"Best" Automatic

"Best" is such a generic term but if money was no object which automatic wash would your purchase and why?

-- Tim --

Typhoon, because it has two main pumps and can wash a car very quickly. But I think they are too costly. And use a bunch of water.

I have had several Coleman water wizards and have generally been pleased. If I was going to buy an inverted L, I would look at the oasis too. I really hate to get into naming brands though. There are very succesful washes with almost every brand of equipment made. It's a combination of a sound reliable design, good chemistry, and a good site that makes a wash successful.

I think opinions differ on what makes a great automatic. Some operators prefer non-intimidating inverted Ls that have an open clean floor and modern design. Personally, I feel these washes don't offer the cleaning punch of other units that aren't as cosmetically attractive.

Some like simple "bulletproof" reliable designs, others prefer units with more action but that usually means more maintenance ("action" usually involves more moving parts)

I feel most touchless automatics can do a decent job with the right chemistry, but some have an advantage. Those are the ones that concentrate on maximum impingement on the surfaces. Also, wheel & tire cleaning to me is very important. It's hard to clean a wheel without applying chemistry first and then taking it off with good HP impact. Many are starting to incorporate friction wheel washers on their units.

I'm in the south where high pressure side blasters are a waste of time but in snowy or muddy areas they are valuable.

it sounds like no matter how good the in bay is its all about the chemisty - I have seen Coleman's name dropped around alot it must be one of the better companies

Oldtimer, who makes Typhoon?

Typhoon is made by:

http://www.oasiscarwashsystems.com/

It is fast, but don't fall for the 30-40 car per hour hype they push. I'd say you could get 20, maybe 25 out of it tops. There is a customer perception problem when an in-bay is too-fast...

Gantry units to look at:

http://www.jcolemanco.com/products/
http://www.markvii.net/

Inverted "L"s to consider

http://www.pdqinc.com/schedule/index.shtml
http://www.washworldinc.com/
http://www.vectorwash.com/tour.stm

Seems to me the best is the companies that have a tech support in the area.

I would agree, you can buy any machine out there but with poor service it is the worst! I like the Istobal in bay friction which washes the up to 30 cars per hour and I also think D and S make good quality stainless steel in bay automatics. Oasis is good but expensive.

www.dscarwash.com
www.istobalusa.com

I would have to go with the Ryko softgloss XS2. The foambrite really cleans the car and the operating cost is at least a quarter of any touchless wash (no big motor to run the HP pump and about 1/6 the chemicals). Everytime we pull out any touchless and install a foambrite (even a retro of an older voyager or ultraclean) we see a pronounced increase in sales.

I have a contrarian approach to autos. Look around your area and see what style is popular at C-stores and your immediate market area. In my town, 99% of carwashes at C-stores are friction units. Also, there are two express tunnels (friction) within a ten minute drive in either direction. I chose to remain touchless for that reason.

You have to make a real committtment to make a touchless clean well. It takes a little experimenting, and not just any chemical will work well in one. I'm not confident every distributor out there can make one clean. You may have to try several brands to find what works best in your area.

Last week, I replaced two inverted "L"s with gantry units. I was a little apprehensive about the floor rails and the customers not being used to them. After this weekend, I'm happy to report responses were overwhelmingly postive. I probably talked to twenty customers, one lady mentioned( but didn't complain) the price increase. Most commented they could feel the force of water striking the car. This unit has onboard wheel and tire chemcial application, followed by a pass of turbo nozzle rocker panel blaster. The wheels and tires looked much better than they had ever had before, and many people were buying the top wash with a low pressure rain-x application for $10, which is going to push my ticket average up. Previous top wash was only $7.

I use the Dynawash Express by A-Ok at one of my washes.

I bought the 'affordable in bay automatic', a Superior Side-Trac 700. After 7 months of operation I'm getting cars cleaned to my satisfaction and downtime has been minimal. I had to mess around with dwell times, chems., etc, but all is well now.

My customers can definitely feel the water pressure against the car with my Cat 3535 pump! I'll admit my machine lacks the razzle dazzle of higher priced machines, but for me it's about functionality and effectiveness, which I've got!