Grease Monkey

Grease Monkey's total investment of $291K to $917K reflects the two primary entry scenarios: acquiring an existing center (lower end) versus building a new facility with bays, lifts, and equipment from scratch (higher end). The franchise fee is $32,500 for new centers. The new-build economics are most relevant for franchise buyers entering today.

The royalty is 6% of monthly gross revenues, due on the 10th of each month. There is a grandfather policy that matters: existing franchisees as of April 30, 2022, who maintain 50%+ beneficial ownership, retain the prior 5% royalty rate permanently. If you acquire an existing center from one of those franchisees, the 5% rate does not transfer — you pay the current 6% rate. The National Materials Fund takes 0.5% of gross revenues (may increase to 1%). Combined new-franchisee fee burden: 6.5%.

For an automotive-services franchise, the investment in equipment (vehicle lifts, fluid management systems, tool packages) is front-loaded and relatively inflexible. A Grease Monkey center cannot pivot to a different business model if oil change demand softens.

Grease Monkey's Item 19 covers 149 franchisee-owned centers in fiscal 2024, broken into five sales tiers. Category A (under $400K, 6 centers) averaged $323,437. Category B ($400K-$600K, 16 centers) averaged $504,063. Category C ($600K-$800K, 16 centers) averaged $706,395. Category D ($800K-$1M, 34 centers) averaged $896,005. Category E (over $1M, 77 centers) averaged $1,312,440.

The majority of franchised centers (77 of 149, or 52%) generate over $1M in annual net sales. This is an unusually favorable distribution — most franchise systems see fewer than 40% of locations above the average. The overall average of $1,039,468 is reasonably close to the median, suggesting a more normal distribution than many service franchises.

At $1M in sales with 6.5% in fees ($65K) and typical automotive service margins (labor: 40-50% of service revenue, parts/materials: 30-40%), a well-run Grease Monkey center can generate $150K-$250K in owner earnings before debt service. The 162 company-owned centers in 2024 give the franchisor direct operational skin in the game.

Grease Monkey has grown consistently: 337 total units in 2022, 351 in 2023, 371 in 2024. The growth is concentrated in company-owned locations (150 in 2022, 162 in 2024) — the franchisor is expanding its own footprint alongside the franchise network, which is a strong signal of confidence in the unit economics. The franchised base (187 in 2022, 209 in 2024) has also grown modestly.

Grease Monkey operates alongside Valvoline, Jiffy Lube, and Take 5 in the express oil change segment. The $291K-$917K investment range positions it between Jiffy Lube's higher buildout costs and the lowest-cost oil change entries.

The 5% royalty grandfathering creates a two-tier system within Grease Monkey's franchisee network: legacy operators pay 1 percentage point less than new buyers. If you're looking at existing centers for acquisition, determine whether the seller's 5% rate transfers — it doesn't, which affects the economics of acquisition vs. new build.

The oil change business faces an emerging structural headwind: electric vehicles require no oil changes and increasingly limited maintenance intervals. EV adoption is gradual, and most fleets will remain ICE-powered for the next decade, but a 15-20 year investment horizon needs to account for the declining service demand from a growing EV share of the vehicle fleet.