Home
>
Small Business
>
Self Serve Car Washes in the United States

Self Serve Car Washes in the United States

In the 2003 Auto Laundry News Survey it was determined that only 10% of the Coin-op Car Washes had a web site. So if you are doing lots of individual research on car washes that are self serve, do not expect to find a lot of data on the Internet. Owners of coin-op car washes say that only 76% have internet access. The average population is 64% in the US. Not much better, so this low tech sector of the Industry seems to remain un Tech. Only 15% of coin-ops surveyed took credit cards for tokens, machines or even concession machines. Of which 17% only claimed to have concession machines, which most feel are 1/3 of their income if they had them. Only 4% had drinking water fountains. 13% had added an in bay automatic in the last five years. 51% had more than one location.

Today I visited 3 car washes that were coin ops owned by the same person. One had seven bays, another had three bays and one automatic, another had a car wash in front with 4 bays and an automatic and another car wash in the back with 4 more coin-op bays. All had attendants and machines. The survey seemed to follow the study of today. 68% said they were in middle-income areas. Only 7-9% had more than 5 car wash sites from 2000-2003 surveys and generally they were not all in only one city. Those with automatic in bay units found that those inbay units generated a gross of $5,435.00 and The average costs including Equipment was nearly $2,000.00, with the average breakdown time 2 weeks per year. 15 days. Best season was winter for the industry. Spring was also considered very good. Noon to 7 pm were the best hours. Busiest day of week was Saturdays. Only 18% have attendants. 43% had part time attendants and mostly on weekends. Average monthly gross income per bay was $1300.

The units we visited today seem to be inline maybe slightly higher than this of the Auto Laundry News Survey. All surveyed said that 2002 they made less money than previous years, which would make sense due to the lesser amount of personal monies, less money flow in this recession and lower employment figures. Also things, which plague the industry, were droughts and water shortages, restrictions and public perception about water. 20% of all owners of coin-ops are thinking of building another one. 27% said they did have other self serves in their car wash area of marketing.

Average coin-op being built cost $226K in equipment and $300K in land and improvements. This is why we are not interested in talking to poor people who think they want to build a car wash and think they will not have to work once built. We have talked to people wishing to build car washes with $30,000 down payment and think that they can build it for $45,000 I have to tell you judging by what we have learned and this survey you would not even be close.

Even with an SBA loan you need 20% down, so you would need $100K to do the deal if everything went right in most cities of any population base worthy of a good volume business. The Survey had some interesting thoughts, which said the average vacuum coin-op made $.20 per minute and each bay made $.38 per minute. We hoped you enjoyed this review of the survey to get the actual survey go to the Auto Laundry News Magazine web site.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.worldthinktank.net/wttbbs

recurring maid service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

The iconic Mary Kay pink Cadillac goes electric with the Cadillac Optiq, available only to the company's top 1% of sales force performers.

Cybercriminals abuse trusted Intel driver to gain kernel access and shut down Windows Defender, enabling undetected malware deployment since July 2025.

Using email aliases for online shopping and subscriptions can protect your privacy by preventing companies from linking your activity across websites.

New research shows AI overlap does not equal job replacement, with knowledge-based roles seeing most integration while physical jobs remain least affected.

Scammers target seniors who avoid social media by exploiting public records like obituaries and real estate filings to steal personal information and money

Recovery team in Italy use AI-enabled drones to detect missing hiker's red helmet, leading to successful recovery after months of ground searches

Google Salesforce system breach exposes business data while scammers use incident to target users with fake security calls and phishing attempts.

Google announces Pixel 10 lineup with Tensor G5 chip and Gemini Nano AI, introducing Magic Cue, Pro Res Zoom up to 100x and satellite emergency support features.

C San Diego study reveals 86% of school safety companies monitor students 24/7 on personal devices, raising privacy concerns.

Users can now add their favorite outlets' coverage to the Top Stories section of Google search results by utilizing the 'preferred sources' feature. With just a few clicks, you can add Fox News.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS shows an unexpected frontal glow that Harvard's Avi Loeb says cannot be explained by sunlight reflection or standard cometary outgassing.

Receiving order confirmations for purchases you never made could mean your email address is being exploited in fraud operations targeting multiple retailers.

First wireless brain implant works with Apple's official protocol, enabling hands-free control of iPhones, iPads and Vision Pro through thought alone.

Data brokers sell personal details that scammers use to target retirement funds through fake financial advisor calls and convincing phishing attempts

Ten innovative tech solutions from gait sensors to smart pill dispensers help adults 65+ track fall risks and prevent injuries before they happen.

Meta AI internal documents revealed chatbots were allowed to flirt with children and engage in romantic conversations until the company was exposed by Reuters.

ChatGPT will avoid giving direct mental health advice under new OpenAI rules following instances where the AI model provided harmful or misleading responses.

Your phone tracks you in more ways than that little GPS icon suggests. Here’s how to find and clear hidden location logs on iPhone and Android.

Authorities in France and the Netherlands have been notified. Meanwhile, impacted customers are being told to stay alert.

Apple just rolled out a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature to specific models, following a recent victory in a legal dispute.

Kidney dialysis provider DaVita experienced a ransomware breach by the Interlock gang affecting 916,000 people in the second-largest U.S. healthcare attack of 2025.

A Chinese-made Unitree R1 robot walked Manhattan streets and shopped for shoes as part of KraneShares' $28 million AI robotics fund promotion campaign.

The ShinyHunters cybercriminal group breached Google's Salesforce system through vishing attacks, stealing business contact details and customer data.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Self Serve Car Washes in the United States

Small Business