Autopia type car wash business

Wash_Me · 02-01-04, 01:07

I was thinking about trying to open a fix location car wash business where I only do hand washing. There is only one guy here in town that does this on a small scale but I want to do it on a large to medium scale, maybe something like 50 to 100 cars a day. I want to do it the autopia way with micro-fiber towels, clean wash mitts for every car and the best equipment to do the job right. I been trying to find some web sites of business that have done this but I have been unable to find any yet.

Scottwax · 02-01-04, 01:15

You know how labor intensive hand washing 50-100 cars a day would be?

Wash_Me · 02-01-04, 01:59

I would have to hire some help and set up a production line.

ZaneO · 02-01-04, 02:13

You are going to have to have huge amounts of capital to invest in supplies, equipment, and labor to keep up with that many people each day.

Plus, I really don't think that 50 - 100 people per day is a reality for a client base, but who knows.

Good luck to you!

Jimmy Buffit · 02-01-04, 03:05

I sincerely doubt that you could do that volume AND maintain "Autopian" quality.

Plus, is there really a demand?

K_Csaxo · 02-01-04, 03:29

it sounds like one hell of a challenge if you decide to go for it, best of luck.

ajbarnes · 02-01-04, 04:17

Quote:

Originally posted by jimamary
I sincerely doubt that you could do that volume AND maintain "Autopian" quality.

Agreed.

VERY hard to maintain. Unless you have several people working for you.

You could make the same amount that a car wash does with doing 50-100 cars a day running cars through automated machines by you doing 10-20 cars by hand the Autopia way. Automated car washes charge as low as $2.00 a wash, autopia type charge $20 and up. Even for my exterior wash only, I charge $12-$25+. For full car washes, I charge $25-$45. It's all about the quality to price ratio.

Good luck which ever way you go.

Wash_Me · 02-01-04, 08:19

I am for the most part just seeing what you guys thought about the idea. If I could every get this off the ground it would be a few years before I could open. The automated car washes here do a horrible job but they are always a line of cars waiting to get wash. I was thinking if I could get $20 per car or close to it I would be making $1000 to $2000 in sales a day. I know I'll need at least 4 helpers that care and a great location for the business.

madazskunk · 02-01-04, 09:01

yes there is always a line at automatic carwashes because they're quik and convenient. I don't think you'll be able to get 50-100 a day who would be willing to wait for you to do an autopian type wash.JMO

Scottwax · 02-01-04, 09:27

Some automated car washes also offer a hand wash for an extra charge.

sonnydaze1 · 02-02-04, 05:10

50 -100 cars a day by hand; i don't think yoou're being very realistic. especially with wanting to do an Autopian style wash. just recently my crew and i did 30 cars in 14hours by hand and we barely got that done. i had three of my 4 workers and myself hand wash, vacuum, clean all glass and dress tires on all 30 cars and they were anything but Autopian style washes. we were on a tight timeline - worked from 7pm on a Friday nite and absolutely had to have all of them done by 9am the next morning. we finished the last one at exactly 9am and were completely out of supplies by that time. that said, i still don't think it's possible to do that many cars by hand in a day - everyday! oh yeah! we didn't take any breaks either.

Wash_Me · 02-02-04, 08:17

I am starting to see the light it take me about 1 hour to wash one car. So if I had two helpers on one car I could get about 16 cars done in a eight hours, it would take a army of helpers to do 50 cars.