As a carwash owner, you know that location, the type of car wash services (self-service, hand wash, etc.) and pricing are the key factors that drive your car wash profit margins. Yet, there are a number of proven strategies you can use to increase your car wash sales & profits.

From switching to a flexible manpower, offering new services to creating customer retention, in this article we describe you 6 strategies you can use to maximize your car wash profits.

1. Upgrade And Replace Older Equipment

One of carwash owners’ key goal to increase their profits is to minimise operating costs without compromising service quality, reliability, or customer satisfaction. 

Yet, appropriate carwash equipment upgrades and replacement of worn equipment will, in the long run, lower maintenance costs. More importantly, it will improve your business’s competitive profile and may allow to increase prices without losing customers.

Selecting modern carwash equipment offers efficiency for faster washing vehicles and even protecting the vehicles from scratches. Therefore, you enjoy a long-term competitive advantage which translates to more returning customers.

2. Controll Payroll

Several costs have escalated for car wash owners recently. Among them, payroll stands out. So how do you control your payroll while growing business revenue?

You could for example hire employees on flexible hourly-pay contracts, which will allow you to better optimise employees at different times of the week, and the day.

For example, Saturday often is the busiest day for car wash businesses. If that’s your case, you could start a 5-day shift on Tuesday rather than Monday. Alternatively, you can also opt for a pay per commission model to minimise the fixed labor expense.

As a reference point, the average salary for a car wash attendant in the United States was $15.38 per hour.

3. Diversify Services

Diversifying revenue streams is an excellent idea for increasing your car wash sales and profits. Here are some ideas to consider:

Basic Vehicle Servicing

Oil change and tire rotation are some of the simple services that do not require sophisticated equipment. In addition, they are on-demand services, offering carwash owners a huge revenue-generating opportunity. If you have considerable space, you can start offering these extra services.

Scratch Removal

Car lovers hate having scratches on the body of their cars. Some scratches do not come off even after a thorough car wash. However, those scratches can come off if you scrab using some unique compounds. Offer the customers the scratch removal service at a reasonable fee, and ensure you do a thorough job.

Car Accessories

Vehicle owners will buy accessories like floor mats, covers, air fresheners, puncture repair kits, cleaning cloth, tire inflators, and pressure gauges. Selling these accessories at your car wash is an additional revenue stream at a minimal cost.

Food & Beverages

As the car owners wait, they may prefer soft drinks or a meal. Therefore, you may sell juices, sodas, water, and snacks at the carwash. Remember to acquire the food handling permits and licenses as may be required within your area of jurisdiction.

4. Create Retention With Membership Plans

In order to increase your car wash revenue, and in turn profits, one strategy businesses often use is to create customer retention. Indeed, repeat customers typically spend more vs. new customers, and you don’t need to spend a dime in marketing to attract them.

Retention can be created through loyalty or membership plans. These can be monthly offers or even a gift box to your customer whenever they collect a certain number of points: car accessories or a free car wash service.

Loyalty programs help carwash owners gain customers and keep current customers engaged. Besides, the loyalty program helps carwash owners to gauge customer satisfaction levels and collect customer feedback. 

5. Switch To Green Car Washing Techniques

Recycling and reusing water results in lower utility bills. More importantly, it’s also eco-friendly which may get you new environment-conscious customers.

To minimize water usage, you can use solutions like vinegar to clean the windows. You can also switch to green energy solutions rather than using electricity to power your carwash equipment. Wind energy and solar are examples of green energy sources that carwash owners can leverage. Overall, green car washing techniques help reduce overhead costs and increase your car wash profits.

6. Use Reusable Cleaning Products

This one may sound obvious, yet it can save you up to a few thousands of dollars every month. For example, use reusable microfibre cloth towels instead of disposable ones.