"Mobile or storefront?" is the first real decision a new auto detail business has to make. The wrong answer kills 40% of new entrants in year one. 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.