I live in Phoenix and my dad owned and operated three growing up, down to one now. They are a lot of work and of course people will steal anything not bolted down. Great work so far
Yes. My dad used to be in the car wash business, ran 3 or 4 owned by my grandpa. One was repossessed, two were sold, one was torn down to make way for an office building. No more car washes. Lots of crime. People love to steal quarters.
Nice to see an owner working to improve the reliability of the equipment for a better customer experience. It appears that the new equipment will provide a higher level of pressure to the wands. Great job owner and your customers will appreciate the improved reliability and pressure. You will likely see an increase your customers at the location.
As a person that uses self service car washes regularly I can tell you one thing I always look for is a car wash that takes cards at both the bays and vacuums.
I come from a self service car wash family, we sold all of ours years ago. It’s not really a viable business model any longer. They are more work than you think and the return on investment just isn’t there any more. Too many multi million dollar tunnels with free vacs.
@@Veritas419they are all leveraged financially and are expensive to run. Majority will be out of business by the end of the decade and less expensive self service will be back in vain.
Just something i'd like to point out with self serve carwashes not every one is looking for a full wash. some times we want to clean floor mats for like 2 mins. If time is cut down on one bay and is programed to start on bills or coins only with 2 or 3 min for $1,00 or $1.50 and a card reader being what ever the start price is for your other bay's for electronic payment price I've been to places that start at $1 and go up to $3 for self serve either for a quick touch up or to get what automatics miss.
Brother! Appreciate you so much for being consistent with the uploads! Looking forward to future videos. Currently shopping around for a car wash in the tampa area. Thank again.
None of the self serve car washes where I live are coin operated. You go through a gate after paying 10 bucks with your CC or cash and its unlimited time. They also have a dog wash on the side. Although I have never seen a dog being washed while I was there. Would be handy though. The places are well maintained so it must be working financially for the owners.
Man I hate those coin boxes from KR. I just remodeled a 4 bay wash and I inherited those and I don't understand why they don't have hinges. Makes it difficult to clear a qtr jam which as you know is part of the business.
I manage 3 carwashes. The vacuum door issue is a fact! If they’re not locked customers will not be able to use use. Loose suction power. Most people don’t look to make sure it’s good to go, they just grab the hose then put the money in. They barely ever read any signs posted
I drive by the $4 coin op that have 5 settings and cold water To the $6 coin op that has 8 settings And hot and soft water ----- The little extra road grease and dirt comes off And the wax applies properly The finish always comes out better
thats a long day, no doubt. If you want it to look nicer, I would repaint and clean up the concrete around there. It looks gnarly, but so do all carwashes.
i still find it wierd to see all the cash machines, living in sweden we dont see that many cash machines anymore, everything is paid for by card. Gonna follow this channel, you seam like a cool guy :)
@@xtreambackman for sure. in germany we dont have the "option" to clean our cars in our driveway, illegal and stuff cause of polutung the water and shit, but i mean just the option to chill at these places take some photos and stuff. thats whats cool about them u know? not sure about the burnout marks tho...
Liked before it even started. Looking forward to this.. Thinking hard about a 2 bay on the second busiest intersection in my state that's not an interstate.
Could you share all the suppliers you use for all the equipment and materials to run a car wash? Either share here a list or a link to a video if you covered that already. Thanks for sharing all your experiences with running and fixing your car washes.
Do you think it would help to have stickers on the vacuums saying something like waste compartment or something so they don't think it holds anything valuable. ?
hey car wash chronicles im planning on buying a carwash within the next few months with no experience and im watching your videos to learn the basic, and i was wondering if theres a certain place/website that u order your equipment such as the money exchange or new motors or the supplys at 7:00 etc and what ppl do u call to install the new equipment
As a 20 year wash technician the polly line will last just as long as the braided hose an dont put the ro tank on the roof you will get bacteria and mold growing in the tank with no cl2 to kill it off and have issues with clogging the selonoids
Not sure the difference in all the pipes you could you use to pipe from equipment room to each bay, but could you use other materials like pex pipe that is used in home plumbing? Are there any alternatives you would suggest especially for areas that fall below freezing outside?
I don't know why I find car washes so interesting but I've been wanting to get one. Just need the investment to get into one is the thing stopping me. Hate to put money into one and not be able to pay off the loans lol. Fun channel, have my sub and likes!
