A: This is sort of like asking what a house costs. It can vary a lot. For any new car wash, you can expect to pay from $500,000 to possibly a million. The best average cost of a new car wash in Florida is approximately $700,000, which includes land, building and equipment. Most banks will require you to put down a 25% deposit for a business loan.

A: That depends on a variety of factors. There is no guarantee that any business will be a profitable.  However, when done correctly, owners report returns on investment in the 10-20% range.  It is like any other business; if you do the homework and promote the wash well, then you can generally expect a relatively high cash flow with the minimum amount of labor.

A: The ideal piece of property for a self-serve wash would have 200 feet of frontage and be 100-150 feet deep. Generally, a half of an acre is sufficient.

A: The time to operate a modern facility can be broken down into two areas: basic housekeeping, and general business operations. The basic housekeeping requires someone there to do the routine cleaning at least twice a day for an hour or so each visit, slightly more on the weekends. This involves things like trash clean up, washing down the bays and checking to make sure that things are working properly. Many investors will hire someone to do these daily chores. The general business operations include responsibilities of inventory re-supply, preventative maintenance, general bookkeeping, and business promotion. The more time you can spend on this aspect, the more successful your business will be.

A: The majority of operators today can perform 90% of most repairs. We supply spare parts and maintenance training with all equipment purchases. We maintain a service fleet to provide preventative maintenance and repairs that the owner is unable to or chooses not to do.