How to Choose the Car Wash Franchise That's Right For You

Elliott Fudge, writer

Published at 19/09/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 4 min

How to Choose the Car Wash Franchise That's Right For You — Photo © How-to-Choose-the-Car-Wash-Franchise-That's-Right-For-You.jpg

If you’ve decided that you want to start a business with a car wash franchise, you’ve already taken a big step. But with so many different car wash franchises out there, how do you choose the one that’s right for you?

There are many advantages to running your own car wash franchise, but you face the unenviable task of trying to narrow down your options into one or two of the best. If you’re wondering which is the right option for you, here are a few different directions you can go.

Tunnel car washes

Tunnel car wash franchises can be found on almost all high streets up and down the UK. Oftentimes, they’ll be close to petrol stations, garages and convenience stores, and boast high powered equipment fully capable of both cleaning and drying a car.

The majority of the time, tunnel car washes are turnkey operations, meaning that you will be able to operate these businesses with little continuous investment, minimal labour costs and with one eye always on your profits. As many units are even equipped to clean themselves over time, you’ll only ever need to be on-location for rare occasions.

Easy-to-operate turnkey systems such as these are a fantastic example of why franchising is one of the safer business models to work in. With only one percent of closing franchises citing commercial failure as a reason for closing, it’s clear that franchises such as these bring a lot more job security and regular profits. [British Franchise Association].

How to choose the right tunnel car wash franchise for you

If you’re after an easy-to-run franchise such as this, you’ll have the advantage of needing only minimal requirements when it comes to starting your own business. Depending on what franchise you decide is the best option for you, you’ll need to make a minimum investment, plus any potential ongoing fees, and after some consultation with your franchisor, you’ll be in a position to get your business up and running.

Self-service car washes

Wand-type equipment outlasts other carwashing variations, requiring fewer equipment replacement cycles. Self-service carwashes provide a solid income source with less maintenance and fewer employees. - George Wirges, Carwash

Self-service options allow customers to typically pay a little less than for a tunnel car wash, whilst still having specialist equipment on hand to get the job done. Customers can then use a full range of equipment to clean both the interior and exterior of their cars to the standard they need.

Similarly to tunnel car washes, these are also turnkey operations that make the process of getting your car washed as simple as possible. If you’ve been thinking about making a career change with a car wash franchise, and are looking for an opportunity that allows you to rake in handsome profits for minimal costs, car washes may be the perfect sector for you.

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How to choose the right self-service car wash for you

When it comes to self-service and wand-based car wash systems such as these, you should keep an eye out for franchises that are looking for ambitious and driven franchisees. The ideal franchisees should be:

Organised
Determined
Committed
Ambitious
Have good business sense

Although turnkey operations require little up-front investment in terms of maintenance, you will still need to have good business sense to stay ahead of local competitors and to operate your business in the right areas.

Mobile car washes

Mobile, van-based and standalone car washes are quite different to the more fixed-location car washes mentioned above. Thanks to innovations in cleaning technology, you can now take your car washing services wherever you need to go.

Standalone car wash units can now be packed down and transported wherever those services are needed most, meaning that many franchises now choose to operate in a purely mobile fashion. You may choose to sell standalone units in and of themselves but, primarily, you will be travelling to different locations and carrying out cleaning for different clients.

Mobile car washes also open up the possibility for working for commercial clients on a regular basis. You may choose to pursue loyalty or subscription programmes to help retain these customers, so if working in a more flexible, mobile way sounds like the right opportunity for you, you may want to pursue a mobile car wash franchise.

How to choose the right mobile car wash for you

Mobile car washes come with plenty of advantages. As stated above, being able to work flexibly opens up the possibility of being able to go wherever clients need you to go. In these circumstances, you may need to look for a franchise that offers more training and support in terms of sales and customer retention.

With the right support behind you, you can look to forward to bringing flexible car washing services to:

Commercial clients
Outdoor events
Industry events
Vehicle showcases
International expositions

A flexible franchise is an effective sales franchise, so you can look forward to being your own boss and working in whatever way suits you.

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Choose a car wash franchise today and enjoy this profitable industry as your own boss

There will always be demand for car wash services. With millions of personal and commercial vehicles on the road, and with many more joining every year, there is plenty of scope for future growth in this industry.

If you’re still not sure, there are still plenty of resources on point franchise that can help you make the right decision. For example, if you want to know more about making this change, you can see more about how to start your own car wash franchise. Or, alternatively, you can have a look at the UK franchise directory for a complete list of other franchise opportunities.