Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 615 posts

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#91

Post by tamimio »

nytesky wrote: post #7

I would have assumed its from the rise of gig workers using private cars. Uber/Lyft need to keep cars pretty clean to not be dinged stars, and even package and food delivery can create more mess which may require cleaning (but mostly taxi service I think). I skimmed the article and don’t see mention of that?

> I would have assumed its from the rise of gig workers using private cars. Uber/Lyft need to keep cars pretty clean

True, I believe that’s the reason too, a while ago I used to park in an underground parking with a free washing area, the car next to me used to be clean all the time and the guy washes it every day, one time I asked him about such dedication, he said simply he is an uber driver!

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#93

Post by arbitrage »

bilsbie wrote: post #16
diogenescynic wrote: post #2

The article doesn't mention it, but I read another article about car washes that argued they're used as a way to speculate on commercial real estate in cities because the car washes provide just enough revenue to pay for the purchase of the land and property taxes. Then when the land becomes valuable they can sell it to another developer.

I wouldn’t think they would be especially cheap to build though? Sophisticated machinery, lots of plumbing?

The machinery is all commoditized and the same. Plumbing as a trade has been around for thousands of years. The level of sophistication here is limited.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#95

Post by dehrmann »

bilsbie wrote: post #16
diogenescynic wrote: post #2

The article doesn't mention it, but I read another article about car washes that argued they're used as a way to speculate on commercial real estate in cities because the car washes provide just enough revenue to pay for the purchase of the land and property taxes. Then when the land becomes valuable they can sell it to another developer.

I wouldn’t think they would be especially cheap to build though? Sophisticated machinery, lots of plumbing?

Here are some prices, but they vary a lot: https://www.carwashconsignment.com/equipment/automatics

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#96

Post by ohmyiv »

jjtheblunt wrote: post #25
bluefirebrand wrote: post #5

In my city you're not allowed to wash your car in your driveway I guess it's too hard on the storm drains to have soap and dirt and stuff going down them Or maybe city council is just in some kind of racket with car wash owners or something But either way, that's why we have so many car washes here... And it sucks ass

This is interesting, what you mention. In the northern foothills here bordering Phoenix, Arizona, to the north, there are an understandable number of automated carwashes. However, i've found no manual (pressure wash sort) carwashes, which are easy to find in California and Illinois, for two examples. I don't know why this is.

Could it be that single family homeownership is higher there?

I can kind of speak for some of L.A.'s use of manual car washes. There's many who live in apartments or places that don't have places to wash at home. Manual car washes fill the void for people that want to clean their own car but don't have space.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#97

Post by ryandrake »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #5

In my city you're not allowed to wash your car in your driveway I guess it's too hard on the storm drains to have soap and dirt and stuff going down them Or maybe city council is just in some kind of racket with car wash owners or something But either way, that's why we have so many car washes here... And it sucks ass

> In my city you're not allowed to wash your car in your driveway

How does this even get enforced? Are the police driving by everyone’s house regularly, looking for those dastardly hoses? Or do they rely on nosey neighbors ratting on each other? I can’t imagine this is the most important crime for the local law enforcement to be investigating.

Re: Why are there suddenly so many car washes?

#99

Post by fragmede »

SkyPuncher wrote: post #30

I have actually briefly considered opening a car wash. They seem like just about one of the easiest businesses to run. Minimal employees, low variable costs, likely a reasonable long term investment in the actual rental estate. In many ways, this the same as gas stations, convenience stores, and CVS/rite-aid/walgreens. People don’t want to go out if their way.

more importantly, after the switch to EVs, you're still gonna need car washes. Gas stations, not so much.
Post reply on HN