5.0× The typical car wash for sale in the US asks 5.0 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 311 car washes listed for sale on a major online marketplace and compared each asking price with the cash flow its seller reported.
The findings in eight sentences.
- The middle half of car washes ask between 3.3 and 6.7 times their yearly cash flow.
- Car washes ask more than the typical business for sale, which asks 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for a car wash is $1,200,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical car wash asks 2.0 times its yearly sales.
- 21% of car washes for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
- 38% of owners who say why they're selling are moving on to other businesses or interests, and 29% are retiring.
- 45% of car washes for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 15% of the car washes for sale are listed in New York, 15% in Texas and 13% in California.
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Of the auto and transport industries, car washes ask the most.
Gas stations ask the least, 2.4 times their yearly cash flow.
- Car washes: median 5.0×, middle half from 3.3× to 6.7×
- Boat dealers and marine services: median 3.3×, middle half from 2.6× to 4.3×
- Limo and passenger transportation companies: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.4× to 3.8×
- Trucking companies: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.4× to 3.5×
- Moving companies and shipping stores: median 2.8×, middle half from 1.8× to 3.6×
- Car dealerships: median 2.7×, middle half from 1.9× to 4.2×
- Auto repair shops: median 2.7×, middle half from 2.0× to 3.4×
- Gas stations: median 2.4×, middle half from 1.7× to 3.1×
fulkersonadvisors.com
In 2019, before ChatGPT, the median asking multiple for car washes was 4.8× cash flow. Measured the same way today, it is up 4%. How every industry moved since
Every industryWho Owns US Car Washes? Private Equity Runs 15%
62% of car washes ask more than four times their yearly cash flow.
29% ask between two and four, and 9% less than two.
fulkersonadvisors.com
What car washes for sale say they run on.
14% of car washes for sale say what they run on, and 73% of those name a point-of-sale or payment system. 2% of car washes for sale pitch technology as a way to grow.
- Point-of-sale or payment system: 73%
- Scheduling, dispatch or industry software: 31%
- Online booking, ordering or store: 14%
- Accounting or payroll software: 4%
fulkersonadvisors.com
Each bar is a share of the listings that say what they run on. A listing can name several.
What a car wash like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$667,000 to $1,330,000
The typical one asks $1,000,000, 5.0× its yearly cash flow.
Based on car washes of every size. Too few this size are listed. These are asking prices, not sale prices or appraisals.
After the close.
We write the software a newly bought business runs on, one process at a time, such as quoting, scheduling or billing, and the new owner keeps the code. How we work with buyers and operating partners.
The data.
We read the listings on September 24, 2026, and their full details from September 25 to 30, 2026.
Questions
What multiple of cash flow do car washes sell for?
Car washes listed for sale in the US ask a median 5.0 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 3.3 and 6.7 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy a car wash?
The typical car wash for sale asks $1,200,000, and the middle half ask between $467,000 and $2,500,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many car washes for sale offer seller financing?
21% of car washes for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
What multiple of revenue do car washes ask?
The typical car wash for sale asks 2.0 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 1.3 and 2.8 times.
What software do car washes use?
14% of car washes for sale say in their listing what they run on. Of those, 73% name a point-of-sale or payment system, 31% scheduling, dispatch or industry software, 14% online booking, ordering or an online store and 4% accounting or payroll software.
Why are car washes for sale?
38% of owners who give a reason are moving on to other businesses or interests. 29% are retiring, and 14% are relocating.
How we did it
We read every listing on a major US online marketplace for businesses for sale on September 24, 2026, and went back to each one from September 25 to 30, 2026 for its full details. This page covers the 311 established car washes among them. 82 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 56 of those are left after the exclusions below.
Older listings use a flat list of named categories, and newer ones a two-level list whose subcategories have no names. A listing without its own photo shows its category's default photo. Each default photo almost always shows up in a single newer subcategory, so each named category joins the subcategory where its photo appears.
A multiple is the asking price divided by the seller's discretionary earnings the listing reports. We left out multiples below 0.3 or above 20, and listings whose price includes the property. Prices and cash flows on this page come from the listings with a multiple. These are asking prices, and a business usually sells for less than it asks. The full method.
The section on what car washes run on counts what listings say. A page has it when at least 30 of its listings say what they run on.
Cite this page
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What car washes for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/car-washes
Use any of these numbers or charts. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.