How we help you start your oil change business

Grease Monkey has hundreds of locations and four decades of experience in the oil change business.

If you’re thinking of starting an oil change business, we have several advantages to help you find the right location, build smart, and get up to speed.

Even if you don’t have automotive repair experience and are simply exploring the industry because of its stability and strong margins, you can be assured that you will be backed by a large franchise support team dedicated to your success.

Scroll for a quick overview of some of the key ways we help franchisees get started and grow their businesses.

Choosing your location

Finding the right site is critical for your business. Grease Monkey works alongside you and local commercial real estate brokers to identify promising sites, evaluate their likely performance, and negotiate favorable terms.

Finding the right site

Local market insights: One of the first steps is to partner with a commercial real estate broker in your community. Local brokers often know about properties that will soon be available, that aren’t on the market yet, or that are slated for development. Leveraging their networking and local knowledge is incredibly valuable.

Data insights: Grease Monkey invests heavily in mapping tools that allow us to drop a pin on a map and see a wealth of data, including:

population density
demographics
the number of ideal customers in the area
the number of competitors
traffic counts
traffic patterns
nearby businesses that are ideal co-tenants, such as gas stations or car washes

These variables are then tied into predictive analytics that allow us to project the likely performance of a given location based on all of those factors.

Boots-on-the-ground review: If it looks like we’ve found a good location, Grease Monkey may send out if needed a real estate team member to do an in-person inspection of the site. We evaluate things like visibility, how easy it is to get in and out of the lot, signage, and more subtle factors that can impact the number of customers who are likely to visit.

Negotiating for your location

Great Monkey has many tools to assist you with negotiating your location. One such tool is a Letter of Intent (LOI). The LOI sets up the terms of the deal or lease agreement, which is often a complex process. We’ve negotiated hundreds of leases and purchases, and that experience helps us advise you on the terms of your deal.

Submit a site for consideration

If you are a local broker and have a site in mind for a Grease Monkey location, you can share the address and considerations with [email protected].

Flexible Development Options

One of the ways we stand out from other franchise opportunities is that our construction and design plans are flexible, which allows you to take advantage of far more real estate opportunities (and potentially save time and money). That flexibility is especially valuable for multi-unit franchisees. Here’s a look at how we help you maximize real estate opportunities and keep construction of your quick lube business on schedule.

Three development options

As a Grease Monkey franchisee, you’ll have three options for your site: Greenfield, Brownfield, and Conversion.

Greenfield: Building a site from the ground up.

This is the most costly of the three options and may require a higher Liquidity and Net Worth.
Takes the longest to complete because of permitting requirements in addition to construction.
Is a good option for development in fast-growing areas like new large-scale developments.

Brownfield: Buying or leasing an existing facility that has closed.

Re-opening a former auto repair or quick lube business can save significant time and money.
Often, the site is good, but the former business either lost their lease, got tired of the business, or was operating without a National brand behind them.

Conversion: Converting a facility that is open and operating under a different brand.

We can help quickly and efficiently convert an existing oil change business to the Grease Monkey brand.
Independent shops are welcome to convert and receive discounted fees and royalties for two years.

Oil change center design

Because our development options are flexible, franchisees’ construction and design needs vary, depending on the type of real estate chosen (Greenfield, Brownfield, or Conversion). Our Construction & Design team has a lot of experience with all of these options.

We have solutions for:

Choosing building size
Designing the exterior
Planning interior design
Choosing building materials
Building infrastructure
Permitting process
Bidding process
Landscaping
Assisting your general contractor
Cost-efficiency
Brand consistency
Coordinating with key stakeholders and team members
Communication, including biweekly calls

Our team will help with the details: the number of bays, the size of the lobby, layout, lighting, and more. First impressions are important, and consumers will make a judgement call based on what they see. For example, the landscaping around your store may not seem important. But the exterior of your store is your first lobby, and consumers will make a decision based on these details. Our Construction & Design team has the strategy to make your location desirable.

Opening your location

We will be there for your soft opening and your grand opening. We look forward to celebrating those victories with you! While you can read more about training a little lower on this page, rest assured that even after you and your team have been trained, we’ll be there to help. When you first open, expect us to be by your side, making sure you are set up for success, ironing out any wrinkles, and answering questions.

Before you open your store, we will be on site to help you get ready for running the business. One of our resources is a New Center Checklist, which we will track with you on a weekly basis. The checklist covers all the details of starting a quick lube business, such as ordering uniforms for your Pit Crew, installing and testing equipment, vendor training, waste disposal, and more.

More resources we provide:

Setting up our state-of-the-art point of sale system for you
Helping determine how much inventory you need to start
Stocking your starting inventory
Assigning franchise support directors, who are available 24/7, to your store

Marketing Support

When you join Grease Monkey, you benefit from a growing brand that has been building relationships with customers for four decades. You also gain the support of a dedicated marketing team that manages sophisticated campaigns to drive business to your center. We’re working to beat the competition in every market where we have a Grease Monkey location.

As a national franchise, we can leverage our size to create marketing programs to benefit all Grease Monkey locations. We use a wide variety of media to connect with customers and potential customers, as well as vendors to assist with branded elements like uniforms. Because of our scale, our Marketing team can negotiate lower costs and more support from vendors.

Our multi-channel marketing approach includes both advertising and in-store branding. This includes:

Website hosting and support for your store
Social media engagement
Search engine marketing
Email
TV
Radio
Print
Business cards, banners, ad templates
Branded apparel – hoodies, caps, shirts
Outdoor advertising
Direct mail
Coupons that you can offer in your location
Online reputation management

Training Sets Us Apart

Some customers are nervous about taking their vehicles in to be serviced; women especially can be nervous about the automotive experience. We need to overcome that obstacle for our customers. We can, and we will show you how.

The training process is very important to our customers. Studies show that customers want to know that your employees are certified. At Grease Monkey, employees have pit crew shirts to show their certification. You’ll become certified, too.

The first step of your training is learning our proven system. Our online training platform, available 24/7, is called FullSpeed Automotive University. The training is very robust and has more than 250 courses – some of which are required. This is the platform you’ll use to train your own people. In addition, you’ll spend a week in Denver at our New Franchisee Training School, and we’ll show you how to differentiate Grease Monkey from other quick lube businesses.

Our Training School includes:

Grease Monkey processes that go beyond the oil change to leave a strong customer impression
Staff presentations to help you understand key business systems
Presentations from key vendors to help you understand some of the resources that will help you run your business
Role playing

FullSpeed Automotive University Online includes:

24/7 training
250+ custom courses
Pit Crew Certification courses
Access to advanced mechanic courses to help employees expand their skills and certifications
Training on customer experience

Additional Opportunities:

Advanced Managers Training School
Webinars twice a month
In-store Field Training
Conventions

Ongoing Operations Support

Grease Monkey franchisees enjoy the support of dedicated franchise support directors who work with you when you have questions and who are available 24/7.

You can expect your franchise support director to visit your locations regularly to check in with you and your team. They’ll talk about challenges you may be having, as well as opportunities to boost your results or smooth operations. Often, all it takes is a fresh set of eyes to spot opportunities for improvements.

They’ll also share best practices, may encourage you to try out new initiatives, and will share local marketing strategies that can help increase your car count. Their goal is to help you achieve your goals.