"Mobile or storefront?" is the first real decision a new auto detail business has to make. Here's the honest comparison.
Startup capital
Mobile: $8,000 – $25,000 for the truck conversion, pressure washer, water tank, generator, vacuum, polisher, and a starter inventory of chemicals. Plus the truck itself if you don't have one.
Storefront: $35,000 – $150,000+ for a 2-3 bay lease deposit, basic build-out, equipment, signage, and 3 months of runway. Add a lift if you're doing undercarriage work.
Monthly fixed costs
Mobile: Truck payment, insurance, fuel, water/electrical hookups at job sites. Realistically $1,500-$3,000/mo.
Storefront: Lease ($2,500-$10,000+/mo depending on market), utilities, insurance, alarm. Realistically $4,000-$15,000/mo.
Revenue ceiling per operator
Mobile with one truck: ~$15,000/mo at full utilization. The constraint is throughput — you can't do more than 1-2 detailers per truck.
Storefront with 2 bays: ~$30,000-$50,000/mo at full utilization. Multi-bay scales linearly because you can park multiple cars simultaneously.
Margin profile
Mobile margins are typically 35-45%. Higher per-job pricing offset by higher fuel + variable costs.
Storefront margins are typically 45-55%. Lower per-job pricing offset by higher throughput and shared equipment costs.
Operational risk
Mobile = weather risk, equipment-in-vehicle risk, dependency on customer's water/electrical access. Rain days = zero revenue.
Storefront = lease commitment, foot-traffic dependency, longer ramp to break-even, but predictable revenue once dialed in.
Best mobile fit
- You already own a service vehicle and have detail skills
- You can self-finance for 3-6 months of slow ramp
- You're in a market with high vehicle density + dispersed customer base (suburban / fleet)
- You're testing the trade before committing to a storefront
Best storefront fit
- You have or can raise $50K+ in startup capital
- You can sign a 3-5 year lease
- You're in a market with enough vehicle density to drive walk-up
- Your goal is multi-location franchise scale within 5 years
The hybrid
Plenty of successful 2025 shops started mobile, built a customer base for 18-24 months, then opened a storefront. The mobile truck doesn't go away — it stays for fleet contracts and remote-area customers. This is the lower-risk path.
Software needs differ
Mobile shops live in their phone — GPS routing, on-vehicle payment, signature capture, photo upload from the bay floor. Storefront shops live in a bay-aware scheduler — multi-bay calendar, walk-in queue, lobby TV displays. Both can run SalesThumb; the workflows are tuned differently.