Pricing Formula and what a Willing Buyer would pay for a Newly build a self-service combined with automatic car wash”
In a previous article I talked about the Older Coin Operated Car Washes, consumer-driven changes, cash flow, multiples of earning regarding valuation and purchase pricing. Then we discussed self-service combined with automatic car washes and their valuation and pricing.
What about the costs to build one?
The first challenge of course is finding an ideal spot. Location, location, location.
You will find this is actually pretty difficult. If the location is ideal, others are looking at it too. That means negotiating. Winning the location for a self-service combined with automatic car wash instead of a Wendy’s or Cabela’s can get pretty intense… and expensive.
Here is my Professional input: it takes on average about 3 years to plan, obtain the permit and zoning and actual build. You need to be prepared to invest this much of your life into it before you open the business. Next there is the Grand Opening. Be prepared to operate in the red until enough customers are attracted and become regulars.
Real estate prices varies so much from town to town, state to state, but on average , existing self-service car washes combined with automatic car washes have sold from between $500,000 to $2,000,000.
So compare your planning and building and equipping and marketing and start-up costs, then add the value your time andthe “time value of money” – on balance, if there is one for sale in your vicinity and it looks and smells good… it is generally much better to buy an established car wash and have immediate cash flow than build from scratch.
In reality, the real reason a person or a company builds new is because they can not find a good one for sale. Thank goodness someone is still building new ones or there would be no others for sale into the future! (This applies across the board to almost all kinds and types of businesses)
Again, let me state, this is where you would be greatly benefited from having a Certified Valuation by a Pro who know enough about this to write just such a BLOG(s) as you’ve just read!