Hand wash building for 280k? Yes or no kinda scared

Q

quamen

New member
Myself and my neighbor who would be my partner are thinking about buying a building that was a car wash, but went out of business. It went out of business because the way it was ran. The building needs to be cleaned up, they were very unorganized, didnt do a good job etc. The buidling is located on one of the most popular and most congested parts of Stroudsburg PA. It is the location that makes this building key, but im just worried about diving it to quick. I would basically running the whole show and my neighbor would help out when he has time. He works full time in the City and makes a great deal of money, and doesnt really expect much back from this. He just wants to fix it up, help out, and make the place the best car wash in town. We would split what we would make, but the one of the other problems is how much can u actually make.



I really dont know how many cars can be washed by hand per hour, so my employee rate may run high. The buidling cost would only be about 1500 hundred a month which isnt bad, but the payroll may kill me cause I would need I assume 5-6 guys working since it is a hand car wash to get the cars in and out. I dont really think im ready to take on this challenge, even with my knowledge of detailing just for the fact Im not experienced in the car wash business, but wow how nice would it be.



The building itself is huge and has lots of potential. My neighbor since he is the head of DOT for the NYC bridges, he gets all the equipment such as compressors,pressure washers, buffers,vacs and other stuff for free!! So a lift would go in and top of the line equipment can be gotten for free which is a plus. Also employees are hard to find that want to work hard and reliable another problem. Suggestions?
 
Why not keep it as a car wash, they seem to do well these days in my area at $11.99 for a basic wash. I don't think it's likely that you would get enough money to cover all your expenses, not at least till you build a big clientle list. Maybe a boutique expensive hand wash operation that goes the extra distance in quality. Payroll can be expensive and down here they use a lot of illegals to keep costs down but even then, finding honest hard working employees in any field is tough. I know I have a hard enough time filling jobs approaching 100K and not once have I asked them to wash my car.
 
The place sounds pretty nice and I just got and idea after reading about it. It would be really cool if there was a detail place like the one you described with nobody else but Autopians working there. That would be the best car wash in town and a great gathering place for other Autopians to learn and help out. Just a thought and only a thought.
 
This could be a costly venture once you consider all the other costs such as insurance, energy, water, materials. Are you looking to make it a quick wash or a thorough wash? Generally, most people will be willingly to pay anywhere in the $5-$10 range for a good quick wash with a dry and window cleaning after (it's the personal service that adds to the price.. anyone can go to a touchless wash and pay $5 for a pretreat,soap,rinse,spotless dry,air dry, but it isn't going to be thorough).



If you're going to make it a hand wash, it would probably be worthwhile to make it a full detail shop, since most people don't really see the difference between a quick wash and a hand wash unless the car comes out looking 10x better.



You shouldn't find a problem getting workers, but ones that are going to take the precaution to ensure the paint's safety will be tough to get. It's easy to be careful when washing a single car, but when you have 10 or 20 coming in a day, people tend to slack off. I think your best bet would be to find some high school or college people that enjoy working around cars, and you can usually train them well and most are reliable (they'll probably work for min wage too).
 
Sounds like it could be a great opportunity but, as with any business, you’ll need to do a lot of homework and come up with a solid business plan before diving in.





PC.
 
You don't need to know all the answers. (It would help, but then nobody does.) Get yourself someone who is good in business, somebody who has run their own successful business, and get their advice.



As truzoom points out, you need to define your niche -- quick wash or high-end detail? There's a place near me that does quick wash + medium-level detail shop ($50 wax + interior clean), but I wouldn't let them wax my car. (I do have them wash from time to time.)



You need to have someone who has run a business go through with you and do a reality check on your estimates of how many cars you can wash, employees you will need, etc. You can get lots of good ideas from the folks here, but what you really need is someone to sit down with you for a couple days and add up the numbers. When I was running a consulting business the best thing I did was get a business coach. We met weekly for two hours and multiplied our sales ten times in a year.
 
JamesLA said:
You need to have someone who has run a business go through with you and do a reality check on your estimates of how many cars you can wash, employees you will need, etc. You can get lots of good ideas from the folks here, but what you really need is someone to sit down with you for a couple days and add up the numbers. When I was running a consulting business the best thing I did was get a business coach. We met weekly for two hours and multiplied our sales ten times in a year.
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A lot of people overlook the free (or nearly free) resources in thier town as well. Go to your Chamber of Commerece and see if they have a 'retired executives' program (in South Carolina, it was called SCORE-South Carolina Organization of Retired Executives). It is just what it sounds like-retired executives that put on seminars and will even do one-on-one coaching for new businesses. I met with a few of them when I first started my business and they were an invaluable local resource-not just for business advice but for contacts as well. I think my only *cost* was a small membership fee ($25) and buying a few lunches. For the most part, these are guys that were sucessful CEOs and business owners that just enjoy the challenges of business and like to help out new businesses and give them something to do after they retire.
 
