So was busy washing both my cars in the evening and then the idea suddenly came up.

What say if i happen to open a car wash up as a means of getting some additional income.

Is it a feasible business ?

Went over for a drive after dinner to a carwash nearby and asked my friend if she wanted to get her car washed. While the guys were busy working on the car, i managed to have a quick chat with one of the guys that were supervising his staffs at the car wash.

This was his rough breakdown of his car wash,

washing+vacuum = RM20

Rental around RM10K/month. They are open 6 days a week from Tuesdays to Sunday.

So based on my own calculation, lets say if i happen to hire 5 people to work at my place and i pay them 1200 each, that brings to a total of RM6K in salary that has to be paid.

Presuming that i manage to rent a place similar to the carwash that i went for, my fixed per month would be RM10K+6K =RM16K.

If i was to charge RM15 per car for washing + vacuuming, i would have to wash at least 1066 cars in a month (35 cars a day on average), just to break even.


That is excluding paying my electrical and water bill, buying the shampoo, equipments (water jet) etc.


Anyone here has experience in running a car wash or knows someone who has started a car wash ? I really need to look into the cost of starting up one.

Siang malam hujan lebat 30 hari

This post has been edited by mafioso: Mar 19 2017, 02:11 AM

Haha betul jugak, but there are freaks in Malaysia like me that want our rides to be sparkling clean.


Imagine making RM5net profit/car. If you happen to bring in 1000cars a month, there's going to be RM5K in my pocket

u miss out sat sun OT speciall allowance.

Make sure u use micro fiber cloth so u dont scratch the car and change new one always. Also use clean one for each car.

I dont send my car to car wash for those reasons. They dont take care of your car because its not theirs. And those that did, they wont be charging just rm 15.

car wash business. std gomen worker makan gaji dream business. the cost is clearly on rental. 10k is too huge. got survey cheaper place?

Wait, car washers are paid more during weekends issit ?

I was planning to come up with something like RM1K per month, per person for 6days a week. Like that, i would be able to hire 5 people for 5k/month.

Then, down the road, i could bring in more workers and adjust the pay to an hourly rate based on the number of traffic that we get.

So presuming if i pay a person RM1K/month initially, they would roughly be earning around RM33/day which translates into RM3.33per hour.

Thereafter, if business is good, i may be able to bring it up by 30%-50% gradually.


Not to forget, i would have to hire a person in charge/supervisor to look after the place and monitor the workers and that's definitely going to be pricey.

Not yet include stolen equipment and shampoo, sales cash. Also protection money. Compensation when worker wash the inside like this...

Yeah i totally understand that.

I remembered my mom sending her car for washes before and when it comes back and if its parked in our porch directly under the light, you'll be able to see tons of swirl marks

Define what do you mean by standard government job bro ?


Sadly, the area where I'm staying is pretty pricey, and with this particular end lot unit, i would roughly be able to park around 6 cars inside the shop while getting it washed, like 2 washing bays and another 4 to 5 slots to park them while vacuuming and wiping/ polishing

The money is not in car washing. It is in car detailing where idiots will spend thousands just like pompuan taruh skII on their faces.

Car wash is just for people who are too lazy to wash their cars yet don't want to spend too much on it or they rather end up doing it themselves.

Alamak, what kind of protection money man ? Im not doing any illegal business

Ahh, i remembered seeing a picture similar to that where by a bhangladeshi worker was washing the entire interior of a perodua

You pakai air longkang and two drops of dish washing liquid for each car is it. RM5 profit per car?

Meaning there is really no helping applying coating?

\Agreed, was just using the sole example of a car wash service to calculate my (E) PROFIT.


You might think that I'm sick but this is what i was doing last weekend, sat in a restaurant nearby the given carwash and was stalking them, gosh, they had more than 30cars on a Saturday in just a duration of 5hours

Isn't RM5/car net profit achievable ?

I mean buying the equipments and quality soap isn't going to be pricey as you would be getting the shampoo in big quantities right ?

gomen office worker

u dont have to open car wash nearby where u stay but open it where people like to wash their car. find cheap yet strategic place. i stay in seksyen 7 shah alam before. everywhere also got car wash. all charge rm10 only. i wonder how they survive.

