Website design By BotEap.comThe oil change business is tough. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’ve been in business for five years and I’m telling you from personal experience. I have done more research on the subject than several people gathered. I am an authority. I know what I am talking about. No profit, at least one can really build a business, on oil changes.

Website design By BotEap.comThis is coming from someone who is in the business. Whoever, no matter who he is, tells you that he can make a decent profit on oil changes, no matter what kind, he’s lying. He is lying to you on purpose to make money or he really doesn’t know it. Profit from oil changes cannot, and I repeat for emphasis, cannot sustain a viable business. The entire quick-lube model is so flawed it’s almost comical. And the typical model of mobile quick lubrication is even more flawed in its essence. I’ve only ever met one guy who has what I consider to have made a real profit from mobile oil changes and his name is Lance Winslow. I have talked to the guy and he is very smart but in one of his posts he stated that he makes very little money from his oil change company. He had just been one of the many companies that he has started that has allowed him to achieve wealth in this country.

Website design By BotEap.comAll quick lubes, including Jiffy Lube, make no money on oil changes. Mobile oil change companies will quickly pick up on this. The cost of your typical oil change in the United States, using the cheapest oil you can find, is $15.00 with oil and filter. The going rate for an oil change in the US is $20-$30 per five quart oil change. That means that in most states the most you can get from an oil change is $15.00. And that’s being liberal with numbers and not including fuel. Fifteen dollars for an oil change is not going to sustain a viable business. Some vehicles are absolutely terrible to work on like certain Chevrolet Cavaliers and Land Rovers and it will take you over an hour minimum to do an oil change. What do you get for all this trouble? Maybe twenty dollars. It’s the biggest joke.

Website design By BotEap.comThe only way most quick lube places can make money is by buying really cool plugins. If you work in a quick lube service and don’t sell the customer additional services they may or may not need, you will get fired very quickly. Fast lubes can’t make money any other way. They have to push unnecessary air filters, fuel filters, coolant flushes, transmission flushes, power steering flushes, rear flushes, cabin air filters, wiper blade replacement, fuel injection cleaners, and many others to get a minimal profit. Mobile oil change companies have to do this much less because they have lower overhead, but their profit margin also depends on the additional services. As a mobile oil change owner, I really try to be as honest as possible. I really don’t want to fuck with anyone. But having said that, you would be making very little money if the air filters lasted five years. I have to actively push add services to earn money. Oil changes alone, even for diesels, won’t pay my mortgage. Most of the fixed locations are in my position times fifty.

Website design By BotEap.comBefore you start changing the price of oil, think twice and think for a long time. It is not an easy business. Know what you are doing. I am one of the lucky ones. It’s a miracle I made it. I wanted to give up many times. Maybe you can be the 1/20th of the people who can actually make the speed lube business work. But it’s really hard and it will take a minimum of two years for you to see a real profit.