In recent years, with the continuous expansion of urban extension, the private car consumer market for commuting has become increasingly large. The number of private cars in Beijing is basically increasing at an average rate of 1,000 per day, and it is very likely that in 2009 it will exceed the 4 million mark. Private cars are increasingly "driving" into the homes of ordinary people, and the number of cars is rising. The car washing industry derived from the automotive consumer market has become a "golden cake" due to small investment and low thresholds. However, while gaining opportunities, the car washing industry is also facing an awkward dilemma: water consumption is getting more and more attention, and many places have introduced water-saving management methods. Traditional car washing methods are the first to be caught on the cusp.
For the past few days, the reporters have been visiting the Nancheng District of Beijing to find out that whether it is a large residential community represented by Fangzhuang or the urban-rural fringe area outside the South Fourth Ring Road that has not yet been developed on a large scale, although the scales are different, You can always find a car wash shop within a 5-minute drive. In Xiaohongmen, Chengshou Temple and other places, there has even been a phenomenon of crowded business operations, and car washing spots are blooming everywhere.
There are eight or nine car wash shops along the street from Chengshou Temple to Xiaocun Bridge on the South Third Ring Road that is less than 200 meters long. The reporter saw that the conditions of these street-side car wash shops are very simple, most of the shops are less than 20 square meters, only enough for a small washing workshop. Although the size of the store is small, the space outside the store seems to extend infinitely. Usually one is flushed in the washing workshop and three are wiped on the side of the road. The vehicles waiting to be washed often block the congested water of the long and narrow sidewalk. During the visit, the reporter found that, regardless of whether they have a business license or an independent indoor washing workshop, almost all car wash shops make full use of sidewalks and even bicycle lanes. Occupying roads for car washing is almost a "hidden rule" in the car washing industry.
A car owner said in an interview with reporters that the main reason for washing a car at a street car wash is for convenience. It only costs 10 yuan for a wash, and a 100 yuan card can be washed 13 times and a water wax is given, which is more cost-effective. And the price of washing the body of 5 yuan once attracted a large number of taxis. The reporter found that some double-shift drivers directly use the car wash point as a shift base.
According to the monitoring report issued by the Beijing Municipal Water Affairs Bureau, washing a car requires 200 liters of water to flush with a hose, and 30 liters of water to flush with a high-pressure water gun. The amount of water used to wash a car in Beijing per year exceeds one Kunming Lake or Equivalent to the storage capacity of 6 North Seas. According to the actual "Beijing Water Conservation Method", once a car wash site finds that tap water is used, it can be fined up to 20,000 yuan.
In addition, this kind of hand-crafted car wash shop generally adopts the form of bucket and rag. The same bucket of water is used repeatedly to wipe the body. The mud and sand contained in the water can easily scratch the paint and greatly reduce the finish of the body. According to a guy who used to wipe the car on the side of the road, in order to make the car brighter after wiping, they often use alkaline detergents, such as washing powder, when wiping the car. Although the car paint looks clean and bright in a short period of time after scrubbing, the car paint will become dull and dull after several washings, and it will even corrode the car paint.
In recent years, after consumers have applied for a car wash card, the phenomenon of "evaporation" in car wash shops has also appeared in the newspapers. These have cast a shadow over the traditional auto shops.
Computer car wash shop survives by star service
Compared with the traditional manual car wash of the "high pressure water gun + rag" style, high-tech computerized car wash shops are much more professional. However, these computerized car wash shops were not as popular as imagined, and even suffered a "cold reception."

The reporter found in the investigation that the source of these computerized car wash points mainly comes from the company’s buses, while family cars are relatively few. Regarding computerized car washes, as a private car family, Ms. Sun expressed her opinion: manual car washes cost only 10 yuan, and sometimes bargaining can be 2 yuan cheaper. Although computerized car washes are faster, the price is generally 15 yuan. For ordinary families In other words, the cars are all low- and mid-range cars, so there is no need to wash a car at a high price.
