July 4, 2018 carwash No Comments

What are the set up costs for a new car wash business?

Need to know info – the set up costs for a new car wash business

Love the idea of a car wash but have no idea of the set up costs for a new car wash business? To be honest there is certainly no fixed, one-size-fits-all, dollar figure for this type of thing. There are so many variable factors depending on what sort of car wash you want to set up. We will cover some very broad numbers to get your head around the finances.

Setting up a brand new car wash business from the ground up is probably more expensive than most people anticipate & it can be a fairly lengthy process. A typical site of one Automatic In Bay Car Wash & 3 Self Serve bays will cost anywhere around the $700,000 mark to build & approximately $350,000-400,000 in equipment costs.

These numbers include everything from building & construction, plumbing, wiring, installation, soaps, softeners & more. Basically everything you would need to trade from opening day.*

The costs above might sound a little confronting to those who have little knowledge of the industry. So where do all these costs come from?

Construction, Council Regulations & DA’s

Construction costs are your biggest overhead in the set up costs for a new car wash business. It’s just not as simple as hooking up to the water supply & washing cars. Check what’s in your DA & engage a designer who specialises in designing car wash sites, as their knowledge will be invaluable during the process. We recommend Tracey from TMC Design Group. Tracey has been designing car washes since 2004. She has a clear understanding of what makes a successful wash site & how to avoid lengthy delays & building variations.

You need to manage your design & construction right from the start. Building costs & council requirements can blow your figures out if you’re not dealing with people with actual industry experience. Car washes require underground pits to deal with the water requirements from local authorities. All of the contaminated run off & sludge has to be collected & disposed off so as not to pollute the stormwater drains. Whatever you do, seek advice from industry professionals. We’re happy to give you some guidance & advice – you can contact us here.

We also have some tips below on how to reduce costs when setting up your new car wash business.

How long does the process take?

As a rule this process should take around 12 months IF you have a motivated architect. Your design must have accounted for all council stipulations & your builder needs to be reliable. Over the years we’ve seen set ups completed as quick as 6 months. Others have spanned out to the 2 year mark. If you use someone who is well versed in car wash design the process will be much shorter than going in blind.

So is a car wash business profitable?

Yes of course (we even own our own car wash sites so we know this for a fact). A well-designed site with high quality equipment, in a good location is, in our opinion, going to be successful. Since Carwash World started in 2005 & we are witnessing steady growth for all of our customers.

IBISWorld reported that the Australian carwash industry is now forecast to be worth approximately $585 million by 2020. Between 2010-2015 the industry saw 2.5% growth. In the IBISWorld, report, the article stated within the carwash market, automatics account for 46.5 percent, & self serves for 37.6 percent with the remainder hand washing. Environmental concerns & higher density living is making services such as car washing much more popular. Car owners love the convenience of a drive in, drive out option.

How can I save money in the set up for a new car wash business?

Take over an existing car wash. This is an excellent way to avoid all of the build & set up costs. You’re simply buying the business at market value with an aim to grow it. You can then retrofit with new & updated equipment without the need to spend on construction.

Don’t over engineer the build – we see a lot of wasted money spent needlessly on elaborate designs when a simple construction would suffice.
Get quotes for a fixed price build.
Know your council & DA requirements or have someone on your team that does. We cannot stress enough the importance of an educated team assisting you in this process. A great example is a designer who misses the fact that some councils require doors on automatic car washes – this alone would add between $15,000-30,000 to your budget.
Shop around on things like LED lights & alarm systems etc. But BEWARE, cheaper is not always better. As we know when it comes to car washing equipment, opting for the cheapest option can cost you more down the track. We encourage you to speak to other car wash owners about what works for them.
Something that is not an immediate saving but certainly a long term one is adding Recycled Water to your car wash site. The initial expense will save you from purchasing 200 litres of fresh water every time a car goes through the automatic. It will also enable you to continue to trade if we encounter water restrictions again.

There’s also loads of other cost saving options we know of, like putting your automatic on a frame instead of being load bearing, opting for prefabricated items such as sewer pits & using lucabond panels instead of tiles on self serves bays.

For further advice on a car wash business your planning or for more tips on how not to over-capitalise we welcome you to contact us here.

*this can vary depending on your individual site requirements

May 17, 2018 carwash No Comments

Managing Social Media for your Car Wash

Where are you supposed to fit in time for managing social media for your car wash? You’re a busy car wash owner . You don’t have lots of time and small business is stressful enough, I get it. However, you simply can’t ignore that the digital age is forever changing the way we communicate with our customers and how they give us feedback regarding our products and services.

