A car wash project is a business that provides cleaning and maintenance services for vehicles. As the number of vehicles owned by households increases and vehicle owners have a greater need to keep their vehicles clean and shined, the automotive aftermarket has developed and the demand for car wash services has also increased.
The success of a car wash depends on several factors including effective marketing, good service, competitive charging fees, a great location, and customer satisfaction. But before you enter the car washing machine market, you may have questions about this type of business, such as should I consider a hand car wash shop or an automatic car wash shop? Since there are many types of car washing machines, how to choose the one that suites me? How much space is needed? How long does it take to recover the cost of investing in a car washing machine? How many employees are needed? Based on our more than 30 years of car wash manufacturing experience and the actual experience sharing of successful users, we give the suggestions as follows, hope to help you open a successful car wash shop.
1. If your investment budget is less than US$30,000, we recommend opening a hand car wash shop first to test market feedback, accumulate a customer base, and reduce the risks caused by blind investment in equipment. If it is possible to ensure that 30 cars can be washed stably every day, you can consider adding a rollover car washing machine or a touchless car washing machine in the future. After installing the car washing machine, the car washing efficiency can be increased by at least 3 times.
If you don’t need to consider the budget, there are many options for site selection. It is recommended to directly invest in a fully automatic car washing machine. The rollover car wash machine can wash at least 100 cars a day, and the tunnel car washer can wash more than 300 cars continuously. For customers in developing countries, we do not recommend touchless car washers because touchless car washers rely on acidic and alkaline car wash chemicals to achieve a good car wash effect. If there is no touchless car wash machine special use car wash chemicals, want to achieve a good car wash effect with neutral chemicals is very difficult, even if it looks clean to the naked eye, if you wipe the car body surface with your hands, your hands will still be black because dust is electrostatically adsorbed on the car body surface and cannot be washed clean by high-pressure water alone.
2. For customers who want to install a fully automatic car washing machine, how to choose a suitable car washing machine? It is still divided into the developed markets and developing country markets. Car washing machines in developed countries have developed very early, and there are many manufacturers of supporting chemical liquids. Customers can choose rollover, tunnel or touchless according to their preferences, site size, and traffic flow near the site; but in developing countries, we only recommend the rollover type and tunnel type. Urban construction in developing countries is still under development, and the air/road environment is not ideal. Fully automatic car washers are still in the initial stage of development, and there are few suppliers of supporting machines use chemical liquids. Therefore, for consumers, the first thing to consider is cleaning under the premise of ensuring cleaning safety. Based on this background, equipment with soft touch brushes is the only choice.
Nowadays, more and more customers are importing car wash machines from China, but in recent years many small car wash machine manufacturers have sprung up. They focus on low prices, but it is difficult for foreign customers to distinguish the quality of car wash machines only from websites or videos. However, there are still suppliers that insist on making high-quality car washers, such as the factories that TOPWELL cooperates with. We are committed to providing customers with the most stable and timely after-sales car washers. We will not be the cheapest, but we must be the best in China. We can recommend suitable equipment models according to customer needs, design the layout plan basic on different sites, and customize car wash plans according to special requirements. Based on our experience of exporting to more than 40 countries, we will help you successfully launch a car wash shop.
3. Choose the right location. The location of your car wash is critical to the success of your project. When selecting a site, factors such as accessibility, traffic flow, site visibility, and available parking spaces should be considered. The location should also be selected in an area with a large customer base, such as a bustling business district, gas station, large supermarket, or near a highway. When customers happen to see your car wash shop while consuming other services, they will come up with the idea of washing their cars by the way, stimulating customers’ desire to consume.
4. Based on the background of the previous site traffic flow survey, our car washing machine customers recovered the investment in the car washing machine within one year. The customer with the fastest payback on the tunnel machine used it for less than six months (washing over 400 cars per day). All calculations are based on the daily car wash volume.
5. The number of employees in a fully automatic car wash shop depends on the location of the shop. In some shops, in addition to cleaning the exterior with machines, attendants will clean the inside after coming out from the machine; in some car wash shops, attendants will hold high-pressure water guns or tire cleaners before the vehicle enters the car wash machine, to do a pre-clean. According to the busy situation of the car wash shop, and cleaning target of the shop, the number of staff will be increased or reduced. Normally, it will start with 2 employees.
6. Marketing and Advertising. Developing a marketing and advertising strategy is important to attract and retain customers. This includes promoting your express car wash service, establishing a positive brand, promoting membership card discounts on car washes, etc. to attract new customers and retain old customers. Consider using various marketing channels, such as social media and email marketing, to reach your target market.
7. Staff training and service with a smile. Make customers feel enthusiastic and they will convey this enthusiasm to their friends.
