Take 5

Deciding whether to invest six figures — or more than $2 million — in a franchise is one of the most consequential financial decisions a business owner will make. The core question is almost always the same: is this brand growing fast enough, supported well enough, and profitable enough to justify the capital at risk? Take 5 Oil Change answers that question with a remarkably compelling combination of operating simplicity, consumer behavioral tailwinds, and a corporate infrastructure backed by the largest automotive aftermarket company in North America. Founded in 1984 as Rapid Oil Change in Metairie, Louisiana, by Edwin R. Smith, the brand spent its early decades growing modestly, reaching only 13 stores by 2006. The pivotal shift came in 2011, when founder Monty Montgomery sold the business to its first private equity sponsor, Trivest, and again in 2015, when Roark Capital acquired Driven Brands, Take 5's parent company. That acquisition gave Take 5 access to the institutional capital, operational infrastructure, and national purchasing power of Driven Brands Holdings Inc., now publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker DRVN and recognized as the largest automotive aftermarket company in North America. Today, Take 5 Oil Change operates nearly 1,200 locations across the United States and Canada, with company-owned and franchised service centers approaching 1,300 units, and a stated long-term goal of surpassing 2,000 locations within a decade. The brand entered franchising in 2018 and has since built one of the fastest-growing franchise networks in the automotive services sector, ranked 27th on Entrepreneur's 2025 Fastest-Growing Franchises list — its highest ranking ever, up from 42nd in 2022. For franchise investors, this trajectory represents a brand still in its high-growth chapter, with substantial white space remaining and a proven unit-level model that commands serious attention.

The oil change industry is a 20-billion-dollar market in the United States, with more than 450 million oil changes performed annually. That baseline demand is driven by one of the most durable forces in consumer behavior: vehicle ownership. Americans own approximately 290 million registered vehicles, and regardless of economic cycles, those vehicles require routine maintenance. Unlike discretionary spending categories that contract during recessions, oil change services occupy the essential maintenance segment of consumer budgets — a structural characteristic that insulates the category from typical economic headwinds. Consumer behavior trends are reinforcing Take 5's specific positioning within this market. The sustained demand for speed and convenience, accelerated by habits formed during the pandemic era, has shifted consumer preference decisively toward drive-thru and no-wait service formats. Take 5's core value proposition — a stay-in-your-car, approximately 10-minute oil change with no appointment required — is structurally aligned with where consumer expectations have moved. The quick lube segment of the market is also benefiting from the increasing complexity of vehicle maintenance, which has driven consumers away from DIY oil changes and toward professional service providers. The industry remains highly fragmented, with no single national brand holding dominant market share, creating a meaningful runway for well-capitalized, operationally efficient chains to consolidate customer visits. Take 5's daily car counts running 45% above the industry average and repeat customer rates exceeding 70% suggest the brand has developed a loyalty-generating model that outperforms category norms on the metrics that matter most to franchise investors: traffic frequency and customer retention. These dynamics explain why the quick lube and automotive services category consistently attracts franchise investment from experienced multi-unit operators looking to diversify into an essential services business.

The Take 5 franchise cost structure reflects a premium automotive services investment with meaningful variation depending on the path to market. The initial franchise fee is $35,000, payable upon signing the Franchise Agreement. Total initial investment for a new ground-up Take 5 Oil Change center ranges from $759,294 to $1,616,685, while a conversion of an existing facility ranges from $222,794 to $760,685 — a significantly lower entry point that makes the conversion path attractive for investors with access to suitable existing properties. Across all formats, the total Take 5 franchise investment ranges from approximately $912,248 to $2,053,642 as reported through December 2025. The spread within that range is driven by four primary cost categories in a ground-up build: building work ($235,000 to $485,000), general site work ($175,000 to $440,000), general conditions and fees ($70,000 to $224,000), and due diligence, permits, design, and plans ($40,000 to $180,000). Furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the marketing package add $31,794 to $40,185. There is also a technology setup fee of $3,000 for initial configuration of the point-of-sale and business intelligence software platforms. On an ongoing basis, franchisees pay a royalty of 7% of gross sales and a national brand fund contribution of 5% of gross sales, bringing total ongoing fees to 12% of gross revenue — a figure that sits at the higher end of the quick lube and automotive services category but is offset by the purchasing leverage and marketing infrastructure available through Driven Brands. Net worth requirements are $500,000 at the lower threshold, with some market development agreements requiring $1.5 million or more. The parent company's scale as a NASDAQ-listed entity with institutional management creates favorable conditions for SBA-backed financing, and the conversion format's lower investment threshold makes this franchise more accessible to investors with strong site control but limited construction budgets.

