Grease Monkey Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Grease Monkey franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Grease Monkey discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
FY2025 data from 174 franchisees in 5 sales categories. Charts show net sales ranges, EBITDAR averages (3.8%-23.5%), and quartile performance. Excludes occupancy costs, taxes, interest. Limited sample omits struggling/new locations.
What a Grease Monkey franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $39,900 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 0.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 6.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $708,057 – $2,284,321 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
6% royalty, 0.5% ad fund, 4% local ad commitment. 10% royalty rebate for pre-Apr5-2024 franchisees. Grandfather policy: 5% royalty for pre-Apr30-2022 franchisees with stable ownership.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Grease Monkey system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 408 |
| Ceased operations | 2 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 2 |
| Transferred to new owners | 12 |
| Closure rate | 0.5% of outlets |
2 ceased operations 2025; 1 Iowa reacquired 2025. Low termination rate suggests stable system.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Grease Monkey worth it? — how it compares to 18 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 6.5% of sales | lower than most (median 9%) |
| Startup cost | from $708,057 | pricier than 79% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 79% of automotive services franchises |
| Closure rate | 0.5% of outlets | better than most (median 2.4%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every automotive services franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Grease Monkey
The franchisor's framing: FY2025 data from 174 franchisees in 5 sales categories. Charts show net sales ranges, EBIT… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Grease Monkey franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Grease Monkey franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $708,057–$2,284,321, including a $39,900 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Grease Monkey franchise owners make?
- FY2025 data from 174 franchisees in 5 sales categories. Charts show net sales ranges, EBITDAR averages (3.8%-23.5%), and quartile performance. Excludes occupancy costs, taxes, interest. Limited sample omits struggling/new locations. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the Grease Monkey franchise fees?
- Grease Monkey's FDD discloses a $39,900 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 0.5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 6.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 6% royalty, 0.5% ad fund, 4% local ad commitment. 10% royalty rebate for pre-Apr5-2024 franchisees. Grandfather policy: 5% royalty for pre-Apr30-2022 franchisees with stable ownership.
- What is the Grease Monkey franchise profit margin?
- Grease Monkey does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: FY2025 data from 174 franchisees in 5 sales categories. Charts show net sales ranges, EBITDAR averages (3.8%-23.5%), and quartile performance. Excludes occupancy costs, taxes, interest. Limited sample omits struggling/new locations. Recurring fees alone take about 6.5% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Grease Monkey franchise failure rate?
- 2 ceased operations 2025; 1 Iowa reacquired 2025. Low termination rate suggests stable system.
- How many Grease Monkey locations are there?
- Grease Monkey's FDD reports 408 total outlets, with 2 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 12 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Grease Monkey have complaints or lawsuits?
- Grease Monkey discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Grease Monkey franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Grease Monkey scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 6.5% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: MN CARDS 35920-202604-05 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Grease Monkey or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.