We will discuss some of the more popular types of car washes and their relative profit potential. Your experience may vary as particular situations can always be different.
Self Serve Car Wash
In a self-service car wash, car owners wash their vehicles with the provided equipment and chemicals.
The time needed for each wash to be completed will be higher in self-service car washes than in automatic wash methods, and applying the given products by hand can be less efficient than a machine.
These factors can impact the amount of profit you can make. However, self-serve car washes will need less equipment and staffing which can play into how much profit you can make.
In Bay Automatic Car Wash
In an in-bay automatic car wash, customers sit in their vehicles as they enter a wash bay.
Automatic car washes will clean vehicles quickly and efficiently. They typically are very precise in their product dispensing and application, these factors allow an automatic car wash to wash more vehicles and use less product at the same time.
Of course, the equipment, location and other types of costs will likely be higher in this car wash, even more so in tunnel car wash situations.
Full Service Car Wash
Full-service car washes do it all, exterior washing, interior cleaning, and specialty services, all at the customer’s convenience as they leave the car with the staff.
This type of car wash charges more for their services as the employees do the bulk of the work, which in some cases means having a higher margin.
These washes have more costs and more employees to pay to get their washing done, which can lead to a lower profit margin than a machine quickly cleaning a vehicle.
What Are Other Ways To Help Your Profit Margin?
As important as the cost per car is, there are other factors car wash owners will want to look at when looking at your profit margin.
CAR WASH PRICES
It is important to price your services competitively but also high enough that your car wash can make a profit.
Charging too much can turn away customers but charging too little will find your business losing money.
Do some research for other car washes in your area, understand all the costs you have – chemical and others, and then find the sweet spot where you can offer your customers great value but also make your desired profit.
OPERATING EXPENSES AND FIXED COSTS
We discussed chemical-related costs, but all the other operating costs your car wash will face will impact your margin.
Leasing or building fees, property taxes, water usage, electricity, car wash equipment, and repairs are just a few examples of the many types of costs your car wash will have. No car wash owner would want to pay more for something if they did not have to.
So do your research on pricing options and decide what is the best choice to allow you to achieve your desired quality but also keep your costs low enough that you can achieve your desired average profit margin.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Add-on services are a great way to achieve a higher margin when a customer comes in to get their car washed.
Examples can include premium car wash packages, vacuuming, mat cleaning and air fresheners/deodorizing.
Customers that come in for a car wash may decide to also get another service done as they are already there, this is a great opportunity to add some additional income as these services typically have great profit margins.
CAR WASH SUBSCRIPTIONS
Offering car wash subscription packages can be a great way to guarantee monthly revenue. Having customers pay in advance will help you achieve predictability and reliability when it comes to your revenue.
Customers that take advantage of the subscription packages typically are loyal, resulting in more reliable income and more revenue. Subscriptions are also cost-effective for car wash owners because most of the customer base won’t wash their cars enough times to reach the break-even point.
Having a higher number of customers with fewer visits will result in more profit and reliability.
Want To Improve Your Cost Per Car? Contact Mattias Car Wash
Mattias’s lineup of car wash machines makes the most of the techniques and quality that the company has accumulated over the years as a manufacturer of material handling systems. From tunnel-type car washes for passenger vehicles to drive-throughs car washer, gate-type car washes, and large-scale car washes for trucks, buses, and semi-trailers, Mattias offers a wide variety of car wash machines and products to service stations, car dealerships, maintenance shops, transportation companies, and coin-operated car washes.