Daily operations at a Take 5 Oil Change center are built around one of the simplest and most repeatable service formats in the automotive franchise category. The stay-in-your-car model eliminates the waiting room dynamic entirely — customers pull into a bay, remain in their vehicle, and receive an oil change along with windshield wiper and air filter replacement, additional fluid services such as coolant exchange, and complimentary tire checks and fluid top-offs, all in approximately 10 minutes. The in-bay service time is reported at approximately 5 minutes, less than one-third of the industry average, which is the operational foundation behind those above-average daily car counts. Staffing is lean and skill-accessible — automotive repair knowledge is encouraged but not required for franchisees, and the simplified, non-mechanical service format means the labor pool is broader than traditional auto repair concepts. Take 5 equips franchisees with proprietary technology tools including computer equipment and point-of-sale software, along with business intelligence platforms that allow operators to monitor performance metrics across single or multiple locations. The initial training program totals 175 hours, divided between 55 hours of classroom instruction and 120 hours of on-the-job training at the franchisor's facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. The program spans four weeks for the Managing Director and the center's manager, with a two-week track for assistant managers. Franchisees who operate multiple centers can request local on-site training at a fee of $10,000 per trainer. Territory structure is designed around multi-unit development agreements, and franchisees are typically committed to opening multiple locations within a defined geographic region. The Discovery Day process includes a visit to Take 5's Support Center in Charlotte, where franchisees meet with President Tim Austin, Group President Mo Khalid, and Senior Vice President of Franchise Operations Eric Wollenhaupt, along with the broader support staff.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document in a traditional itemized format, but the 2025 FDD does contain data based on the performance of 298 affiliate-owned centers, adjusted to reflect typical royalty, marketing, and cost-of-goods figures for a franchisee. According to the franchisor's 2025 FDD, Take 5 centers open for at least one full year reported average gross sales of $1,384,790 during fiscal year 2024. Other publicly cited figures include an average unit volume of $1,285,000, and average annual sales of approximately $1.2 million, depending on the reporting source and vintage of the data. The revenue per unit in 2020 was $1,026,949, establishing a clear upward trajectory as the brand has scaled. Take 5 is publicly recognized for what its parent company and franchise development materials describe as attractive unit-level economics and high store margins. One franchisee was publicly reported to generate $2.5 million in sales at a single location, operating at a margin exceeding 40% and generating approximately $1 million in annual profit — an outlier result, but one that illustrates the ceiling of the model under optimal conditions. Using the more conservative average gross sales figure of $1,384,790 and a 20% profit margin assumption, the initial capital recovery period on a mid-range ground-up investment would extend to approximately six to seven years. At a 10% margin, the payback period stretches beyond a decade. These payback timelines underscore the importance of site selection, multi-unit development strategy, and the conversion format's lower capital entry point for investors prioritizing capital efficiency. The high royalty and ad fund structure — totaling 12% of gross sales — is a meaningful factor in margin analysis and should be stress-tested against site-specific revenue projections during due diligence.

Take 5 Oil Change's growth trajectory is one of the most compelling in the franchise industry across any category. The brand began franchising in 2018 and passed 400 franchised locations in 2024, then celebrated surpassing 500 franchised locations in 2025 — representing growth of more than 110% in its franchise footprint over three years. Total system-wide locations reached over 800 across the U.S. and Canada by 2022, with over 950 additional locations in the pipeline at that time. Milestone franchise openings include the 200th U.S. franchised location in Hutto, