Car wash business owners, prospective buyers, and industry investors rely on a diverse set of financial benchmarks to assess the value of a business. We have compiled data from current BizBuySell listings and sold businesses to provide insight into the business for sale market and important benchmarks for pricing and evaluating car wash businesses relative to industry standards.
See also: Gas Station Valuation Multiples
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Car wash businesses listed and sold on BizBuySell are comprised primarily of locally owned small businesses engaging in automated, self-serve and limited-service car washes. In recent years, private equity has entered the market, and while not a significant portion of listings, this trend has impacted valuations industry-wide. Most of these businesses include complementary components such as convenience stores, gas pumps, and/or automotive merchandise sales.
| Reported Listings Analyzed | Median Days on Market |
| 296 | 183 |
| Median Sale Price | Median Asking Price |
| $857,500 | $987,500 |
| Median Revenue | Median Owner Earnings |
| $710,000 | $200,000 |
| Average Revenue Multiple | Average Earnings Multiple |
| 1.92 | 4.93 |
The median sale price of car wash businesses sold on BizBuySell rose dramatically in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the pandemic. The likely driver of this increase in sale values was a trend among private equity groups to purchase car washes and the real estate they occupy. Since the peak, values have come back down moderately in line with increasing interest rates. Some growth returned in 2024 as car washes listed with higher profit margins driving up average values.
Valuation, or pricing, multiples are financial tools that allow for comparisons between businesses that have different levels of revenue. They represent the sales price of a business relative to its financial performance, and given enough individual business sales data, they represent what the market is willing to pay for a business given its revenue and earnings.
Business values and associated multiples fluctuate over time, influenced by a variety of macroeconomic factors such as interest rates, inflation, consumer spending, and overall economic growth. For car wash businesses reported sold on BizBuySell, the average valuation multiples peaked in 2021 with demand for car washes, and have since returned to pre-pandemic levels as increased interest rates put pressure on business values.
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To determine how a business compares in terms of sales volume and financial performance relative to industry peers, it’s necessary to have some insight into industry standards. "Benchmarking" describes the practice of comparing a business’s financial performance to typical industry standards to determine where a business falls relative to other businesses in the same industry. These benchmarks can help guide owners and investors towards appropriate valuation multiples from the range above.
To that end, we have aggregated car wash business financial ranges useful for comparing an individual business to the broader industry.
The median discretionary earnings and revenue for car wash businesses sold increased sharply in 2020 with a trend of larger businesses being acquired by private equity groups. Beyond that anomaly, sales and earnings have remained consistent.
For a more complete understanding of the market and valuation standards, consider comparisons within the broader automotive sector when benchmarking car wash businesses. The chart and table below includes key metrics from sales of automotive businesses on BizBuySell between 2020 and 2024.
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