I've been thinking about the same concept for some time. Your partner will want a reasonable (monthly/annual) return on his investment, but I'd guess that his real goal is to enjoy the appreciation of the real estate, over time.



I know things in NY (and Chicago, Vegas, etc.) are done "differently", but if you are aware of his "appropriation" of equipment, you may want to stay away from any sort of ownership (no matter how small). Take bonuses in lieu of ownership. Then, you can't be implicated if a State Audit (heaven forbid!) shows some inequities...



I'm sorta surprised that mine are the 1st comments about the NY State 'grant' of gratis equipment!



I have some additional thoughts, perhaps I'll have more time later...



I'd do it, but I'd tread lightly...



Jim
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
I'm sorta surprised that mine are the 1st comments about the NY State 'grant' of gratis equipment!
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You may have been the first comment, but don't think we weren't thinking about it. I worked in NY City and dealt with State agencies. If this guy cares about his hefty, upcoming pension, he'd think twice about his "grant"!!



In any regard, good luck with the pursuit. :xyxthumbs
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
I've been thinking about the same concept for some time. Your partner will want a reasonable (monthly/annual) return on his investment, but I'd guess that his real goal is to enjoy the appreciation of the real estate, over time.



I know things in NY (and Chicago, Vegas, etc.) are done "differently", but if you are aware of his "appropriation" of equipment, you may want to stay away from any sort of ownership (no matter how small). Take bonuses in lieu of ownership. Then, you can't be implicated if a State Audit (heaven forbid!) shows some inequities...



I'm sorta surprised that mine are the 1st comments about the NY State 'grant' of gratis equipment!



I have some additional thoughts, perhaps I'll have more time later...



I'd do it, but I'd tread lightly...



Jim
Click to expand...





Good advice and something to think long and hard about .





Now on the carwash . Why not keep it a car wash and add detailing services to it . The way carwashes make money is in volume and by the sounds of it this place can do some . Your location is the key part of how well your going to do. I doubt very much there's any other washes in Stroudsburg. BTW is this the Stroudsburg in Lancaster Co or up by the Water Gap ? If your interested in this venture contact me , I can help point you to some usefull carwash info.



Good luck

Jerry
 
Make it a car wash but then also add some detail bays so you can upsell customers. Turn a $12 or $15 wash into a $50 wax... or a $90 interior cleaning (or whatever prices you have to charge).



Build the business to do consistent and good work and you will build a good reputation. If it's a popular corner, then everyone in that area will see your business and learn your name.



You will have trouble finding employees because not many people will want to do hard labor for not a lot of money and your employee turnover rate is going to be pretty high. I'd say you'll probably want to hire a few people to work in the detail bay and pay them more. The people working the handwash line you can pay less and you can teach them to do quality work. Have one supervisor to make sure each car coming from them is up to standards. My friend use to have that position at a car wash he worked out.



I'd start researching now and see if any companies have information that can help you. Email Bud from Detail Plus. Some people don't like him but he seems to understand the business side of running a shop better than most. He's sent me some really good .pdfs in the past on marketing, building a name for yourself, and workers comp. Might also want to consider investing in the class from AutoInt. They seem to teach you good systems on how to do a job quick but with the quality still there. You can then share it with your employees. Consider it an investment.



Make sure you pay yourself for the amount of work you do. I bet you'll feel pretty bitter if you're there everyday working to build a business and your friend barely helps and at the end of every month takes 50%. Maybe decide how much each of you should 'earn' when you're working at the business and then you split the profit ontop of it.



Also, make sure you get yourself enough time to build up the business too. Two years at least.



There is a lot to do but I wish I had that kind of opportunity to get a fixed location on a busy street. There is a lot of potential. Heck, build a succesfull business and 5 years down the road sell it for profit. There are investors out there who like to buy already established businesses and build them up even more.
 
make sure in any joint venture that your goals are the same and legal documents are drawn up to protect you both.
 
Amen to Kanchou's comment ... and don't forget to include in your documents what happens when you want to separate/end the partnership ... who gets the equipment, who gets the business name, who gets the cash ... there's so much more, that's why you absolutely must sit with someone who has done this and go through everything.
 
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