Types of Car Washes

Full-Service Car Wash

A full-service car wash offers the most services and is usually led by an employee. During the service, the driver typically will wait in a reception area or lobby while the employee escorts the vehicle through a tunnel. During this process, an employee performs full detail and vacuum services. The entire process can take upwards of thirty minutes to one hour.
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Due to the nature of the process, a full-service car wash often is heavily staffed to provide the labor required, and therefore a full-service car wash requires more oversight compared to other types of car washes.

Express Exterior Car Wash

An express exterior car wash offers fewer services, but it requires significantly less employees to operate. In this business model, the customer drives their own vehicle through an automated tunnel and selects the service themselves using an automated pay station. In some instances, there may be an employee present at the pay station to either assist in the selection process or upsell the customer.
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In all instances, however, the customer drives their own vehicle through the process after being guided onto a conveyor rail by an employee. In some models, at the end of the process, an additional employee or employees will then dry any remaining wet areas. Vacuums are available for the customer to use as needed but are not performed by any employees.

Flex Service Car Wash

A flex service car wash can be compared as a combination of an express exterior car wash and a full-service car wash. A flex-service operates similar to an express exterior car wash but also offers detailing services. The customer drives their own vehicle through an automated tunnel after paying at an automated pay station.

At the end of the process, the customer can then drive themselves to a vacuum station to vacuum as needed; however, the customer also has the option to drive to a detailing area. Employees present at the detailing area then provide additional detailing services. In this business model, more employees are needed compared to an express exterior car wash to provide the additional labor necessary.

In-bay Automatic Car Wash

An in-bay automatic car wash differs in that it does not offer a conveyor rail system. In this model, a customer drives their own vehicle to a designated position within the tunnel. The customer then stops their vehicle, and the cleaning process begins. Once the cleaning process is complete, the customer drives their vehicle out of the tunnel.
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In this model, overhead costs are very minimal and often requires no employee supervision. The process is entirely automated with no supervision except for periodic supply runs, cash collection, maintenance, and occasional repairs.

Self-Serve Car Wash

A self-serve car wash is a coin-operated, manual process. In this model, the customer uses a spray, pressure water hose or brush. This business model also has very minimum overhead and often requires no employee supervision or assistance.

With the various types of car washes to consider before investing, it is important to also understand the various benefits some locations offer in addition to location. New technology implemented allows many locations to reap the benefits of water reclamation. Water reduction and reclamation technology project lower overhead costs