Every car wash near us has free vacuums. Not to hard to use them then exit.
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I think this is a new draw, there is a new carwash near me that advertises “Free Vacuum”.
The last time I used a carwash vacuum was 30 years ago, 75 cents, they time it so you can’t vacuum both sides of the vehicle on one payment. Then to vacuum the trunk will be another deposit. Buy a shop vacuum, it will pay for itself.
By spring we have crusted road salt embedded in the drivers side front carpet. I hook a garden hose to my hot water tap on my threaded clothes washer tab in my basement and set it running slowly. I put it in the drivers footwell and keep vacuuming it out with my shop vac and dumping it on the driveway until the water come out clean. I then shut off the water and keep vacuuming to get as dry as possible.
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We have a chain of car washes in FL, vacuums are self serve and free. Purchase of car wash not required.
This Car Wash, with Free Vacuums, can be yours for a cool, $899,000 …
This Car Wash is not far from my home and it has had Free Vacs for many years and you do not need to use the Car Wash to get this. Some folk drive in, Vac the crap, and drive out. No one is checking and it’s easy access to and from the Vacs.
In the photo of the Vacuums, I’ve pointed out the two doors that you need to ensure are closed. The one up high is for the Dust Filter and the one down low is the Debris Dump… Make sure both are closed or all the suction will be through the doors and not through the hose…
Of course, it the vacuums are free, no big deal; but if you paid for that vacuum, and the doors are agape and leaking air, then all I can say is, that really sucks…
Now you are also an expert on Vacuums? Your talents are impressive. But why are you posting a for sale link here ?
Good point about the link, I do not have any “irons in that fire” so I edited the posting and removed the link. I had only included it as a point of interest because it contained information about the “inner workings of a car wash…”
No, I am not a Vacuum Expert, but if you have been following the posting of this topic, you would have noticed that I posted earlier that a friend of mine owns several car washes and I hung around with him when he stopped by them, so I picked up some “inside knowledge” and I wanted to pass on some of that knowledge, like the I did concerning the “secret of White Bread…”
And when the time arises, I might share the secret of why you would want to touch your key fob to chin…
Because your body acts like an antenna and gives you a little more distance. Opps, sorry. I should have let you tell us. 
OK I’ll revise a little. So just doing the math and scratching my head. If I paid $900,000 for the car wash, not counting overhead, interest, or expenses, I would have to 18,000 car washes per year over ten years. just to get my money back instead of leaving it under the mattress. Then if you add paid or lost interest, real estate and other taxes and expenses, that’s a lot of car washes just to BE. Then do a little queue analysis to make sure you can handle the busy times without turning people away and It has to be a tough business.
I would have said I’ve got better odds at the casino. My hat is off to the folks doing this unless it is a loss leader or something.
Kinda like the unicorn idea of putting up enough charging stations to meet demand at even a15-30 minute charging period while you sit and read a book. The math just doesn’t cut it. Don’t buy any Gm stock yet. So now I gotta look behind the curtain.
Many of us already know that “trick” for extending the range of the remote.
They lose money on each unit of sale, but they make it up on volume.
That is the purchase price, not an annual fee. Do you expect 100% return on your investment each year?
Yeah a little negative but still need to do a pretty hefty volume to make it worthwhile. In 10 years, the interest cost or loss would pretty much double the $900,000. Then taxes, expenses, etc. what could you actually net on $5 car wash. Maybe gotta figure increased real estate valu like farm land. Make little money from farming until the land is sold. Glad someone does it. Explains why one of our car washes sat closed for over ten years though.
Around here the local carwashes seem to be owned by alcoholics that inherited money and they start out ok enough, but the alcoholic attitude of the owner rears its ugly head and then they fall into disrepair and go downhill quick.
Two that I know suffered this fate and people try to get refunds when the automatic wash fails and have no luck and vow never to go back.
Well my carpets are removable so I take it there would be no issues using a pressure washer then?
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No self-serve car wash ownership experience myself, but a scientist co-worker owned one, said his was a very good investment. On a $/hour basis, he made more on the carwash than his professional job. Biggest headache according to him wasn’t dealing with the plumbing and waste problem so much, but counting all the coins, getting them into a format the bank would take for deposit.
Seems like to compare it to other investment opportunities have to consider the purchase cost vs the year income. I’d want at least 5% of the purchase cost as net income per year. Then the land appreciation over time an big upside.
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You’re right, you should have let me tell you. If your rational were true, “your body acts like an antenna,” then why would you have to hold it to your chin instead of just holding it in your hand?
You hold the metal part of the fob to your chin (or head) since the head is full of fluids (blood and other squishy stuff) and it makes for somewhat of an antenna which “slightly” extends the range…
It seems like an arm is full of blood and other squishy stuff too. Not disputing the head claim, but wondering if maybe holding the fob to the head works better just b/c the head is up higher? Or somehow an antenna shaped like a head and arm works better than just an arm? This would make a good scene for Curb Your Enthusiasm … lol …
You are talking about floor mats now not the carpet . Yes you could power wash the floor mats if they are out of your vehicle .
Just curious , is this your first vehicle or has someone been doing the service for you . All of your questions seem to be of the first vehicle owner variety .
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Removable mats could be pressure washed. Or take them to a laundromat, wash and dry them there.