At this point, your eyes might be glazing over as you think ‘Sarah I don’t want to learn anything new’ to which I say ‘a comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there’. I know you want your business to grow. I’ve put together a cheat sheet for car wash owners to start you on your way to managing social media at your wash site in as little as 20 mins per week. Now in this post I am only going to talk about Facebook as I feel it’s the most relevant platform to start with for a Car Wash business.

Regularly take photos & videos

This really should take minimal effort. You (or your attendants) should have a pretty major emphasis on customer service. That means actively greeting and helping customers at your wash so make sure your phone is in your pocket. A quick before and after wash photos, videos of the equipment in action or how-to-use tutorial, pics of full wash bays, gleaming paintwork and wet dogs are all great content for your page whilst being an opportunity to interact with your customers.

Run competitions & promotions

Stay front of mind with your regular customers by running season promos and giveaways for seasonal events. Think Easter egg giveways, vouchers for Christmas or give back to the community by donating a portion of each wash back to a local charity.

Apps to make the whole process easier

Today’s phones take amazing pictures and the beauty is, even if the photo is a little sub par you can edit it easily using software already on your phone. So snap away and edit later. An average photo can become an impressive shot by adjusting the light and colour or simply throw a filter over the top of it.

Then you can take your image to the next level and add text over top to advertise your offer. There is a lot of mobile phone apps to add a text overlay, I personally prefer to Canva or Picmonkey on my desktop. I just find it easier to manage social media on a bigger screen but you do you.

Canva is great because it has predesigned themes so if you struggle to make your marketing material look pretty, it’s all done for you. Simply select the template, upload the image you want in the background, change the text and save. Canva has loads of different pre-designed themes; everything from A4 flyers, gift certificates, Facebook ads and more.

Here’s a great little tutorial on how to create a graphic in Canva to explain it better than I can.

Picmonkey is also a big favourite for me. Similar concept to Canva with templates or design your own options. I find Picmonkey better for making photo collages and designs that I want to create from scratch.

For both of these websites you can upload and store logos/images into their library and adjust the colours of the text to match the colour of your logo and business branding. You really can create something unique and professional for your business.

Here’s a Picmonkey tutorial for you to learn a little more on the amazing things it does.

Other ideas for managing social media for your car wash

Don’t think it needs to be all about clean cars. Just know your community and be relevant to them. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a cute animal video or funny quote – people love them. Share information on local events to keep your followers up to day with what is going on in their neighbourhood.

Did you know?

Flicking through your phone and see a post you think would be good to share at a later date? Save it to share later. Here’s what the SAVE button looks like – you find it in the drop down menu when you click in these 3 dots below:

Plan in out

Put aside 20 minutes per week and aim for just 2 posts per week. Don’t overwhelm yourself with any more than that when you’re starting out. You can schedule posts in advance by selecting the SCHEDULE from the right drop down menu on the PUBLISH button. This allows you to select a time and date that suits you to display the post to your followers.

I hope this gives you some clarity on managing social media for your car wash business. If you have any questions, you’re welcome to contact me to discuss!

April 11, 2018 carwash 2 Comments

Car Wash Chemicals and Weather Conditions

With the change of seasons comes a change to washing conditions.

Now is a great time for you to be testing and adjusting your car wash chemicals as the seasons change. With this subtropical ridge across a lot of the country, it doesn’t quite feel like Autumn in Australia even though it is April. However the cooler temps and rainfall is just around the corner. Small tweaks will vastly improve your wash results in the future.

Are you noticing the lower panels on vehicles are still dirty after washing in your automatic car wash?

If so, it’s time to check titrations – you may need to adjust the low pH to remove this surface grime, especially after frequent bouts of rain. You’ll then need to reevaluate and readjust again once Autumn comes to a close & Winter begins.

We recommend at the change of each season that you also titrate your soaps. This ensures that you’re offering the best chemical delivery and eliminates any customer complaints about poor wash results.

Also now that Daylight Savings is finished, are all your lights working? Don’t leave your customers in the dark!

If you need some help with getting your chemical offer right, the team at Carwash World are happy to divulge with you our knowledge from years of testing and tweaking.

February 27, 2018 carwash 4 Comments

Why the PDQ Laserwash 360 Plus is dominating the touchless car wash market in Australia.

It’s no secret that the PDQ Laserwash 360 Plus holds an exceptional reputation within the car washing community. Why is it dominating the touchless car wash market?

The Laserwash 360 Plus signage alone proves a distinctive selling point to customers for car wash owners. You’ll see the Laserwash signage being directly imitated by competitors trying to pass their machines off as the same thing.