I wish. The area my car washes are in and the people going through them are not all there and don’t read my signs. They break things just for fun. Trust me I tried
Is there a reason you didn't use an up to date credit card/cash box? Im in MD and almost all self-service washes take cards as well as cash/coins. Some have a set amount they charge per swipe and one allows you to swipe and use it for as long as needed and charges you whatever the screen says when you press stop. It does have an $18 max per use, probably just in case someone forgets to hit stop twice (once stops the water flow and twice to stop the time and end the wash).
If someone vacuums up something they don't want to lose.... they want to get it back. Locks, doors, etc. will not stop them. I'd advise putting some type of number or something for a person to contact if that happens. If there is nobody on site and nobody to contact..... I'm going to take a prybar to door to get my stuff back.
He has foam guns in his other washes, theres a self serve 15 minutes from my home which was the first one countrywide to have triple colored foam. And other than effect the foam does have a cleaning ability its usually around pH 10,5 to 11 but some also use neutral foam. Professionals actually use snow foam for detailing and cleaning cars
I find it fascinating that for some reason, US was way before Europe when it came to credit-/debit cards and tap instead of swipe. But for a thing like this they expect people to withdraw cash, then change to quarters, then pay in a machine when everything could easily be solved with a card reader. Badabing, no more issues collecting cash, worring about thefts. Although - then it's obviously harder to hide it from the IRS :D At least in Sweden, it's basically impossible to use cash for car washes. It's either card or start from app (!)
All forms are best. If I go cashless and just cards then the customers that WANT to pay cash will go else where. If you’re familiar with south tucson not everyone wants to or even has credit cards. Have to think about the customer not just myself
@@CarWashChronicles Oh don't get me wrong. It's just an outside view from a society that has more or less abandoned cash and relies on cards and/or mobile apps for most of everything :) Personally I haven't touched any kind of cash since like 5-10 years ago
Man if I won the lottery I'd love to do this but tile over all the stone walls with some type of bright and sturdy tile and install super bright hexagon lights above like people are putting into car garages.
@@CarWashChronicles oh I don’t own a car wash (I wish😄) I’m just suggesting it so if people accidentally vacuum something up they can get it out but then the door will automatically close. Probably a good idea even with a lock in case someone cuts it then it’ll still automatically keep the door closed. No disrespect intended btw, just trying to give constructive feedback sometimes it’s difficult to portray tone online 😅
Btw I’m loving your attention to detail on this project, you’re obviously a very capable businessman and jack of all trades with experience to back it up. You earned yourself a subscription 😊
Not trying to criticize or anything, since I don't own a carwash, but just from a business persepctive, why are you replacing all of that equiptment? Was it all non-functional? Thanks
I’m just curious why when you’re renovating like this, you don’t put in credit card readers. The inconvenience of dealing with quarters is the biggest drawback of a car wash like this. We had one here in Miami and I just quit going to it because of that one issue.
Why throw stuff away? You should make some kind of wooden box, lavel it scrap metal free and leave it out in the open someplace. It will get taken by professional scrappers. You will also get them as regular customers.
I've never understood the foam brushes. Yeah they look fun and foamy, but they are about the worst way you could wash your car, especially at a public car wash. A one-way ticket to swirls and microscratches on your car
At least in my area these types of car washes don't make any sense anymore. Instead we have drive-thru car washes with vacuum stalls aggressively priced unlimited $15 per month memberships.
I live in Phoenix and my dad owned and operated three growing up, down to one now. They are a lot of work and of course people will steal anything not bolted down. Great work so far
All true! Let it go for a day or two and the place starts falling apart. Thanks
Yes. My dad used to be in the car wash business, ran 3 or 4 owned by my grandpa. One was repossessed, two were sold, one was torn down to make way for an office building. No more car washes. Lots of crime. People love to steal quarters.
Americans in a nutshell.
@@WheeledHamster thief’s in a nut shell
Were is it located
I owned self service car washes for 15 years and my Dad for 40. This brings back memories that’s for sure.
Awesome!
Man you should have kept those green crates instead of throwing them away they are great for organizing your small parts.
I like the boxes that take credit cards. So much easier than pumping quarters in every few minutes. Just swipe your card, and wash til you’re done.
Yeah. Can’t wait to get mine on
Nice to see an owner working to improve the reliability of the equipment for a better customer experience. It appears that the new equipment will provide a higher level of pressure to the wands.
