A complete site profile considers three critical elements; convenience, visibility and physical characteristics.  The success of the site you choose can dramatically depend on how convenient and visible it is to your potential customers.  It is simple; if a customer can not see or get to your operation then they will simply go to a competitor.

Convenience Profile: Convenience is critical for car wash success.  The more convenient the location the better.  The following are convenience considerations when analyzing a site:

• Review the site to understand the actual traffic speed in front of the site - the slower the traffic the better and the less frustrating the traffic flow on your primary access road the better. 
• Look at whether or not the turns are easy or hard in and out of the site and whether or not the site is on the preferential “going home” side of the road.
• Check out the local convenience traffic pattern and understand if the site is within that pattern. 
• Get together with your car wash advisor and do a tentative site layout – analyze the site layout for easy navigation, adequate queuing, left turns into the car wash bay (which are easier to negotiate than right turns) and whether or not the community will allow early and late business hours

 Visibility Profile: If the customer cannot readily see the car wash then the chance of selling him anything is very small.  A good car wash site has visibility. A primary concern is a car wash's ability to attract attention to itself with pleasing architecture, good lighting and landscaping, and an appropriate sign.  You want maximum visibility from the street, frontage is better than an inside lot and maximum sign visibility is optimum

Site Characteristics: You must pay attention to the specific lot characteristics and ensure that you can accomplish your plan on the site in order to be successful.  Remember, the best site in the world is worth nothing if you cannot obtain the appropriate entitlements for a car wash or if operational requirements are not met.  Important characteristics include.

• Ensure 1-2 acres for most car wash types.  Considering the high cost of commercial sites, a professional survey is a must and will be required by the bank.  Make it part of your due diligence prior to closing on the land. 
• It is imperative that the seller be able to provide a clear title. Anything less than an unrestricted, fee simple title (clear title) is normally unacceptable.

Size considerations include:

• Factors that require an exact knowledge of the lot’s dimensions include: building footprint, parking requirements, driveway width, sidewalk width, green belt size, and easement width.
• Ensure you understand the setback requirements which can consume significant amounts of space.  Verify the location of easements which can sometimes encumber full use of the site.
• Understand municipality queuing formulas as some have formulas that dictate stacking space requirements so absurd that they can eliminate the site as a potential car wash.
• Almost all new builds or major renovations will require detention areas for storm water.  Detention requirements can consume up to 1/3 of your site. Sometimes pre-detention can be extremely expensive.  Detention can be buried but can increase site development by hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
• Layout requirements dictate which direction the exit can point, which direction bay doors can point, or where vacuuming can be performed.  These requirements can sometimes make a prospective location unusable for your intended purpose.  

• The architectural design of the building is very important.  Most municipalities have architectural guidelines that you must follow in order to obtain your building design permit.  Ask the municipality if they can recommend an architect who is familiar with their requirements.  Even if another architect is handling your project, consider hiring the recommended architect to consult with your firm in order to best comply with local guidelines.  In the long run, you will save money and time.
• There are many zoning and special use considerations.  Getting your site entitled (permitted) can be a frustrating process.  Even if a car wash is a permitted use according to the zoning code, frequently the ordinance requires car washes to also receive special use or conditional use permits.  These can cause your intended use to be denied, or you can be rejected due to other permit demands that make it not financially viable.  Inquire with the planning department as to what the local ordinances require. Also, for a small fee, many municipalities will offer a meeting with the head of the planning department to discuss the viability of getting a car wash permitted in their city or town.  This can save you time and money.  More often than not, there is a lead realtor in a given city or town that can save you tremendous time locating prospective parcels.  Many times they have the right connections in the planning department to get unofficial answers on whether or not a car wash will be permitted. Some of the considerations for zoning and special use include:
• The site must be zoned properly for car wash use or be re-zoned.  The viability of re-zoning changes from one municipality to the next.  If possible, find locations that are already zoned with car wash as a permitted use.  When you attempt to re-zone, if the use is out of alignment with the future land use plan of the area, it is unlikely that it will be allowed.
• If a site requires special use or conditional use permission as a car wash, it will require a meeting of the planning commission.  Be prepared with preliminary site plans and renderings.  In addition, prepare general information regarding community need for the service, operational details like business hours, number of employees etc.  If your plan is rejected at this phase, it is our recommendation to seek another location. 
• If zoned properly and approved for special or conditional use, move on to detailed plans which will be required for site plan approval, a general contractor take-off bid, and the bank or lending institution.
• Consider power and other utilities.  Ideally, you would like 460VAC three phase available to you because it is more efficient than 208VAC three phase.  You will prefer city water and sewer to well water and a leech field.  If you do not have city water and a sewer available as an option, at minimum, ensure that you make your car wash advisor aware of the unavailability of these services.  Because of this, you may choose to go to another location.  You will also want natural gas to heat water and the building as well as high speed internet access to clear credit cards.  The location of all of these utilities is very important.  The closer they are to the site, the less expensive the site development will be.  Of course, you will pay more for a site with utilities already prepped and on site.  The premium needs to be gauged against the additional cost of bringing them to a less expensive parcel which can sometimes be very expensive, especially if you have to cross a road.
•  Access to your site is critical.  Ensure that you can get appropriate curb cuts to make the location access convenient.
• Review sign codes to ensure the municipality will allow signs that make the business visible.
• Pay attention to grade/natural drainage, soil conditions, existing landscaping and other features. Often the expense of preparing a lot for construction is underestimated. Get sound professional advice, including a soil report if there is any doubt regarding a site's suitability.