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Car Washes (Full-Service, Express, Self-Serve)

The 3 anchors. Don't leave the meeting without them.

1THE PRICE
3.5x–5.5x (express exterior / tunnel with memberships); 2.5x–3.5x (self-serve); 3.0x–5.0x (full-service)
Typical deal: $850K
2THE LEVER
Membership/subscription revenue base
Push this up, multiple goes up
3THE LANDMINE
Aging equipment requiring immediate capital reinvestment
Surface this in the first 15 min
SDE multiple
3.5x–5.5x (express exterior / tunnel with memberships); 2.5x–3.5x (self-serve); 3.0x–5.0x (full-service)
EBITDA multiple
3.0x–5.0x (self-serve/full-service); 3.8x–6.5x (express exterior tunnel with membership revenue)
Deal size range
$300K (self-serve, basic) – $5M+ (express tunnel with membership base)
OPEN

Open the meeting

Three things to nail in the first 10 minutes.

  1. 1

    Express exterior tunnel with memberships trades at 3.5x–5.5x SDE or 3.8x–6.5x EBITDA — memberships are the whole story.

  2. 2

    Self-serve bays run 2.5x–3.5x SDE; full-service runs 3.0x–5.0x depending on throughput and labor model.

  3. 3

    Revenue multiples: 1.5x–2.8x for express; 1.0x–1.8x for self-serve — real estate value is a separate line item.

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Want the full Car Washes (Full-Service, Express, Self-Serve) playbook?

You've seen the 3 Anchors and the Open. The Mid-meeting structure questions, the Close-out landmines, all 5 value drivers, all 5 deal killers, the live rebuttals, and the full killer-flag detail are unlocked when you join the Collective. Free preview is open on the HVAC and Plumbing playbooks.

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