze the building and resell it?
Thats a good question! it certainly wouldnt or wont appreciate like the value of land in say california, but thats not a bad idea.

I am not sure what else would make it there in its spot? pretty small town, not alot of enterprising going on there.
 

ScottP

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It's sounds pretty good. Is there room to expand? Is the bay big enough to make into an automatic? If I could find a car wash for $25k a bay including land I would give it serious consideration.
 

MEP001

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A single-bay car wash can do up to $3000 a month, but that's a really high-end expectation. You'd have to offer all the amenities and have it stay fairly busy most of the time. You might consider watching it for a while to see what kinds of people use it now. If you will have a lot of rural customers who will trash it and leave it unuseable, you'll either have to keep it attended or you'll miss out on income. If it's one of those "soap, rinse and wax" places, forget any significant income without equipment upgrades. Hopefully there's room if you need it.

I probably wouldn't do it. Seems like your town would support a nice 4/1 though.
 

onebaywonder

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It's sounds pretty good. Is there room to expand? Is the bay big enough to make into an automatic? If I could find a car wash for $25k a bay including land I would give it serious consideration.
not much room to expand on the car wash lot, BUT there is a lot behind it for sale, not sure on that price tho? there was a trailer house there so not sure if they would zone it for commercial? ..... but then we are talking a whole different ball game and I honestly dont see the town supporting a automatic and that would be alot more expensive to do it right with good equipment etc.

they like there suv's, pick up trucks, john deeres and harleys .... not always in that order!
 

JMMUSTANG

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Why does the owner want to sell?
Has there ever been anything else on the site other than a car wash?
Any enviromental issues?
Will the city allow you to put for sale a car one at a time on the lot or do you need another permit?
Is this a self service bay or an automatic car wash?
Get 3 years of financials/tax returns from the owner.
See how much the owner has taken out for salaries.
Find out how much the property cost behind the wash.
Get the dimensions of that lot and the one you're looking at buying?
Give us all these figures to help you.
 

Randy

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25K I?d buy it and the lot in the back with the trailer on it if I could. Your not going to get rich working a 1 bay car wash but you might be able to clean it up and make a little extra money. There?s got to be a reason why the owner wants to sell it, find out what that is. Where is this mystery wash located? Can you send or post pictures of this wash?
 
Etowah

soapy

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I think a good SS car wash usage runs about 10% of total time available. National average per bay is about $1500 per month. If you are the only one then maybe you could get to $2500 per month. If you do buy it get a noncompete agreement from the owner. He could turn around and build a 2 or 3 bay somewhere and take all your customers.
 

Greg Pack

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A one bay self serve in a small town? There's a decent chance this thing is only grossing a few hundred dollars per month.

Take the 25K and start a vending machine route. At least they don't require daily clean-up visits. At least rent it for a few months first before you buy.
 

MEP001

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cfcw said:
A one bay self serve in a small town? There's a decent chance this thing is only grossing a few hundred dollars per month.

Take the 25K and start a vending machine route. At least they don't require daily clean-up visits. At least rent it for a few months first before you buy.
It should be fairly easy to tell if it's doing a worthwhile income now. Just drive by it once an hour during a nice weekend day. If it's empty and dry more often than not, you'll have saved yourself a lot of trouble, time and money.
 

Bubbles Galore

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When we were deciding on the whether or not we were going to buy our car wash, we did the same thing. We probably spent four straight weekends up there just to see how busy they were, what was used most often etc...That was worth more to me than having the owner tell me how great the place was.
 

onebaywonder

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small midwest town .....

A one bay self serve in a small town? There's a decent chance this thing is only grossing a few hundred dollars per month.
I think you are right,I am pretty sure it isnt doing very much, I hear the guy wants out even more, but he has taken down the for sale sign because of the super slow economy.

I wish I knew what else I could do with the building or lot in a small town? other then a small personal "hobby shop/storage" (I am into old cars)?

I keep thinking the upside is it is right along a busy highway that leads off to other towns, the highway does get pretty good traffic flow.
 
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