Will an exterior car wash only work without vacuum stalls?

[RAAOO7]

Hello, there is a full service car wash on a small lot located near me for sale (Not on the market he is a friend). Excellent location, high traffic count, high density, A+ location. Also there are no express car washes near me within 4 miles. The only problem is the lot is small which I can squeeze maybe 3 or 4 parking spots with paid vacuums. The issue is if I do have parking stalls, everyone will be wanting to dry off their cars which will cause too much congestion because the lot is too small. If I do an exterior tunnel only where a customer pays, goes threw the tunnel (80ft) then exits immediately I know I can handle high volume 500 + cars per day on this small lot. The only big question is....will this concept work for customers? Not offering any dry off space for customers? No free or paid vacuums? Just drive in and exit out?

I would love to hear all opinions and advice, thank you.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Your initial premise is in error. Years ago we converted from FS to EE and managed to squeeze in 2 pay vacs. I would say about 25% or less choose to hand dry. Later we figured a way to squeeze in 6 more pay vacs. The occasions where they are all full are few and far between and on those busy times if there is no openings people simply do not stop. But you may need someone to direct traffic because people can be clueless. I just did a Google earth search for 4900 N. Broadway Chicago. It shows 7 of the 8 Vac Positions in use. Lot is about 150 x 150 with Gas (4 Islands) , Wash, C Store and 4 Bay repair shop.

 

[dukeofsuds]

I agree about the hand dry pullover problem isn't the issue.

I can understand what Earl did as he was already on a location and up and running. But there's a business decision here. What's the revenue and cost difference reusing the building and lot here vs. starting from scratch with a new bigger lot? Or are you saving money because of all the equipment is ready to go? There's a cost for both of those options and for the amount of washes you'll do it's hard to understand the decisions people make on how much they value an existing structure.

The only thing you can never fix is location. It's tough to recommend a location where you're already making compromises. Especially when you're starting up from zero.