How to Start a Car Wash

Car washing can be a lucrative business if properly operated.

Starting car washes involves a lot of time, effort and money. Developing a solid business plan for what services your car wash will offer and how it will be operated will determine the start up cost. Initial investment and operating expenses for car washes are high, but can be paid off quickly with the right business plan. Location of the car wash is very important for getting many customers to purchases one of your services. Car washing is a high paced environment, but can be financially rewarding. Many people will pay a premium price to keeping their car looking good.

Instructions

1. Determine if your car wash will offer both interior and exterior cleaning. Car washes that provide interior cleaning will need to have a detail bay with detailers. Hiring detailers that are dependable, efficient and thorough can be tough. Car detailing can be a strenuous job, only a select amount of people will be willing to clean cars all day.

2. Determine what type of equipment will wash the cars. Most big commercial car washes have a tunnel that pushes the cars thru a variety of wraps and brushes. These types of washes are usually the most effective, but the cost is usually the highest. A lot of smaller car washes use a variety of special hoses with no or minimal wraps. Washes without wraps or brushes are commonly referred as "touch less" car washes.

3. Determine the area you want the car wash to be built. Location will have a major influence as to how many cars you wash. Most car washes are in high traffic areas. This is an easy way of getting your car washed exposed. Car washing isn't always a planned event. A lot of people decide to wash their cars as they approach or drive by a car wash.

4. Find an investor or borrow the money needed for initial costs. Car wash start up costs can range from hundreds of thousands to a couple million dollars. The size of the wash, the types of services you offer, the amount of employees you plan on hiring, the area in which you build the wash and many other factors determine how much money you'll need to borrow.

5. Hire a consultant to help you manage the day to day operations. A lot of work and training is needed to make your car wash efficient. It's virtually impossible for anyone who hasn't worked in the car washing industry to know how to train employees the proper way of cleaning cars quickly and efficiently.

References

• Entrepreneur: Self Service Car Wash
• Cactus Car Wash: Franchise Opportunities