With over 350+ PDQ Manufacturing Automatic Car Washes in Australia alone, there’s no surprise it’s the touchless car wash of choice.

For Carwash World, as a supplier of premium car washing equipment, the Laserwash 360 models are our biggest seller. The machine’s reputation & benefits helps sell itself before a customer even reaches us. A lot of people have already done their due diligence & know it’s the equipment they want at their car wash.

Regardless of the Laserwash 360 Plus’ reputation & popularity, it’s still important for you to know exactly what the capabilities & limitations of any machine are. You want to ensure that you’re purchasing the right equipment to best service your needs & customers. You’ll need weigh up your thoughts on touchless versus friction equipment. Then if touchless is your preference you need to compare all models available in the marketplace today.

Here’s a comparison of a Laserwash 360 Plus with a run-of-the-mill friction model to start to get us started.

Contactless

The fact that the equipment & the parts make zero contact with vehicles is a major reassurance for yourself & your customers alike. The Laserwash 360 Plus’ design eliminates the concern for damage altogether, in comparison to a friction system that cleans using direct contact on the car for the majority of the wash cycle.

Organic Matter & Contaminants

Baked on bugs, dried bird pooh & lime dust are a test for any touchless on the market due to the lack of friction, (ironically also it’s biggest selling point). Very stubborn contaminants simply will not be as easily removed from a customer’s car without the use of friction. Even though those same customers are adamant they want a touchless wash! This is where consumer education & a great attendant make all the difference to your business. Simply guide customers on what to do in a self serve bay to loosen & remove these contaminants before using the touchless. Ensure customers know how to get an optimal clean of their vehicle depending on what’s on their exterior.

Less maintenance

The Laserwash 360 Plus has less moving parts, a wide-open wash bay & no contact with a vehicle. It’s sleek, innovative & friction-free design means you experience less wear & tear on the machine. Regular scheduled servicing & replacement of consumables ensures this machine is a tried & trusted work horse. Carwash World suggests servicing your equipment every 6 months & for some high-volume sites, every 3 months.

Chemical Monitoring

Being touchless, you’re relying on ensuring you have the optimum chemical delivery running alongside your high-pressure water at all times. This requires regular monitoring & titration testing to provide superior cleans. Friction washes can be a bit more set & forget in this area as the brushes do more of the work when it comes to dirt removal.

Downtime

Less moving parts & no contact add even further benefits over & above the minimal maintenance discussed above. The Laserwash 360 Plus machines overhead design has been refined & simplified further than other touchless designs. It incorporates an aircraft grade anodized aluminium bridge & main rails. Constructed of non-corrosive materials such as stainless & aluminium, with the welded manifolds replacing assemblies of fittings reducing leak points. Furthermore each design feature has been incorporated to decrease overheads & increase your ROI.

Consumer Perception for Vehicle Safety

Whether warranted or not, friction/brush car washes still have a reputation with customers for doing damage to paintwork. Brush technology has indeed come a long way. From hard plastics to now soft neoprene brushes, truth is these brushes still come into direct contact with a vehicle. If the brushes are not clean & maintained regularly, the likelihood of surface damage to paint is high. We see this often in some of the cheap & cheerful petrol station washes that don’t have dedicated staff regularly maintaining equipment to a high standard. A quick scroll of Google reviews of an array of different car wash businesses quickly highlights customer’s positive perception of touchless car washing & in particular the Laserwash, as a reliable & safe car washing option.

Ease of Use for Customers

Here’s a comparison of a Laserwash 360 Plus’ open, overhead wash bay versus a competitor’s design with ground rails. Any rollover style, friction or not, makes it much more narrow access for customers. These rails often come into contact with a vehicle’s tyres, causing damage to rims. Consequently this type of access can often be intimidating to both nervous, young or elderly drivers. In conclusion, it’s really important in a business where you are selling a service to limit any barriers to purchase. From uncomplicated entry units, simple payment solutions through to how easy it easy to drive into the wash bay.

Whilst this article does discuss the many benefits of touch-free cleaning, there is definitely times where brush washing can & will suit your business better. Car dealerships, fleet & commercial businesses often opt for brush cleaning as it’s more practical for their business model & end goals.

Got questions about anything Car Washing? Contact the team at Carwash World. We’ve got 35+ years car washing experience & we’re here to help.

If you want to check out some of our Recent Work – click this link.

If you want to see what our customers are saying about us – click this link.

January 28, 2018 carwash No Comments

Improving Customer Experience at your Car Wash

How owners can look at improving customer experience at your car wash.

2018 is well underway for the team at Carwash World. No doubt you’ve probably set yourself + your car wash business some new goals & milestones to achieve in the coming months. One of those goals will undoubtedly be how you can go about improving customer experience at your car wash.