Im not a normal cleark that works in a Gomen office la

Bijou always listen to my advice

I wanted one near my area as we only have 1 place nearby. So in other words, competition is still loose in my place. Just dont ask me where exactly i plan to open la. Later i dont want some silent reader to open one there before i can lol

The current place charges RM20 and if I'm able to undercut them by charging RM15, sure can attract people

This post has been edited by 1malaysiajib: Mar 19 2017, 02:38 AM

Okay TS,

What you need to think is long-term, not short term in terms of money and investment. I don't know how you gonna plan but I will tell you my cousin's story.

He was 2 years older than me, graduated UPSI and got offered to be a teacher but then he rejected cause he want to do a business. At first he want to open car wash business just like you however I like how he managed to put target group in his plan.

He lived in Kedah, his target customer not in the city, but in the village (but not that ultra rural area) - for example Pendang, Langgar, Kuala Nerang. Fast forward with his business, he started at Pendang 1 car wash with cheap labour, for daily customer of course not many since it's not that many in terms of population, but his true target during festive season where most people went back to kampung etc which is sufficient for him lorh. Fast forward until today, now he already have 3 car wash at those listed place I mention (as a passive/seasonal income) and now his main source of income from bengkel besi which he got a lot of tender from Government (but slow in terms of nak bayar duit lol)..

Of course this is good side of story, but you need plan well how will you recover from lost, not enough manpower, managing people, backup plan since he has gone through all those ups and downs. Currently he's at the starting point stable pace after 1 year and a half running this business after recovering from few ups and downs.


The point he said to me is; Always have a good plan although you know there will be a loss in the future and how you are going to counter it. Good luck TS.

not enough, use only fresh towels for top portion and other normal rinsed towels for bottom portion. bottom portion got more dirt there we dont want those towels wiping the upper portion.

Car wash = bukan wash car untuk cari makan fyi.

bro.
1. 1200 permonth ? i don't think u able to get that now.
2. You need to pay water bill.
3. you need to pay alam kitar bill.
4. You need to town council bill.
and still have many bill ...

I agree, one has to have a detailed business plan. Messed up thing is that i dont know anyone personally that has a car wash for me to ask them about the cost.

Envy your cousins since he has 3 branches now!

Like that then must care you RM50 to wash your car

if u charge rm15, u better use this brand ok?
normal quality only rm10 carwash

Betul betul.

no need, cos i already got rm1000+ worth of cleaning products and machine.

look. now there will be 2 place to wash car. are u sure your cashwar is to solve increase in demand for car wash or just competing for cars to be wash? if u lower the price it will spoilt the market. next time another car wash open at rm10 with 3 efficient bangla worker how r u going to react? also.. what about modal pulangan? how long will it take to cover back all initial cost before u goyang kaki collect money?

The question is to what extent? and what worth is it for going through so much efforts?

Why is it sick you want to study a business by observing it?

If you are stalking a girl for no good intentions, that is considered sick la.

This is actually the same thinking many years ago when my friends wanted to sell nasi lemak somewhere near a tertiary institution. He think profit of RM1 for every pack he sells for a calculated amount of packs he can sell each day will net him a lot of money. But in reality

1) Can he really profit RM1 from every pack?
2) Can he really sell so much in the first place to meet his targets of profit each day
3) How much will he lose and will the business balance itself if his produce does not get sold out each day, which is the scenario he hopes to achieve optimistically
4) Did not take into account the intangibles, why would people prefer to buy from him (cheap, taste good, etc), operating license, duit kopi, bad weather, food producer fall sick,etc....

I think the simple question is what is the true intention of going into a business. Is it purely because of making good money or just getting enough to survive? Because some businesses are purely dependent on the integrity and initiatives of the owner. So, there are many reasons that can cause business growth to sway even if it started out doing not too bad.

I am not 100% sure. Maybe yes, maybe no. Depending on how good a car wash service you intend to provide.

Fuh, that brand RM20 also i pay. Make sure they use their microfiber washmit and drying towels as well.

If i got time, I will try to ask my cousin about his budget and management. Of course you can't follow his budget blindly since he's targetting rural area, however at least you get the foundation to setup the car wash.

Dude, i am bloody greatly indebted to you man. If i happen to open up one, i would definitely give you a few % of my profit.


