Keep the Wash Washing

This article is brought to you by Mark VII. 

A car wash can make a significant contribution to a convenience store’s bottom line.

In 2025, car washes generated an average of $7,520 in operating income per store, per month, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data.

But in order to make that money, the car wash has to stay running. Preventative maintenance can be key to avoiding lost revenue from unplanned downtime

Say something breaks down on a weekend, and a car wash has to close for four hours while the issue gets resolved.

Mark VII gives an example of a car wash with an average ticket price of $14 that cleans an average of 20 cars per hour. Even at that modest $14 rate, a four-hour closure would amount to $1,120 in lost revenue. And that’s not even accounting for the wasted staff time or any subscription members who might cancel if they can’t get a wash.

“You might lose all of the washes from that weekend—not to mention there might be a site down the street and somebody's like, ‘I actually like this one better,’” said Bjorn Fox, lead help desk advisor at Mark VII. “We want to eliminate the amount of time the machine is down, because if it's not functioning, it's not washing cars.”

In addition to generating revenue, a good car wash can help retailers build brand loyalty and increase customer engagement. Having equipment that is reliably up and running can go a long way.

Mark VII offers software that monitors the car wash called My Mark VII. A package called Live Guard includes expert intervention and support. Depending on the site, Mark VII has been able to resolve as much as 60% of issues remotely, Fox said.

Active monitoring doesn’t just respond to issues—it can also flag when preventative maintenance is needed.

Take a brush motor, for example. They’re critical for keeping a car wash running but they can wear out over time. Mark VII’s active monitoring can track signals that the motor is starting to reach the end of its lifespan, according to Fox. At a preventative maintenance visit, a technician can replace the motor before it breaks and becomes a bigger problem.

Mark VII is also testing a future package that would include video inside a car wash as part of active monitoring as well as an archival footage function, Fox said. That could help spot potential issues like leaks.

“We have a handful of test sites running throughout the country now in preparation for getting this product fully ready,” said Fox. “We've been able to find some and then prevent a bigger leak for the c-store that would have probably impacted the entire business,” Fox said.

This is the second article in a two-part series from Mark VII. In part one, we learned about new technology coming to car wash doors.

Car wash Facilities management