Car Wash Feasibility Study in Maryland

Large loans, a low concentration

Maryland ranks 31 of 53 for car wash loans and the class stands 20th among 39 Maryland classes. The file shows 31 loans between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $46.7 million. The location quotient of 0.54x means washes form roughly half the share of Maryland approvals that they take nationally. What stands out is the ticket: a median of $1.6 million, which is 1.73x the nationwide class median, with the central loans ranging from $125,000 to $2.4 million.

A wide band

The low end of that range, $125,000, probably covers equipment or a mobile or self-serve operation, while the upper end reaches express tunnels bought with land. The code cannot tell them apart, since truck washes and mobile units are filed on the same line as drive-through car washes. Of the 31 loans, 26 used 7(a) and 5 used 504, and franchising accounts for 3.2% of loans, so owner-operators dominate.

Lenders, counties and years

Hanmi Bank has 7 of the 7(a) loans worth $18.2 million, while Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company shows 6 worth $3.3 million. The contrast in dollars is large, showing one lender at the big-ticket end and another at the smaller end; it is SBA's record of who holds the loans and does not describe either bank's rules. Anne Arundel County has 7 loans, Baltimore and Prince Georges 5 each, and Howard 4. By year, FY2026 stands out with 6 loans and $12.7 million, FY2021 with 6 loans and $8.8 million, and FY2024 had a single loan of $25,000.

Rates we do not print

This page prints no loss percentages for Maryland washes; each cohort is too thin, and a missing figure does not mean none occurred.

Testing a Maryland wash

Start with traffic: vehicles per day on the road, access from the right direction and the competing washes within a short drive, since site and visibility decide an express wash. Then the model: membership share, ticket, chemical, water and power cost, and labour. A loan near $1.6 million has to be reconciled with land, building and equipment, with stormwater and sewer connection costs priced in. Repayment capacity should be proven through a wet spring and a competitor opening nearby, and the appraisal will value the site as an operating business.