8 reasons to invest in a car wash

1. A business model that is easy to calculate

Everyone knows there is no such thing as guaranteed success in business. There are, however, investments for which a business plan is relatively easy to draw up, and others whose success is a complete unknown – a real puzzle – right from the concept stage. Building and running a car wash definitely belongs to the first group.

The main start-up costs of this kind of business are buying or leasing land on a long-term basis in a good location and building the car wash. As for fixed costs, apart from the standard costs of running a business, you need to account for utilities, chemicals and supervision or security. You do not have to do the maths by hand – you can use the car wash calculator and the profitability calculator.

2. No barriers to entry

Setting up a car wash is not a difficult task. The entrepreneur essentially only has to raise the capital and obtain the permits required by local regulations – typically zoning approval, a water permit and a building permit.

Specialists from the company that supplies the technology and builds the car wash will help you choose the right plot for the investment.

3. Guaranteed cash flow

According to a 2016 report by the Polish National Debt Register (Krajowy Rejestr Długów), more than 51% of companies in Poland struggle permanently or temporarily with cash-flow problems. On paper the company makes a profit, but because customers pay late it cannot meet its current liabilities.

This can lead to serious trouble or even bankruptcy. A car wash does not have this problem, because customers pay for the service up front (directly when washing). For fleet customers you can use prepaid cards, encourage them to use an app or settle the washes monthly.

4. Minimal reliance on staff

The bane of many types of business is the need to employ staff. There are several reasons for this.

• First, the real cost of labour goes well beyond gross salaries once taxes and social contributions are added.
• Second, in many countries it is increasingly difficult to find people who genuinely want to work and are reliable at it.
• Third, an employer has to reckon with inspections by social security and labour authorities.

At some point there can be so many employment-related matters that the entrepreneur stops running the business and becomes an HR manager instead (which is quite common). A touchless car wash is completely different. An automated self-service car wash can be run without any employees at all. If you do not plan to offer your customers any services other than vehicle washing, you would only need someone to supervise the site – and that can be outsourced to a security company.

5. A future-proof business with a strong IT component

A modern car wash is fully automated. You manage it over the internet, through an application opened in a web browser. This means you always have revenue, costs and chemical levels under control.

You can watch the current situation at the car wash through CCTV cameras. Customers pay in cash, by payment card, with loyalty cards or through an app linked to their payment card. If they have no change, an automatic money changer is at their disposal. In simple terms, an unattended car wash is one big IT system – and that guarantees continuous development and optimisation of the business.

Suppliers of equipment and technology for such businesses constantly compete with one another, improving the efficiency, ergonomics and reliability of their solutions. For the car wash owner this is very convenient – there is no need to worry about development, because the technology partner takes care of it.

6. A safe investment

Although building a self-service car wash is a significant capital investment, it is a fairly safe business.

1. First, you invest capital in a proven type of business.
2. Second, EU funding for innovative solutions, such as managing a car wash over the internet, may be available to help launch the project.
3. Third, you acquire a plot in an attractive location, which gains considerably in value over the years.
4. Fourth, as mentioned earlier, you eliminate a major risk – cash-flow problems.
5. Fifth, because the car wash is fully automated, its owner can diversify and run many other ventures at the same time.

7. An excellent complementary investment

Because running a car wash does not take much time, it is an excellent investment for people who already run other businesses. The owner of a large used car dealership has to keep the vehicles on display clean and washes a lot of cars anyway.

So why not offer the service to the many visitors as well? A car wash can also be a great complementary investment for a petrol station, a vehicle inspection station, a franchise supermarket, a car repair shop or a guarded car park.

8. Great development potential

If you build a car wash that attracts customers, you can think about offering them additional services.

There are plenty of ideas for expanding the business – from selling food or car accessories, through interior cleaning, to other services such as tyre changes, oil changes or GPS map updates. The only limit is the owner's imagination.

How much does a car wash cost? – ask for a price