Valvoline Instant Oil Change franchise: what it costs
Expect $192,375 to $639,550 to start a Valvoline Instant Oil Change center on leased land. The source is its 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), papers every brand must hand over before you buy.
Item by item cost of a Valvoline Instant Oil Change franchise
- Total startup cost
- $192,375 to $639,550 Item 7, 2026 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- $30,000 Item 5, 2026 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- You pay 2% the first year, 3% the second and 6% of adjusted gross revenue after that Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- At most 2% of adjusted gross revenue; a yearly cap also applies Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- $1,844,172 a year on average across 891 locations it counts, before costs Item 19, 2026 FDD
- Location count when 2025 ended
- Franchise owners ran 1,063 and the company ran 976 Item 20, 2026 FDD
Dated December 26, 2025 and filed by Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchising, Inc. with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the 2026 Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchise Disclosure Document is the source for every figure above. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Valvoline Instant Oil Change FDD: sales and earnings
Valvoline Instant Oil Change gives figures in Item 19, the FDD section where a brand may state sales or earnings for its locations. The headline number: $1,844,172 in average yearly net sales, from 891 franchised centers open all year, fiscal year to September 30, 2025. It is money the store takes in, not profit, because rent, wages and every other cost get paid from it.
Check the guide on reading Item 19 before you trust any number inside one.
Other automotive franchises compared with Valvoline Instant Oil Change
Valvoline Instant Oil Change is the cheapest automotive franchise to open on this site.
| Brand | Total cost to opentotal, lowest to highest | Upfront feeone-time fee | Royaltyongoing, usually a % of sales | Year filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valvoline Instant Oil Change | $192K to $640K | $30,000 | 6% from year three | 2026 |
| Jiffy Lube | $211K to $510K | $35,000 | 4% | 2026 |
| Take 5 Oil Change | $912K to $2.05M | $45,000 | 7% | 2025 |
| Tommy's Express Car Wash | $3.48M to $11.8M | $50,000 | 4% | 2026 |
Before you buy, a brand has to hand over its Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD); the brand's latest one is where every figure comes from. A royalty is the slice of sales, or the fixed amount, that you keep paying the brand once you've opened. A K stands for thousand, an M for million. Sales or earnings figures appear in the FDD for all 4 brands (see them by opening a brand). The filing year is the year that FDD was listed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Valvoline Instant Oil Change location count
Franchise owners ran 52% of the 2,039 Valvoline Instant Oil Change locations across the United States when 2025 ended (Item 20). In that same part of the FDD, you get phone numbers for owners still running stores and ones who left. Your best way to learn how these costs play out in real life is to call a few of them.
Get the Valvoline Instant Oil Change FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the Valvoline Instant Oil Change FDD and franchise agreement with you.