Car Wash Feasibility Study in Washington

Washington car washes: ordinary in structure

Car wash lending in Washington resembles its parents in nearly every measure. SBA approved 62 loans from FY2017 to FY2026 for $62.1 million, ranking the state 16 of 53 for the class, while car wash sits 18 of 39 among Washington asset classes. The location quotient of 0.63x and the $629,250 median, 0.68x the nationwide car wash median, show a smaller and lighter market than the national pattern, but none of these clears the distinctness margin.

There are 47 loans under 7(a) and 15 under 504, with the central half between $161,750 and $1.3 million, which spans a small hand-wash site and a tunnel. Franchising is 1.6%. Ameritrust CDC and Northwest Business Development Association each have 5 loans, at $6.9 million and $5.1 million. Stearns Bank National Association holds 6 loans and $13.1 million, while U.S. Bank, National Association also holds 6, at $121,000 in total, a striking gap that points to very different loan types.

Pierce County first

Pierce County has 13 loans and King 9, followed by Yakima at 6, then Skagit and Thurston at 5, which spreads the market beyond Seattle. FY2017 stands out with 12 loans and $12.7 million, and FY2018 shows only 2 loans worth $105,000. FY2025 brought 7 loans and $11.1 million.

Cancellation reached at least 10.4% of approvals through FY2024 in Washington, and the ceiling matches it. Washington's 30 oldest funded loans have produced no charge-offs on the record, 0.00% either way you measure. A cohort of that size just meets the reporting threshold, so the zeros carry limited weight.

What a Washington wash must test

A Washington study should begin with site traffic and with tunnels or express washes already operating nearby. Water cost and reclamation rules, and wastewater permits, can sink a site. Equipment dominates cost for a tunnel, so the model should separate land and building from machinery. Coverage depends on the monthly membership base. A lender should ask how much revenue comes from memberships rather than single washes, because recurring income makes the first year far easier to underwrite. The limitation is that mobile and truck washes share the same business code, so some loans here are not fixed sites.