Want to start up a self serve carwash... Need Advice

I am looking to start a 4 bay self serve carwash to start off. I requested info from different manufacture's to get an idea what type of equipment I needed and how much it will cost. My problem is I have a great location, bad credit and I don't know where to start. I figure that is my biggest challenge, so should I start by finding a way to get the funds first, then worry about location and zoning. If you could please provide me with advice on where to start with my situation, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank You

I don't know where you are, but right now I'm hearing it's very challenging to get loans for car washes, even with good credit. Car wash loans are even more difficult than most because they are special purpose properties. My bank is requesting SBA guarantee AND 25% down for car washes. You might need a large down payment and a co-signer. But when you go to the bank, I'm sure they're gonna want to know how much you need to borrow.

Best bet for you is to find an established car wash with a track record and financials to make the banker happy.

Bad credit says it all. The bank will not even want to talk to you, let alone lend you money for a car wash. You would need to find an existing wash and get the owner to finance it to you. Again, in this credit market, and the fact you stated you have bad credit, this probably won't happen either.

Greg is right, find an existing wash first. Then approach either the current owner about financing or the bank.

Not yet mentioned is that a single 4-bay self serve car wash would probably not be profitable unless someone lets you build on their land for free and loans you the money at no interest. Bad credit? IF you can get a loan at all, you're looking at least 30% down. A 4-bay in today's market is going to run around $300,000-500,000.

Conservative lending is the new normal today and no ownership experience and bad credit makes for an unlikely loan approval for new construction.

Even if you could convince a bank to take a chance on you, you would most likely face a down payment of 50% and a one to three-year rate of maybe eight or nine percent.

Perhaps there is a distressed carwash in the region that you could acquire. If the owner is under enough water, he/she might be willing to offer financing terms that are more reasonable.

Regardless, bad credit is going to make anyone leery.

If you have not started the process contact me. I have new investor powerpoint and literature. Also, we provide a free demographic report to help see the benefits and drawbacks of a site. The bank is going to want to see a lot of information regarding the project too. The credit part is a damper, however there are ways if you have a co-signer like stated above. They will want to see a demographics report, car counts, and business and marketing plan for the wash. contact me if you need assistance...jwoolridge@hydrospray.com