In today’s economic climate, investors are increasingly seeking opportunities that combine cash flow, long-term growth, and downside protection. One asset class gaining serious momentum? Express car washes. More specifically, investments in Tommy's Express Car Wash locations through Yankee Capital Partners (YCP) are standing out as one of the most compelling options in the space.
Unlike traditional retail or hospitality businesses, express car washes are recession-resilient. Rain or shine, boom or bust, people wash their cars—especially when they’re enrolled in monthly membership plans. These subscription models create predictable, recurring revenue, often making up the majority of site income. Investors benefit from stable, passive income, distributed quarterly, often with double-digit returns.
Car wash investments also offer unique tax benefits. Through bonus depreciation, investors can significantly reduce their tax burden by offsetting taxes on the quarterly income distributed throughout the life of the investment, while also benefiting from long-term capital gains treatment upon exit. This is especially powerful when investing through real estate partnerships like YCP, where the underlying assets include both the business and the real estate. The result? More of your investment returns stay in your pocket.
When you invest with Yankee Capital Partners, you’re not just buying into a car wash business—you’re also investing in premium real estate. YCP targets high-traffic, high-visibility locations with long-term growth potential. This real estate component adds a layer of downside protection and appreciation upside, creating a more robust investment than standalone business models.
The past year has seen several bankruptcies and distressed sales in the car wash industry, especially among poorly capitalized operators and over-leveraged platforms. A handful of the largest U.S. car wash companies aggressively acquired smaller operators to capture market share, often funding these acquisitions with significant debt and selling off the underlying real estate. While this rapid expansion increased their footprint, it also weakened their financial profile and made operations nearly impossible to manage and maintain effectively. Many of these acquired sites had different and aging equipment, varying levels of staff training (or none at all), and inconsistent inventory systems. This operational fragmentation made it extremely difficult to leverage a unified maintenance and operations platform, limiting the ability to implement standardized training and service models, and ultimately eroding the potential for true economies of scale.
For example, Whistle Express purchased Take 5 Car Washes at a fire sale price after Take 5 struggled with excessive debt, the sale of underlying real estate, and a series of acquisitions of fragmented operators. Zips Car Wash, the fourth-largest operator in the U.S., recently filed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Mister Car Wash—the only publicly traded car wash company in the country—continues to report losses year after year due to the same challenges: acquiring aging, fragmented operators with different equipment, layering on debt, and selling parts of the real estate.
This turbulence has created a rare opportunity for experienced, disciplined groups like Yankee Capital Partners and Tommy's Express Car Washes to capture market share by offering a superior and consistent product at locations throughout the U.S.
Tommy's Express is the largest and fastest-growing car wash franchise in the U.S., and currently the seventh-largest operator overall, with expectations to be among the top four by the end of 2025. With over 240 locations nationwide and rapidly expanding, Tommy's combines the strength of national branding with cutting-edge technology, including:
This tech-forward approach creates a seamless customer experience, boosts throughput, and maximizes member retention. It’s one of the reasons Tommy's Express locations consistently outperform industry benchmarks.
Yankee Capital Partners brings over 60 years of combined investment and real estate experience and is a proud Tommy's Express franchisee. By partnering directly with Tommy’s Express and focusing on both ground-up development and value-add acquisitions, YCP offers investors a balanced, risk-adjusted opportunity in a niche asset class with substantial long-term growth potential.
If you're looking for a smart, tax-advantaged, and income-generating investment backed by strong real estate and a best-in-class operator, the time to consider car wash investing is now.
Join Yankee Capital Partners in the next phase of Tommy's Express growth.
Want to learn more? Download our investor deck or schedule a call with our team today.
