Car wash equipment is pretty basic. All you really need are suds to clean, a bucket, a sponge, and a water hose. However, not all customers like to wash their cars by hand. Some like the convenience of driving through an auto car wash. If you are going to own and operate a turnkey operation that is a self-serve car wash, you will need a lot more equipment, and you need to know why you should offer both manual and automatic car washes to customers. 

Why Automated Car Washes

Automated car washes are quick, easy, and convenient. They only take about six to eight minutes to complete, and the customer prepays before driving through the car wash so that he/she can just drive off when the car is done. The automated wash has sudsing sprayers, water sprayers, under-the-vehicle sprayers, and vertical brush rollers to really scrub the car down quickly and easily. As an added bonus, pressurized air dryers dry the car as it slowly exits the automated wash. It is the ideal car wash for customers who do not have a lot of time to manually wash and dry their vehicles themselves, but who want their vehicles to look really clean and nice. 

Why Manual Washes

You will get customers who want to wash their cars manually. Having extra stalls in your car wash business where customers can spray down, soap up, rinse off, wax, and dry their own vehicles are essential to appealing to all car owners. There are going to be times when customers really want to do their own detailing, either because they want their vehicles to look especially nice for a special occasion, or because they intend to sell the vehicle and want it to look as dealership-perfect as they can get it.

Then there are those customers who take their vehicles "mudding," and the mud is so thoroughly caked on that an automated wash is probably not going to cut it. Then the customer can get into all those tiny nooks and crannies where mud is trapped, and really get the mud off of the exterior of the vehicle him/herself. A manual wash also provides customers with multiple options and selections from an automated machine on the wall, but they push buttons to choose what they do and do not want to apply to their vehicles as they clean them. Separate hoses hanging from the ceiling apply soap and spray water. 

For more information about car wash equipment, look into companies like Better Car Wash Equipment and Supply.

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