Great job owner and your customers will appreciate the improved reliability and pressure. You will likely see an increase your customers at the location.
As a person that uses self service car washes regularly I can tell you one thing I always look for is a car wash that takes cards at both the bays and vacuums.
You should run hot water, it cleans better, or even have an option for it that charges extra
Holy Crap! I remember this carwash from my days living in Tucson when I went to U of A in the late 80’s!
Proves how old it is haha. That’s cool.
This was all one day!!!! You’re the man!
Hell of a day 👌🏻
Looking forward to this! Thanks for the detailed videos learning so much as I'm scouting for washes!
I come from a self service car wash family, we sold all of ours years ago. It’s not really a viable business model any longer. They are more work than you think and the return on investment just isn’t there any more. Too many multi million dollar tunnels with free vacs.
@@Veritas419they are all leveraged financially and are expensive to run. Majority will be out of business by the end of the decade and less expensive self service will be back in vain.
I am loving watching you get this new car wash set up!
Just something i'd like to point out with self serve carwashes not every one is looking for a full wash. some times we want to clean floor mats for like 2 mins. If time is cut down on one bay and is programed to start on bills or coins only with 2 or 3 min for $1,00 or $1.50 and a card reader being what ever the start price is for your other bay's for electronic payment price I've been to places that start at $1 and go up to $3 for self serve either for a quick touch up or to get what automatics miss.
Brother! Appreciate you so much for being consistent with the uploads! Looking forward to future videos. Currently shopping around for a car wash in the tampa area.
Thank again.
Why wouldn’t you paint the place first
I love this stuff dude. Nice work documenting! You know I have a bit of background in renovating a car wash as well 😜
I learned from watching you! 😉
Is it difficult to get the equipment supplier to finance the equipment? What do the terms usually look like?
None of the self serve car washes where I live are coin operated. You go through a gate after paying 10 bucks with your CC or cash and its unlimited time. They also have a dog wash on the side. Although I have never seen a dog being washed while I was there. Would be handy though. The places are well maintained so it must be working financially for the owners.
Cool, looking forward to more videos on this.
Man I hate those coin boxes from KR. I just remodeled a 4 bay wash and I inherited those and I don't understand why they don't have hinges. Makes it difficult to clear a qtr jam which as you know is part of the business.
I agree with what you said about the R.O. machines. Great content.
Thanks Billy
Put valves on the gauges. Keep it closed when not using them. That will protect the gauges from surges, thus prolonging their life.
Sweet never thought about it owning a small carwash😊 god bless keep it up brother
I manage 3 carwashes. The vacuum door issue is a fact! If they’re not locked customers will not be able to use use. Loose suction power. Most people don’t look to make sure it’s good to go, they just grab the hose then put the money in. They barely ever read any signs posted
You know!!!!! Finally someone who gets it. 👏🏻
I drive by the $4 coin op that have 5 settings and cold water To the $6 coin op that has 8 settings And hot and soft water ----- The little extra road grease and dirt comes off And the wax applies properly The finish always comes out better
Great job! Nice meeting you the other day!
Thanks for sharing the start of the upgrade, interesting to see what operate the car wash. 🚗🚙🛻
thats a long day, no doubt. If you want it to look nicer, I would repaint and clean up the concrete around there. It looks gnarly, but so do all carwashes.
i still find it wierd to see all the cash machines, living in sweden we dont see that many cash machines anymore, everything is paid for by card.
Gonna follow this channel, you seam like a cool guy :)
every carwash owner should be friended with the car scene, much good much customer
yeah not a bad idea dude maybe like discounts or monthly passes for car clubs that would be awsome . ?
@@xtreambackman for sure. in germany we dont have the "option" to clean our cars in our driveway, illegal and stuff cause of polutung the water and shit, but i mean just the option to chill at these places take some photos and stuff. thats whats cool about them u know? not sure about the burnout marks tho...
Liked before it even started. Looking forward to this..
Thinking hard about a 2 bay on the second busiest intersection in my state that's not an interstate.
You’re living my dream best of luck !
You can do it! Thanks
Could you share all the suppliers you use for all the equipment and materials to run a car wash? Either share here a list or a link to a video if you covered that already. Thanks for sharing all your experiences with running and fixing your car washes.
Wow, you are all over the place with this one...
Do you think it would help to have stickers on the vacuums saying something like waste compartment or something so they don't think it holds anything valuable. ?
