Quick Verdict · who it fits
Grease Monkey fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mid-scale automotive concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$291K - $917K
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$40K
Royalty (Item 6)
6% + 0.5–1% ad
Item 19 median rev
$904k franchisee-owned Centers
System size (Item 20)
233 +29
Years in business
20+ yrs
Model Grease Monkey's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Where units actually land — not just the headline average.
P25
$499k
Median
$904k
P75
$1.81M
▪ n = 174 units · franchisee-owned Centers · calendar year 2025 · Source: 2026 FDD Item 19
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 6% + ad fund 0.5–1% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$900,000
$100k$2M
Royalty (6%)
—
Ad fund (0.5–1%)
—
Total / year
—
▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
408
Total units open
233 franchised + 175 company-owned
29 franchised units
Units opened last year
5
Units closed last year
29 terminations + 2 non-renewals + 1 reacquired + 2 ceased operations – other reasons
24
Net unit growth
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
4
Risks to review
3
Strengths identified
4
Questions to ask
How Grease Monkey ranks against 60 Automotive peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
73rd pct · of 60 peers
Franchise fee
52nd pct · of 60 peers
System size
74th pct · of 60 peers
Automotive industry averages
Avg investment
$319K - $1.4M
Avg franchise fee
$34K
Avg system size
196
Franchises analyzed
60
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grease Monkey | Disclosed | $40K | $291K - $917K | 6% | 233 |
| Kwik KarSimilar price | Disclosed | $20K | $291K - $917K | 6% | 0 |
| Jiffy LubeBiggest system | None | $18K | — | 4% | 2,083 |
| Systemforward AmericaTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $50K | $118K - $191K | 7% | 309 |
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Personalized
Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
Mavis never acquired Big O Tires. It bought NTB and Tire Kingdom from TBC in 2023 and closed on Midas in June 2025. Big O is still a wholly-owned TBC subsidiary, and its FDD issued June 30, 2025 reports a $2,824,712.79 average across 457 stores.
Brand Analysis
Byrider franchise costs run $947,000 to $1,577,500 per the 2026 FDD, and most of that money never touches the building. It funds the loans you make to your own customers. Here's the full breakdown, including real Item 19 earnings by quartile.
Brand Analysis
Big O Tires runs 461 franchised stores and zero company-owned, charges a 3.5% to 5.0% royalty matrix, and does disclose Item 19: an average of $2,824,712.79 across 457 stores. It is a TBC brand, not a Mavis one. Here is what the FDD supports.
Grease Monkey requires a $39,900 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $291,320–$917,050, per the most recent FDD on file.
Grease Monkey franchises are sold by Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC, the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the corporate structure, including any parent companies and predecessors.
Yes. Grease Monkey discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $904,322. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 6% and an advertising fund contribution of 0.5% to 1.0% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Grease Monkey has 233 total locations, with 29 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt