Buying a car wash in Florida

A car wash turns passing traffic into small, frequent sales. There are several kinds: express tunnels where drivers stay in the car and pay at a kiosk, in-bay automatics (often next to a gas station), self-serve bays paid by coin or card, full-service washes with crews who vacuum and dry by hand, and detail shops that sell hours of labor on each car.

Many washes sell unlimited monthly memberships billed to a card on file. Members are the closest a wash gets to steady income, and they even out weather swings. Single washes jump after a dry spell or a pollen week, fall off in long rainy stretches and, in many Florida towns, rise and fall with the winter visitors. Add-ons (wax, tire shine, coatings), vacuums and vending make up the rest.

An express or in-bay wash can run with a manager and a few attendants; full-service and detailing need far more people. Beyond the staff, the business is a machine: conveyor, brushes, pumps, dryers, water reclaim system and payment software, plus the land or lease under it all.

• A site drivers pass every day, with easy turns in and out and room for cars to line up without backing into the road.
• A large, steady membership, with monthly sign-ups and cancellations you can see in the software.
• Equipment with service records, parts you can still get, and nothing major about to wear out.
• A working water reclaim system, which cuts water and sewer bills.
• A manager who handles staffing, chemicals and daily maintenance without the owner on site.
• Few damage claims, and a written process for handling them.
• Room to grow on the site: a longer tunnel, more vacuum stations, a lane for members.

We found no state license just for car washes. The rules that matter are mostly local: a business tax receipt, zoning, and the sewer utility's requirements, which can include grit and oil separators cleaned on schedule.

A wash that treats and recycles its own water, instead of sending it to the sewer, needs a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit: coverage under the general permit for car wash systems (rule 62-660.803, Florida Administrative Code) or an industrial wastewater permit. Ask DEP's district office which applies and what a new owner must file.

Watch the sales tax. A plain wash with only detergent or water softener added is exempt, but if the wash adds wax, silicones or another protective coating, the whole charge is taxable (Department of Revenue rule 12A-1.006). If a site sells both and can't show which wash was which, the rule presumes every wash is taxable. Memberships with wax or coatings raise the same question, so have your accountant check how the seller handles it.

If the site also changes oil or does other maintenance or repairs, that work needs a motor vehicle repair registration from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which a new owner applies for in its own name.

Start with month-by-month data from the wash's point-of-sale system for at least two years: cars washed, active members, sign-ups, cancellations and declined cards. A wash that looks steady in total can be losing members and replacing them with discounts.

Have an equipment technician inspect the tunnel or bay, controllers, dryers and reclaim system, and price the next big replacements. Pull water and sewer bills and any utility notices. Review every damage claim from recent years and what insurance paid.

Look past the property line too. Check the county's permit and site plan records for new washes planned nearby, since a new tunnel down the road can pull members away. If the wash sits on an old gas station site or stores chemicals in bulk, ask for an environmental report. And ask how the building, signs and power held up in past storms, and whether there's a generator.

• How many members do you have now, and how has that changed this past year?
• What's the oldest big piece of equipment, and when do you expect to replace it?
• How do you handle damage claims, and how many did you pay last year?
• How do you charge sales tax on wax and coating packages and on memberships?
• Who runs the place day to day when you're not there, and would they stay?
• What do water and sewer cost you, and has the utility ever cited you?
• What happened here during the last hurricane, and how long were you closed?