How to Start a Coin-Op Car Wash
Coin-operated car washes are the way most people wash their cars. Some people still use the old method of using a hose and a bucket of soapy water, but most people prefer to pay for the convenience of a power sprayer at their local car wash. Owning a coin-op car wash is a great business prospect, because everyone’s car gets dirty and needs to be cleaned from time to time. It is also a business that requires very little attention or maintenance. If starting a coin operated car wash is a business you would like to pursue, follow these steps to learn how.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Write a plan for your car wash business. A business plan for a car wash business is not as intense as plans for other types of businesses, but one should still be written. The plan should calculate how and when you will obtain a return on your investment, how you will advertise your business, and how you will respond to any particular challenges, such as equipment failure.
-
2
Find a location for your car wash. It is best if you can find a vacant lot to build your car wash on, because it will save you the expense of tearing down whatever may already be on the location. The location will ideally be located on a busy street near a large residential neighborhood. Once you find a location, you should buy the property. If a lease is chosen, it should be a lease for several years with an option to purchase or renew at the end of the lease.
-
-
3
Register a business at the address for your property. Registering your business makes it a legal entity and provides your car wash with a tax identification number for paying taxes on the profits that the business makes. It also allows you to obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number, in the event that you wish to hire attendants to work on site and need to tax their salaries. You can contact your local city clerk or county clerk for information on how and where to register your car wash business.
-
4
Sketch out your property to determine how much equipment will fit on your lot. You will need to determine how many coin-operated car wash bays you have room for, how many vacuum stations and also decide if you have room for an automatic car wash bay. Effectively planning the available space allows you to maximize your profit potential, and also gives you a clear indication of how much car wash equipment you need to buy.
-
5
Order the car wash equipment. Having identified exactly what equipment you need in the previous step, you can now move on to placing an order for the equipment. There are a large number of vendors who sell the equipment needed to start a coin-operated car wash. Some of the more popular vendors are listed in the “Resources” section below. You can find others by doing an internet search for “car wash equipment.”
-
6
Oversee the installation of your car wash equipment. The company you buy the equipment from will usually send professional installers to build everything you need. While these people are professionals who know how the equipment should be assembled, it is a good idea to be on site to make sure that everything is positioned the way you intended.
-
7
Open your car wash. It is usually a good idea to allocate an advertising budget to announce the grand opening of your site. Newspaper advertising and local radio ads are great ways to let the local community know that the new car wash is now in business. It is also a good idea to have some form of promotional incentive the first day, as a way of attracting more people to take time to visit your car wash. Having a cookout on the premises is a good way to draw some of the neighbors to your site.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If the budget is a concern, you should consider purchasing some of your equipment used. As other car washes close or upgrade their equipment, they sell their old products to companies who will refurbish the equipment and resell it. It is a great way to get working equipment at discount prices. You can always upgrade to newer models after your car wash is turning a profit.
Resources
- Photo Credit Pål Berge, Flickr.com Creative Commons License