Car Washing is a retail business & we’d encourage you to look at everything from your customers perspective.

iWash Vending Machine

Just because you know where everything is & how to operate it, doesn’t mean it’s that easy for your customers. Take a step back & do some people-watching to identify if everything is a seamless as you hope. You’ll be surprised to find that something you find very straight-forward, often confuses your end user.

It’s easy to forget some of the little details when you’re down & out busy, but the upkeep & presentation of your car wash is paramount.

Studies show that well maintained, tidy car washes are far less likely to experience vandalism & theft. Bright, inviting lighting makes people feel secure after hours & markets to people driving past. Quality security cameras will act as a deterrent for pointless vandalism & opportunistic thieves. Remember, no car lover wants to clean their car with dirty equipment in unkempt surroundings – it’s the equivalent of not wanting to eat from a restaurant when you can clearly see the kitchen is dirty & messy. I’ll pass on the food poisoning thanks!

Complete our Site Review Checklist to help you refresh & refocus for the New Year.

Download & print this Site Review Checklist. It’s recommended you perform a regular site ‘Walk Through’ by using this list (or one similar) to identify & rectify any items not up to scratch at your car wash . The implementation of daily, weekly & monthly lists gets you & your staff into a committed routine where improving the offer & experience of your customer is front of mind.

November 15, 2017 carwash No Comments

How to Take Care of Your Car Wash Equipment

How to take care of your Car Wash Equipment

Do you know how to take care of YOUR car wash equipment? The profitability of your car wash business is determined by how well your car wash equipment and tools are working. Therefore, maintenance is downright essential to keep them functioning for longer.

Needless to say your car wash tools and equipment are the backbone of your car wash business. Your business achieves customer satisfaction and profitability as long equipment is up and running.

Sadly, elements of car wash equipment are prone to break down and damages, given that they undergo heavy use. You never know when a component ceases to work in the middle of car cleaning, causing inconvenience to both you and your customer. It prompts you to pay a hefty repair bill every now and then and not to mention a huge loss in profits due to downtime.

Therefore, it is essential to take care of your car wash equipment to ensure uninterrupted function and minimal repairs. Simple maintenance tips can keep your car wash equipment functioning for longer. Here’s how…

Clean Your Car Wash Equipment Regularly:

Car cleaning equipment is in constant contact with dirt, grime, hard water and corrosion. It not only affects their functioning, but also shortens their life expectancy over the time. Make sure your attendants are cleaning everything down frequently.

Replace Worn Out or Old Parts:

Even a single worn-down hose can bring your entire car washing machinery to a halt. So it makes sense to replace worn out, damaged or corroded parts of the machinery as soon as possible. A quality part version ensures that you can deliver a better customer experience. Don’t forget if something is hard to use, chances are your customers are not happy.

Regular servicing by car wash professionals:

When you purchase your new car wash equipment you should be allocating funds for regular, scheduled maintenance by the supplier of your equipment. These technicians are well versed in how best to maintain and run these machines and will often be able to identify an issue before it turns into a breakdown.

Treat your new equipment like you would your car. You wouldn’t buy a new car and not have it serviced by a professional so this should be no different.

Give Special Attention to Heavily Used Equipment:

As we have said earlier the most exploited equipment is most likely to be worn out sooner. Therefore, you will have to clean, repair, replace such parts more often. Don’t wait for a hose to split, replace them on a regular roster to ensure they are always in working order.

Educate Your Staff:

Considering that car washing equipment is overseen by your staff most of the time, it makes sense to educate them about maintenance of the system. Apart from that, make sure to allocate attendants the maintenance duties of each specific piece of equipment. Companies like Prowash Australia offer a Carwashing 101 course that will help site owners get staff up to speed with things such as titration, water softening and much more.

With the help of these maintenance tips, you can keep your car washing equipment in function for longer with minimal breakdowns plus you can avoid expensive repair bills and hassles in the long run.

Hopefully these tips are helpful – feel free to Contact Us with any questions.

August 10, 2017 carwash No Comments

Touchless versus Brush Car Washing Equipment

Trying to research touchless versus brush car washing equipment? How do you choose which equipment is right for your Car Wash business & your customer? Here’s some tips.

June 20, 2017 carwash 1 Comment

The Ins & Outs of Starting a Car Wash Business

Before you enter into any sort of investment the most important thing is doing your due diligence. There’s a lot to consider & you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the right people on your team to ensure the whole process runs smoothly, on schedule & to budget. Here’s a brief snippet of some of the things you’ll need to consider & manage throughout the process.