Why Invest In The Car Wash Industry?

Owning a car wash can be a profitable investment opportunity.
Here are a few reasons why:

• Relative Autonomy – At a self-serve or automatic car wash, either the customer or equipment performs the labor, thereby eliminating the need for many employees. Generally, it only takes one or two workers to maintain and clean a site throughout busier parts of the day.
• Easy to Manage – From an operator’s standpoint, a car wash is relatively easy to run in that there are few personnel issues, minimal product inventories, and few maintenance requirements. Additionally, cash flow is not a problem in that there are no accounts receivable or personal checks.
• Low Cost – A car wash has low direct operating costs, and fixed costs – such as insurance and bookkeeping – are minimal.
• High Yield – The factors listed above – combined with 24/7, all-season demand, expansion opportunities, and tax incentives – can make your car wash a high-return investment enterprise.

Don’t take car wash ownership lightly, however. While it takes less work to run a car wash than many other businesses, an owner must be involved if they expect to turn a profit. Absentee owners not only make their sites vulnerable to theft and vandalism, but also compromise profits if they expect to maintain a clean, efficient site and keep customers satisfied. Though it is true a car wash can often “run itself”, owners should be present to perform maintenance and handle problems as they come. In order to grow and profit, an operator must approach car washing with the same “married to it” sense of commitment applied to any other small business.