BIL is considering and I'm getting the feeling he's going to ask me to invest. In an eastTN market, so I'm not the most knowledgeable about the towns demographics, etc.

Anyone here in the business or have suggestions for dillegence questions? He's already spoken to a couple of owners in different markets (one FL and another a couple of towns over), and seems pretty optimistic.

My BIL was very close to pulling the trigger in the Keller, Tx area. I think he had $750k lined up but then the company decided they wanted the owner to do a lube station as well and that's when he bowed out because I think it required double the investment and a lot more liability. Seems it's all about location and as long as gas prices stay low then they're a pretty hot item. I know the last time gas shot up, one of the first things to go was people paying to get their car washed.

This made me laugh. Appreciate that.

Why Full instead of Express?
So much easier with the minimal labor of Express. Plus, more opportunities to sell once stabilized. Couple of the big CW companies growing rapidly.

Cooter00 said:

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Why Full instead of Express?
So much easier with the minimal labor of Express. Plus, more opportunities to sell once stabilized. Couple of the big CW companies growing rapidly.

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Maybe it is express. We haven't talked about the model extensively, and I'm not sure I fully understand nuance between the two honestly, but he painted the picture of a Drew's here in College Station. Is that express or full service?

Drew's looks to be express. You have a couple workers to help guide you in the car wash and make sure you don't have anything sticking out that will get lopped off (or previous damage).

After that, you get a token to vacuum yourself.

These things look to be a money making machine if you get a good area. The one in West U is constantly packed.

Drew's has free vacuuming you do yourself, but they have hand drying and wheel/tire polishing if you pay for the premium wash level. Quasi full-service or semi-express?

no idea...I was just looking at the pics.

My idea of express is having a couple employees to watch the place and address and maintenance issues, but they're not touching the cars.

I think of full service like Mr. Carwash or a hand washing place, where you have a dozen or so people working on the cars, a full service indoor lobby, etc.

Got it. Sounds like the it's somewhere in between a la Drew's here in CS.

If there is a large demand for full service, then I could see having a few extra people out there. You don't have to pay them much as they are tipped pretty well.

I just like the minimal labor needs that the express model offers. You can also get cars in and out a lot faster if they're limited to a one minute vacuum in most cases.

We have a new Express type by me. $8 for the cheapest it $15/month for unlimited. I've got the unlimited and go 3-4x per month. They have a ton of bays to vacuum with nice damp towels as well.

Appears to be all extended family/friends working there and likely long hours as I pretty much always see the same guys.

Having the recurring revenue has to be awesome for them. They require 30 days notice to cancel.

I wish we had Drew's in Houston. Its vacuums are so much better than anything in my area.

It seems these car washes and ERs ate popping up everywhere.

You are describing Express (tunnel car wash)
Full service is lot of labor, like detailing.
Flex is Express with extra labor for add-on services.
Express is great cash flow. Key is to get membership up to ~50% of revenue. Right location, traffic counts, # of washes in area, etc.
Length of tunnel determines wash volume capacity. Have seen a wash that does 300K cars, $1M ebitda.

Cooter00 said:

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You are describing Express (tunnel car wash)
Full service is lot of labor, like detailing.
Flex is Express with extra labor for add-on services.
Express is great cash flow. Key is to get membership up to ~50% of revenue. Right location, traffic counts, # of washes in area, etc.
Length of tunnel determines wash volume capacity. Have seen a wash that does 300K cars, $1M ebitda.

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Yes, thank you. Looking for insights from those in this business or who have invested. Like you said, location, traffic counts, etc, but what are some of the numbers we should be looking at here? What's the right trade space for tunnel length vs cost for the land?