This is an old post. In 2023 it costs £15-£20 for a simple car wash and vac.
I took my car to one of those hand car washes today, and it struck me how much money they must be making when you add it all up.
I mean, at around £4 for a simple wash and dry, and let’s say 5 cars an hour (often, there are that many queuing), in a typical working day they must be turning over somewhere between £150-£200 as an absolute minimum. Then add on the premium washes and the valet options (the cheapest is around £10, but one I’ve seen is £50), turnover must be £300-£400 easily.
They mostly operate out of defunct pubs and wasteland, so rent must be small. Admittedly, there are often 6 or 7 of them, but even so that would be anything up to £100 each – and I suppose you can only guess at how much tax they pay. It would put them on close to £15 an hour!
When you compare that to an ADI’s income, where after business costs (but before tax) the hourly rate can be around £12 an hour, you wonder if you’re in the right business sometimes!