The manager of a fully automatic computerized car wash shop believes that the price is only one of the reasons why computerized car washes are "received". In his analysis, the key to the problem is that traditional car washing is still the mainstream and has become a habit of many citizens, which has seized the source of customers for computerized car washing. In addition, the initial investment of computerized car washing is relatively high, equipment generally costs hundreds of thousands of yuan, labor, rent and other costs are several times higher than traditional car washing, and car washing alone does not make much money. The person in charge of a famous car service chain store in Beijing revealed to reporters that although the car wash cost of the chain store is as high as 60 yuan, the chain store involves car decoration, beauty, cleaning, maintenance and other businesses, plus a unified store image and service standards. , Price guidance, etc., also locked a group of owners of mid-to-high-end private cars. The reporter learned during the interview that these large chain stores are generally divided into construction factories and supplies sales, but different stores have different focuses. In terms of service items, it basically covers all aspects related to vehicle decoration, beauty and maintenance. In terms of price, conventional items such as car washing, waxing, car interior cleaning, etc. are different from each store, which is more expensive in a single time, so it is very cost-effective to apply for a card. . However, in general, the service standards between the chain stores of the same company are basically the same.
　　The car washing situation in the parking lot of the community is embarrassing
　　 Recently, Mr. Zhang, who lives in a community in Yizhuang, received a car washing leaflet when parking in the community. The leaflet stated that the car was washed 10 yuan per time. The car can be washed without leaving the parking space and waxed for free. You can wash your car without going out of the community, and without having to wait in line, Mr. Zhang decided to give it a try. After making an appointment call, two young men in blue uniforms came to Mr. Zhang's car. They quickly put the water outlet pipe of the computer washing car into a bucket, pressed the button, the water sprayed from the water pipe cleaned the car body, and the sewage flowed into the reservoir along the drain groove. About 15 minutes later, the car became spotless. Mr. Zhang took a closer look, and the washing was fairly clean.
Mr. Zhang said: "Since I bought a car, car washing has become a big problem. Car washing takes a lot of time. There will be long lines to wash in the morning or on weekends. If you don’t wash it, I’m sorry to drive the car on the street and talk about it. It’s very shameless and affects my mood. It’s convenient to have this kind of mobile car washing machine. It’s great that you can wash the car without leaving the community, saving trouble and money."
Afterwards, the reporter also got through the phone number of this mobile car washing room through the promotion leaflet. The person in charge of the company introduced: "The car washing machine is a kind of mobile car washing equipment. The car owner does not need to drive the car to the car washing shop, as long as the car is provided. At the parking location, they will bring relevant car washing supplies on-site service, and can also provide other vehicle maintenance services such as waxing. The charging method is generally to apply for a monthly card, such as 8 monthly subscriptions, a fee of 60 yuan, and free waxing1 Second. In addition, this kind of car washing equipment is very environmentally friendly, washing a car consumes less than 5 liters of water, which can save a lot of water compared with ordinary car washing methods, and the cleaning agent has almost no foam, which will not cause environmental pollution to the community. , And can wash the car very clean."
The reporter learned during the interview that some car owners are worried that this way of washing cars is harmful to the car surface, especially when dealing with bird excrement and flying insects left on the car body after driving on the highway. “The gum that sticks to the car body in the summer may not be washed clean after repeated washing with warm water, so the quick wash of three to five minutes is not reassuring.” Some people think that the on-site car wash service is more convenient, but this kind of on-site car wash shop The liquidity is strong, the service quality is difficult to be reassuring, and it is also difficult to safeguard rights. For owners who do not have a car in the community, where the car owner parks the car, the car washing machine will follow it to wash the car. Since not every parking spot has drainage facilities, sewage will flow everywhere. If it is in the freezing season, the ground freezing caused by sewage will not only pollute the environment but also have the hidden danger of hurting people.