Car Wash?

[StojkeAK]

I have heard Car washes are a great way to invest your money and are practiacally ATM's, Is this true? How much work is involved in owning one (or several) of these? Does anyone have any expierience with them? How much would it cost to start one? Thanks for any help

[GeorgeF]

These guys finance car washs http://www.pmctrust.com/. Talk to them.

I own shares of PCC instead of a car wash. I don't have to tie up all my capital. I don't have to show up for work on time. I don't have to get dressed in the morning. I don't have to shave. I don't have to shower. Some times I contemplate all the things I might have accomplished if I had to work for a living. Sometimes I just collect my dividends and watch Oprah.

Sometimes I wish I owned a car wash instead of shares of PCC.

Rainforest car wash:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tips/getAttraction.php3?tip_AttractionNo==1851

Other times I am glad I own shares and not a car wash.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Car-Wash-Survey---Trying-to-Match-Reality-with-Figures&id=28175

and then sometimes I just want to watch the move.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00008CMRM/qid=1116967394/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-3367903-2956001?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

[RobertHunter]

A good self-serve car wash in the RIGHT LOCATION can be extremely profitable(6 figures).Most of the real profitable ones have someone onsite and at the minimum you or someone will have to go by at least every other day to make sure everything is operating correctly.Then you have got chemical costs,mortgage on the site,electricity etc...We recently sold a 6 bay self-service car wash on 1/3 acre on a main highway about 1 hour West of Daytona Beach for $300,000.00.If you are looking to get into the automotive cleaning industry and you are on a budget you should start a self-contained mobile detailing unit where you go right to the customer.You can charge higher prices and your overhead is exponentially less - all you need is your mobile unit,cell phone,chemicals & tools,advertising pieces(bus. cards,flyers etc...)and license and insurance.I had the first mobile detailing business in my county(1990-1996) and I could make up to $1,200.00 a week working 6 days a week by myself and I have made up to $3,000.00 when I had a good full time employee working w/me.However the work is very labor intensive and it is usually hard to find and maintain good employees(most guys that are good wind up starting their own detailing business).Another benefit to being mobile is that you can go to airprts and do planes or campgrounds and do RV's or marinas to do boats and this is the market that will allow you to charge the big bucks.If you ever need to know how to set up a mobile detailing unit as inexpensively as possible pm me and I will help you out.It has been a while since I have priced equipment but I would say you can get completely set-up for around $4,000.00 as long as you have a vehicle to pull the unit.

[Dan Mezick]

There are alot of enviro-issues with the waste water etc in many states. Establishing new ones can be tough for this reason.

Existing locations are grandfathered in, typically.

[crazy canuck]

If you are looking to get into the automotive cleaning industry and you are on a budget you should start a self-contained mobile detailing unit where you go right to the customer.

You mean like this one?

/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

http://www.thetoque.com/030204/pics/squeegee.jpg