How much does a Fleet Washing Service cost to buy?

A typical Fleet Washing Service sells for 2x to 3x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $112K, expect to pay roughly $224K to $336K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Fleet Washing Service?

Startup costs range from $25K to $80K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Fleet Washing Service

Q: What are the profit margins for a Fleet Washing Service?

The average profit margin for a Fleet Washing Service is around 32%. A two-person crew with a trailer-mounted wash rig can handle 40–60 vehicles per night. Primary costs are labor (50–55% of revenue), chemicals, fuel, equipment maintenance, and water reclaim disposal. At 350 managed vehicles on contract at $25/wash weekly, annual revenue hits ~$455K. Net margins of 28–35% are achievable with strong route density.

Keeping delivery trucks and school buses spotless on contract

Bottom line

Accessible entry point; validate local supply before buying.

Fleet washing companies hold recurring contracts to clean commercial vehicles — delivery trucks, school buses, municipal fleets, and utility vehicles — at client facilities after hours. The business is invisible to consumers but deeply embedded in corporate and government operations. A single school district or logistics company can anchor $80K–$150K in annual recurring revenue.

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Acquisition score

Strong

Avg Revenue

$350K

Profit Margin

32%

Acquisition Multiple

2x - 3x

Startup Cost

$25K - $80K

How It Works

Operators sign annual or multi-year contracts with fleet owners (trucking companies, school districts, municipalities, utilities) to wash vehicles on a set schedule — usually nightly or weekly. A crew arrives after hours with a pressure wash rig, cleaning chemicals, and water reclaim equipment. Revenue is flat-rate per vehicle or per visit. Route density is key: tight geography means faster washes, less drive time, and compounding margins.

Revenue Range

Low End

$150K

Typical

$350K

High End

$750K

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Watch / verify

Fleet Washing Service has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Speculative / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+Attractive 32% estimated margin profile
+SBA dataset shows 70 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 811192 · Car Washes

Deals tracked

269

70 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$1.2M

$579K–$2.6M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$1.4M

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-40.9%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

-51.2%

26 recent · 44 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

9.00%

16% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

300 mo

real-estate heavy

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Celtic Bank Corporation23

Metro City Bank18

The Huntington National Bank14

Open Bank11

Hanmi Bank11

Where deals happen

TX34

CA33

GA21

FL17

MI15

CO15

AZ11

OH10

IN10

MO10

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Mar 2026	MD	$2.7M	$3.1M	16	—
Mar 2026	MA	$558K	$657K	3	—
Mar 2026	MI	$312K	$367K	3	—
Mar 2026	MD	$1.8M	$2.2M	10	—
Feb 2026	TX	$2.7M	$3.2M	50	—
Jan 2026	TX	$1.6M	$1.9M	2	—
Jan 2026	TX	$1.0M	$1.2M	11	—
Jan 2026	CA	$480K	$565K	8	—
Dec 2025	PA	$1.4M	$1.7M	1	—
Nov 2025	OR	$850K	$1.0M	—	—

Volume rank #27/544Deal-size rank #101/544Momentum rank #302p90 loan: $4.3MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Long-term government and corporate contracts provide highly predictable recurring revenue
+Municipal and school district clients rarely cancel — switching is painful and procurement-heavy
+Nightly work means crews never compete with daytime traffic or yard operations
+Water reclaim systems satisfy environmental compliance and open municipal contracts

Cons

-Winter weather in northern climates complicates scheduling and can freeze equipment
-Crew reliability is the #1 operational challenge — this is early-morning labor
-Government contract RFP cycles mean 1-2 year sales cycles for new municipal accounts

Best For

Operators with B2B sales skills who want a route business anchored by sticky institutional clients

Operating Costs

A two-person crew with a trailer-mounted wash rig can handle 40–60 vehicles per night. Primary costs are labor (50–55% of revenue), chemicals, fuel, equipment maintenance, and water reclaim disposal. At 350 managed vehicles on contract at $25/wash weekly, annual revenue hits ~$455K. Net margins of 28–35% are achievable with strong route density.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

$-653/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $1.4M

Range: $530K (2×) to $1.4M (3×+)

Down payment — 15% ($210K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 9.00%

SBA median for this category: 9.0%

Loan term — 25 years (300 mo)

SBA median for this category: 300 months

Down payment

$210K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$1.2M

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$10K/mo

$1.8M total interest

Monthly profit

$9K/mo

at 32% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

$-653/mo

Margin does not cover debt service at these terms. Lower the deal price, increase the down payment, or extend the loan term.

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.