'Self-Run' Car Wash Sells For 140K, New Owner Profits $5K A Month, Only Stops By To Mix Soap And Collect Cash

When it comes to successful car wash ventures and pop culture references, Walter White’s A1A from “Breaking Bad” comes to mind. But for one young entrepreneur, her scrub stop is no cover-up — it’s bringing in truckloads of money and pretty much runs itself.

What To Know: According to a Business Insider report, 22-year-old Hannah Ingram purchased a coin-operated car wash in Tennessee in 2021 for $140,000. It brings in approximately $5,500 a month in profit and requires almost zero work.

When she purchased the almost entirely automated car wash about three years ago, it was already active and profitable. After contacting the owners who had listed the business for sale and taking a quick look at the books, Ingram saw several areas where she could cut costs and grow the company’s bottom line. 

“For example, they were paying a few hundred dollars a month for a radio advertisement that I knew I could lose and replace with social media marketing. Doing those calculations, I could see a clear way forward where I’d be able to stay in the green, and that gave me confidence in the investment,” she told Business Insider. 

See Also: Investors Are Writing Off Your Car Wash – Tax Motivated Buyers Turning The Net Lease Car Wash Market Red Hot

Ingram was able to get around having to come up with a large down payment by buying the business using seller financing, which is a real estate agreement that allows the buyer to make incremental payments to the seller on the purchase. In this case, she actually took over the owner’s existing bank loan.

When Ingram finally acquired the car wash she replaced many of the brushes, vacuums and soap dispensers. She also invested in new signs to put a new shine on the business. Ingram noted that she made a decent profit in her first month of ownership.

Later on, she added machines that accepted credit cards and made a few other improvements. All in, she invested an extra $7,500 into the business on top of the purchase price and the car wash now profits $5,500 each month on average. 

Ingram used to spend about 30 minutes each day taking out trash and doing small preventative maintenance tasks at the location, but she hired someone to take over her minimal maintenance routine. 

“These days, I basically just stop by to mix the soap and take care of the money … Otherwise, it’s entirely self-run — and I still make thousands a month,” she told Business Insider.

Check This Out: This Entrepreneur Turned A Vending Machine Side Hustle Into A $300K Business — Now He Works Just 4 Hours Per Week

Photo: Robert Wilkos from Pixabay.

This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.