Car Wash Feasibility Study in South Carolina

Larger than the middle, with a wide cancellation range

South Carolina car wash lending is a little above the national middle on size. The cell holds 37 SBA loans between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $53.6 million, with a median of $1.1 million at 1.15x the class median elsewhere. Half of the loans fall between $289,000 and $2.2 million. The state ranks 28 of 53 for car washes, the class holds 16 of 39 places in South Carolina's mix, and a location quotient of 0.96x is almost exactly the national weight. Cancellation shows a floor of 11.8% and a ceiling of 14.7%. No outcome metric in South Carolina's car wash cell was flagged against the state record or the national class.

Who holds the loans in the Palmetto State

Twenty-eight of the loans are 7(a), 9 are 504, and none is a franchise. Countybank is the only holder on the listing, with 5 loans and $12.3 million. Greenville County has 8 loans, Beaufort and Charleston have 5 each, and Richland has 3.

Spike, lull, and a missing rate

FY2019 stands out with 12 loans and $17.9 million, far above its neighbours, while FY2017 had one loan of $1.2 million, FY2022 had one of $289,000, and FY2026 has none. FY2024 recorded 5 loans and $6.9 million. No charge-off rate appears for the early cohort, which is under 30 loans.

What a Carolina wash has to demonstrate

The study should convert traffic into cars. Counts on the road, ease of entry and exit, and the position of competing washes set the volume, and the membership share sets how stable the revenue is. Costs include equipment, land, utilities, wastewater handling and labour, and at a loan near $1.1 million the real estate is normally part of the deal, so itemise land and site work. Coverage has to be shown through a ramp that starts well below stabilised volume. The appraisal treats the wash as special purpose property, so the equity put in and the conservatism of the volume forecast are what a lender will test. A site that sells memberships needs a plan for recruiting and keeping members, so marketing spend before opening, promotional pricing and expected cancellations of memberships belong in the forecast as well.

Where the code stops

Pooling of truck and mobile washes with car washes means format cannot be read from this cell.