When looking to start a car wash, you will need car wash equipment. Getting a car wash is a low maintenance business because self service car wash equipment means you will not have to do a lot. Many times other businesses such as car dealerships and gas stations will have their own car wash. Some of the largest costs include finding the land and equipment for the business. However, once this is accomplished, you will just need to deal with maintenance on the equipment and keep track of employees. Besides a stationary car wash, another option is to use mobile car wash equipment to cover a larger area.
Step 1. The Budget
Make sure you know the amount of money you are willing to spend on car wash equipment. There are new and used car wash equipment available. There are many different machines that come at varying prices. You need a budget, as it is very easy to spend more money than you wanted on equipment.
Step 2. Car Wash Type
The type of car wash you use will also make a difference to the type of equipment you need. A self service type of car wash normally uses a coin operated system. The soap is dispensed, and then the driver actually washes the car and rinses the soap off. There are rollovers or an in bay automatic car wash. The machine rolls over the car when it is parked in a washing bay. There is also full service available on a car wash where you are provided outside and inside cleaning.
Step 3. Equipment Choice
You need to determine the type of car wash equipment to use. Will you be using an automatic washing system that holds one car at a time? There are also car washes that work like long conveyor belts. You can wash more cars in a short amount of time this way. Besides the car wash, you may also want to have a few vacuum stations and tire pressure pumps on hand as well.
Step 4. Used Equipment
If you want to purchase used equipment, then there are several companies that specialize in this. One such company is Car Wash Consignment. Many times, companies that want to upgrade their equipment will sell their old machinery, and you can get excellent equipment for a great price. Normally these used machines will need little to no repairs. You can save a lot of money by purchasing used equipment.
Step 5. Brands
There are a lot of different brands available. Each brand will have different options and price points. You can contact these companies directly to find the distributors and retailers. It is fairly uncommon to find a nearby retail store for car wash machines. Research carefully and try to get user reviews on each brand, as some are recommended over others.
Step 6. Buying the Business
Another option is to purchase the entire business, which makes getting the equipment easy. The existing business will already have all the equipment you need. This can make things very easy, as the business is already established and you do not need to worry about finding allocation or buying the car wash equipment.