Lube shop

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72ScampTramp

72ScampTramp

Scamp Tramp
Joined
Jan 13, 2009
Messages
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Location
Fort Dodge Iowa
So my life long dream has been to own my own lube shop! One in a prime location just came up for rent. Give me some figures! What can i expect to pay for bulk oil, grease ect. ect. i tried googling but didnt come up with any good sites with prices. Rent is only $800 a month. Ideas! or are these a dying business?
 
Is the shop nice and clean, how old is it? What size is the town? Will you have to hire a few workers? These are some things you want to consider too, but sounds cool Josh :glasses7:
 
Josh have you taken any small business classes? That will help you out a whole lot.
 
Nope I havent. Town size is about 25k. There is 1 other quick lube place. But the dealerships and mechanics do that. Actually i would need employees yes but my best friend and i have shared many beers hashing out this plan over the years so he would be my employee and maybe a part timer or 2. I figure.... rent at 800.. Pay roll about 4000k monthly that. Ads up to about 200 oil changes per month or about 8 per day or so. Thats just to pay rent and payroll. Then i have have to factor in... Oil, filters, grease, and other fluids. Sounds like most the original equipment is still there. It use to be a former Jiffy Lube.
 
I'm sure some of the current business owners will jump in here. I have owned a business while working another full time job. There may come a time when you'll have to decide which job you're going to pursue. There are many other costs to consider such as liability/personal insurance, tax and license fees, disposal costs...it goes on. Some of the initial facts you gave..200 a month means nearly 10% of the town a month. Is that feasible? Also why did Jiffy Lube go out of business? Some other things to consider are what else can you do? Small mechanical work, electrical guru or maybe contact with a local business that has multiple vehicles. I’m not trying to discourage you but, you really need to be educated before taking on this type of task. I think it is a good idea to be in business for yourself but, it is a lot of work. The business can’t be a hobby, that won't work and you might end up with a 3 year lease to pay out. Let us know what you decide.
 
I currently pay $2.49 a qt for conventional motor oil. that's bulk pricing. that price also pays for my tanks and other equipment.
I buy oil filters from Mighty. Most of my filters run $1.69 ea. The most I pay for a filter is $9.99 and that's for diesels.
The nice thing about Mighty is they also sell other filters. they also carry other parts and have a nice consignment plan.
one thing you will need to take into consideration is the different types of oil you'll need to stock, ie conventional, synthetic and the grades. You'll also have customers who want OE filters, so keep that in mind also.
You will never make money on $9.99 or even $19.99 oil changes unless your able to upsell other services. That's where BG products come in handy. Good product, does what its supposed to do and cheap enough to make money off of.
Good news! disposal of oil is a money maker. I get $1.10 a gallon for waste oil. That has coolant and everything mixed in. The EPA is a huge P.I.A. about tanks.
You need to sit down and figure expense vs. income. working for nothing sucks!
 
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