Eight franchise brands run an oil change shop. Here they are beside the independent version of the same business, with each brand’s fees as it publishes them and worked out in dollars. A brand can bring customers an independent has to earn one by one. The question is whether it brings in more than it costs.
Typical for an oil change shop: $400k to $1.8M in sales, and the owner keeps 12% to 22% after paying for its own marketing. Change either to your own numbers.
Work each brand out at
How the two sides are counted
Sales. A brand’s name brings customers an independent wins one at a time, so each brand is worked out at the sales it reports where we have them, and at yours where we don’t.
Marketing. On your own you pay for all of it, about 3% of sales here (the SBA’s usual range for ongoing marketing). The ad fund does part of that job, so it is counted once, not twice.
Survival. New franchised businesses were about 5 to 6 points more likely to make it through their first two years in Census data, and about half of all new businesses close within five years. It is not in the dollars; each brand’s details give the sources.
Your own oil change shop and each brand, side by side
The independent version
Your own oil change shop
Built and run under your own name
Cost to open
$174k to $723k
Annual sales
$850ktypical
Franchise fee
None
Royalty + ad fund
Noneall marketing is yours
$144,500
The owner keeps in a year, after about $26k of marketing
Taking new owners
Costa Oil
Quick oil change
Total investment
$156k to $1.9M
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$55k
Royalty + ad fund
6.5% + 2% of sales
$89k
The owner keeps in a year at $850k in sales (your sales), after $72k to the brand
$55k less a year than on your own
Selective
Valvoline Instant Oil Change
Quick lube
Multi-unit developers, $1M net worth
Total investment
$192k to $3.5M
Avg. annual sales
$1.7M to $1.8M
Franchise fee
$30k
Royalty + ad fund
2% to 6% + 5% of sales
$160k to $231k
The owner keeps in a year at $1.8M in sales (what it reports), after $124k to $195k to the brand
$15k to $86k more a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Jiffy Lube
Quick lube
Total investment
$207k to $423k
Avg. annual sales
$940k to $1.1M
Franchise fee
$35k
Royalty + ad fund
4% + 4% of sales
$119k
The owner keeps in a year at $995k in sales (what it reports), after $80k to the brand
$25k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Victory Lane Quick Oil Change
Quick lube
Total investment
$235k to $786k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 3% of sales
$94k
The owner keeps in a year at $850k in sales (your sales), after $77k to the brand
$51k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Strickland Brothers 10 Minute Oil Change
Drive-through oil change
Total investment
$248k to $2.1M
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$55k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$94k
The owner keeps in a year at $850k in sales (your sales), after $68k to the brand
$51k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Grease Monkey
Quick lube and auto service
Total investment
$252k to $821k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$40k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 0.5% of sales
$94k
The owner keeps in a year at $850k in sales (your sales), after $55k to the brand
$51k less a year than on your own
Selective
Take 5 Oil Change
Quick lube
Area development deals, $1.5M+ net worth
Total investment
$670k to $878k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
Not listed
Royalty + ad fund
In the details
The fee is not a simple share of sales, so it is not worked out in dollars. The details show it as the brand words it.
Taking new owners
SpeeDee Oil Change & Auto Service
Oil change and auto service
Total investment
$708k to $2.3M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$40k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 0.5% of sales
$94k
The owner keeps in a year at $850k in sales (your sales), after $55k to the brand
$51k less a year than on your own
Free account
See all 8 oil change shop brands side by side
Every brand’s investment and fees, and what the owner keeps against running your own
The yearly sales the first 3 report, and a plus to add brands to your comparison and benchmark them in your account
Members see the sales every franchisor reports, for every brand
Free, no card. A new account accepts the Terms and the Privacy Policy. smbnest is a self-assessment tool and never takes a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor.
Before you sign: what to read in the disclosure document
Every franchisor must give you its Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you sign or pay. These are the parts that answer the questions above.
Items 5 to 7, the fees and the investment. The franchise fee, every other fee (technology, training, transfer, renewal), and the full opening budget, including working capital.
Item 19, what owners earn. Whether the brand states owner sales or earnings at all, and for which units. Put its figures in the boxes above in place of the typical ones.
Item 20, units opened, closed and sold. How many owners left in each of the last three years, and a list of current and former owners you can call.
Item 12, the territory. Whether you get a protected area, and what the brand can open or sell inside it.
Item 21, the franchisor’s own finances. Whether the company behind the brand is in good health.
smbnest is a self-assessment tool, not individualized advice. Fees are as each brand publishes them on its franchising page and in its disclosure document, reviewed in the month shown, and change; the figures in dollars are worked out at the sales you enter and are not a forecast. We never take a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor. Before you sign, speak with a franchise attorney and a qualified financial adviser, and call owners from the disclosure document.
Your guidesmbnest
The guide is an automated assistant. Answers come from this business’s model, its sources and your plan; they are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to a person