Site Selection Express Tunnel Car Washes

In 2004 after spending twenty-five years locating sites for the fast-food industry, I went to work for an express tunnel car wash franchisor, “Rapido Rabbit”. The owner worked within the car wash industry for thirty-years.?He knew where the highest volume express tunnels were located within the USA.

I visited those top fifteen express tunnel car washes, then analyzed each trade areas along with any unusual site specific characteristics.?These fifteen car washes were all washing 300,000 cars per year or more. Here are my findings:

Weekly Wash Segmentation

There are three time periods per week, each have its own demographic requirements:

1)???Monday-Friday Drivetime (8AM-9AM & 5PM-7PM)

This segment requires higher traffic counts and impulse customers.

2)???Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM

This segment requires daytime population and retail generators close by

3)???Saturday and Sunday (All day)

This segment mostly relies on the residential population within the trade area*.

Sales for each of these three time segments can be improved, for instance;

Monday-Friday Drivetime: This segment will perform best with higher traffic counts, five seconds or more approach-visibility to pylon sign from both sides of street, unfettered access to site from both sides of the road. Impulsive buy.

Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM:?Segment performs best with high daytime population within the trade area* and retail generators (Daily needs retailers, grocery store, drug stores, liquor stores, fast food)

Saturday and Sunday:?Segment performs best with higher residential population in the trade area*.?High density apartment buildings and cluster condominium complexes will add more sales as these customers do not have access to a hose or wash area.

Starting the process to find a site.

Map out the local area using different color dots.?First plot your potential site. Draw a three-mile radius around your site. Then plot within the three-mile radius: Staples, Office Max, Office Depots, all grocery stores, then all fast food.?

Finally plot all express tunnel car wash competition within three mile radius of your site. (Tunnels only, no wand washes, no in-bay automatics, no hand washing)

Staples is indicative of daytime population, fast food generates daytime business, grocery stores show residential density.

Run Demographics

Within a seven-minute drivetime of your site (Trade area), run:

·???????Population

·???????Daytime population

·???????Renters %

·???????Per Capita Income

·???????Traffic count and date of count

Minimum Values:

Population 25,000

Daytime Pop 15,000

Renters 35%

Per Capita $17,500

Traffic 25,000

Site Specific Characteristics

Certain physical characteristics will increase projected sales:

·???????Access from both sides of road, left-in, left-out.

·???????Five-seconds or more approach visibility to pylon or monument sign from both sides of road.

·???????Building should be visible to traffic from both sides of road.

·???????Desirable abutters include gas stations, oil change, auto parts, auto sales, services.

Stay clear of abutting tenants that may object.?Normally any retail use that attracts children as car washes with spinning brushes and blinking lights are sometimes considered an attractive nuisance.

Notwithstanding zoning. Next article will focus on finding a zonable location.

Bottom line:

You can’t pay too little for a bad piece of real estate.?Study your site thoroughly and aggressively.?You’re about to spend $3-4 million on a single-use building. Do your research and have fun.

*Trade area generally 7-minute drivetime, or Artificial Intelligence