Yeah was looking for a budget at least as i know what to expect. I do know that I'm currently on cloud 9 by imagining too much (that i could make RM5percar) and i do understand that the reality would be totally different.

Meh no need la to give me % of profit lol, focus on ur business. I'll try la since next week Im going back to kedah because got few kenduri to attend. Cheers!

Haha.. u potong u punya harga, they come and potong u punya kepala..

U think can open sukasuki and put own price. Mostly they have persatuan. So everybody can use the price and compete equally. Extra services u offer that ur own effort.

Thay y u go wash car in the same area the price almost same. Different if got extra service.

Protection money is real. You will see people coming to extort money unless you are a tough guy can handle them.

last time few years back got one place in pj using all megs product charge rm12 after using voucher. damn shiok that time.

rm20 per car isnt that a bit expensive ? and besides that, you need to pay for epf socso, etc. its a good business if you manage to get many customers, the problem is its not easy to start cause ppl dont trust you with their vehicles, most places i go, ppl need to trust the car wash person in order to leave their car and collect later, seldom sit there wait for you to do the job, you need to protect the vehicle from theft, imagine somebody just pretend to be the car owner, pay you for the wash, are u going to pass him the key ? are u going to responsible for lost vehicle or they blame you for unable to start the car later cause of engine getting wet ?

you need to put everything into consideration, good ones and bad ones, imagine there is another car wash nearby and claim you stealing their customer, and they are fiercer than you, got police and gangster behind their back, how u going to handle ? what if raining almost every day, how long u can last ? what if your worker scratch your customer's expensive car or break the windsheild, are u going to cover ? what if no water supply after u get a few wash jobs ? Its a business and you need to seriously think about that.

Breakeven 404.

They are washing Flooded Car

That means not permanently la. I remember there is a detailing place somewhere near the Assunta roundabout last time with a big meguairs logo out front. Don't even dare step into the place.

There is another one near section 14 that claims to use meguairs stuff as well. But, never really sure.

Anyways, the product is not the question. Their operating procedures is actually much more of a concern. Meguairs are not necessarily the best car care product in the business anyways. Just the more common premium product.

where i live theres a car wash thats so successful that they bought another huge piece of land next to the place they rented before.

charge rm12 per car for inside and outside cleaning and they hire kids looking for extra income. not really child labour because the kids are willing to do it which i think is better than them bicycling in the middle of the highway

Protection is gonna cost you. My friend opened a car wash in Cheras (near Taman Cuepacs) a couple of years back. Bungkus in a few months after rival car wash guys paid the gangsters to come and trash his shop. End up the equipment damage alone made it too expensive to start again from scratch.

This post has been edited by v1n0d: Mar 19 2017, 09:46 AM

lol pay rm10-20 and expect using the best product on the planet meh? yeah its upper end brand and still better than those made in malaysia car wash soaps that come in unmarked containers

You open a self wash car wash better.
Many people in high rise dont have access to water pipe and power outlets. Make something for those people

If you have the money then just do it

Don't wait for next week or next month or next year

It's your money, just do it!

Even if u dun do illegal business, u still need pay protection fee for tht area taiko else they kacau ur business everyday

I am just saying la if there is an RM20 car wash that uses meguairs product for their day to day operations, i'd be gladyly going to it. Unfortunately, what you pay for is mostly what you get la. I bet they don't even have filtration systems for their air compressors. So, don't hope for the best of service in the interests of the customers just by paying so little la.

Janji the car is "clean", they are considered to have done their job.

You make cheras sound like a gangster township

It's not, but fact is if your business does better than your competitors, some of them may resort to dirty tactics.

It is not impossible that it might happen. It's a dog eat dog world out there

As more and more high rise coming up & people are getting lazier to wash their car, I think is a viable business as long as you open at the right place (eg. place packed with high rise building) and position your brand correctly by asking yourself what you can do better than other car wash company available in the targeted market (eg. wash within certain time frame, excellent customer service, loyalty program, subscription package, etc...).

Ts,

Did u manage to open your car wash business? Share share

$10k for rental is too much esp. for car wash..
Need to add up protection money also

car wash confirm kena visit by gangsters now in ipoh.

how about selling packages? ie buy 10 get 1 free?

i think u need to have other value added services, like polishing and waxing. that's where the meat is.

hey no man, i shelved the idea for a while