Good idea and worth a shot but all the homeless in the area have been doing it for years and they already know. Could possibly deter newbies though
Bro your videos just seriously started taking off ! Congrats man
Thanks man! I guess people like the renovations 👍🏻
@CarWashChronicles very inspiring to say the least
I’d love to partner with you in your remodels I’m 50 minutes north of Tucson!
I used to sell all those fittings and hoses years ago.
Nice
Ok but the beats in this are fire😂😂
How do you protect your locations from theft? I’m a cop in a low income community and these places are always getting hit
Can you make a video of how the wireing works in the pump room coming from the bay coin boxes
Thanks for sharing! It helps my business
Congratulations brother!
hey car wash chronicles im planning on buying a carwash within the next few months with no experience and im watching your videos to learn the basic, and i was wondering if theres a certain place/website that u order your equipment such as the money exchange or new motors or the supplys at 7:00 etc and what ppl do u call to install the new equipment
Hey man wouldn't mind having the old equipment I might have a good use for them here. I have a big drive for detailing here in nigeria
As a 20 year wash technician the polly line will last just as long as the braided hose an dont put the ro tank on the roof you will get bacteria and mold growing in the tank with no cl2 to kill it off and have issues with clogging the selonoids
Not in my experience
Looking forward to seeing you make them DUCKETS!
thanks for bringing us along!
No problem
That's a hard day's work there, especially with the heat!
Not sure the difference in all the pipes you could you use to pipe from equipment room to each bay, but could you use other materials like pex pipe that is used in home plumbing? Are there any alternatives you would suggest especially for areas that fall below freezing outside?
I don't know why I find car washes so interesting but I've been wanting to get one. Just need the investment to get into one is the thing stopping me. Hate to put money into one and not be able to pay off the loans lol. Fun channel, have my sub and likes!
Man. I am dying to find a car wash to get into. Everything in my local area is like 600k even for standard basic setup
That place will look great once you’re done
Insane! I'm from Brazil.
So strange to come across this because I used to wash my E39 here all the time while I was in college
LOT OF WORK YOU EARNED THE PAY.
Looking good Chris
Well done Chris
How much did the installation of all the new parts cost
Victorville and bear valley that’s where I live 😊 witch car washes are ur locations? This is my first time seeing ur videos.
damm good to see an aussie brother killin it in the states! would love to come out make that coin brother!
👌🏻👊🏻
For hose quick connect look into Festo brand, best in the world, for air liquid. Not a brand that is known for brittle crap. Even have them in metal.
What's your thoughts on the triple foam sprayer in a self serve?
$2 for 4 minutes is still a very good price, at my local self-car wash I pay €2 for 2,5 minutes...
im in victorville, where is your car wash i would love to support you!
Where did you order your new equipment from?
I manage multiple tunnel washes . We don't lock them. We have sign that asks to close when done works well. Never have to clean them now lol.
I wish. The area my car washes are in and the people going through them are not all there and don’t read my signs. They break things just for fun. Trust me I tried
@@CarWashChronicles sad. I have two homeless guys that know if they break anything or don't put back the way they found them police get involved.
Is there a reason you didn't use an up to date credit card/cash box? Im in MD and almost all self-service washes take cards as well as cash/coins. Some have a set amount they charge per swipe and one allows you to swipe and use it for as long as needed and charges you whatever the screen says when you press stop. It does have an $18 max per use, probably just in case someone forgets to hit stop twice (once stops the water flow and twice to stop the time and end the wash).
I use MONEXgroup card readers so I’ll be adding them on the coin boxes soon. Monex doesn’t come pre set of the coin box
We got one of those in deer valley
It's 2023 why aren't you doing credit card readers and tokens?
How often do you need to change the oil in those CAT pumps?
If someone vacuums up something they don't want to lose.... they want to get it back. Locks, doors, etc. will not stop them. I'd advise putting some type of number or something for a person to contact if that happens. If there is nobody on site and nobody to contact..... I'm going to take a prybar to door to get my stuff back.
Always a number/email on the building
Are you originally from Australia? How long have you been in the US?
Anyone know the name of this car wash? Im in Tucson trying to go check it out.
What’s the name of your car washes in Victorville Ca
People seem to like those foam cannons. Idk the advantages other than visual. Did you look into those for commercial use?
He has foam guns in his other washes, theres a self serve 15 minutes from my home which was the first one countrywide to have triple colored foam.
And other than effect the foam does have a cleaning ability its usually around pH 10,5 to 11 but some also use neutral foam. Professionals actually use snow foam for detailing and cleaning cars
@@stevenwinderlich2891 Foam is all bs and does nothing but people like it tho. Great marketing
If you don’t mind me asking. How much did the car wash cost?
I find it fascinating that for some reason, US was way before Europe when it came to credit-/debit cards and tap instead of swipe. But for a thing like this they expect people to withdraw cash, then change to quarters, then pay in a machine when everything could easily be solved with a card reader. Badabing, no more issues collecting cash, worring about thefts.
Although - then it's obviously harder to hide it from the IRS :D
At least in Sweden, it's basically impossible to use cash for car washes. It's either card or start from app (!)
All forms are best. If I go cashless and just cards then the customers that WANT to pay cash will go else where. If you’re familiar with south tucson not everyone wants to or even has credit cards. Have to think about the customer not just myself
@@CarWashChronicles Oh don't get me wrong. It's just an outside view from a society that has more or less abandoned cash and relies on cards and/or mobile apps for most of everything :) Personally I haven't touched any kind of cash since like 5-10 years ago
Man if I won the lottery I'd love to do this but tile over all the stone walls with some type of bright and sturdy tile and install super bright hexagon lights above like people are putting into car garages.
If I won the lottery I wouldn’t bother with car washes lol
These are getting rare to see these days, in my area there are only two left.
Out of curiosity, why do you not go to having credit / debit card acceptors?
I said in the video I was going to order them.
No idea why this popped up on my youtube.....Notice the Aussie accent! so kept watching (Me being an Aussie)
What for hose are you using for your foam brush ?
We're at 3 dollars for 4 minutes here
You gotta pump those numbers up!
:)
Place I go to keeps a tidy ship.
Nice. What area of south tucson are you in?
@@CarWashChronicles I'm in Palm Beach Florida :)
I was like that looks familiar then you said Park Ave and I was like oh
Haa. You know it!
Where in Aus are you from mate?
How much does a quarter add to time after starting
Personally I would have just put a spring hinge on the vacuum also definitely run water when cutting bricks, silicosis is not a fun way to die
I’d love to see the pics of the spring hinge on your vacs. Never seen them at any car wash I been to before so that’ll be cool.
@@CarWashChronicles oh I don’t own a car wash (I wish😄) I’m just suggesting it so if people accidentally vacuum something up they can get it out but then the door will automatically close. Probably a good idea even with a lock in case someone cuts it then it’ll still automatically keep the door closed.
No disrespect intended btw, just trying to give constructive feedback sometimes it’s difficult to portray tone online 😅
Btw I’m loving your attention to detail on this project, you’re obviously a very capable businessman and jack of all trades with experience to back it up. You earned yourself a subscription 😊
Not trying to criticize or anything, since I don't own a carwash, but just from a business persepctive, why are you replacing all of that equiptment? Was it all non-functional? Thanks
I’m just curious why when you’re renovating like this, you don’t put in credit card readers. The inconvenience of dealing with quarters is the biggest drawback of a car wash like this. We had one here in Miami and I just quit going to it because of that one issue.
Pretty sure I mentioned in the video I was going to. This is not the complete version of the car wash
That’s a subscribe gotta see how this turns out. Didn’t know car washes used boilers👀
Why throw stuff away? You should make some kind of wooden box, lavel it scrap metal free and leave it out in the open someplace. It will get taken by professional scrappers. You will also get them as regular customers.
I gave it to a customer who wanted it. Didn’t feel like I needed to put it in video
Putting that tank on the roof will give you nice hot water.
No boiler needed 👍🏻
I've never understood the foam brushes. Yeah they look fun and foamy, but they are about the worst way you could wash your car, especially at a public car wash. A one-way ticket to swirls and microscratches on your car
Instead of wire nuts you should have gone for WAGO clamps.
Why
Crazy about hoses failing and then uses infinite clamps instead of hose clamps.
gotta take credit cards!
What did all equipment cost?
About 50k
$2.00 IS CHEAP, in CA its $3 and some areas $3.75
At least in my area these types of car washes don't make any sense anymore. Instead we have drive-thru car washes with vacuum stalls aggressively priced unlimited $15 per month memberships.
Yes. Lots around here too. Different customers
What if someone sucks up something valuable
Are you Australian or from newzealand?
Aussie
Great
Thank you uncle Jack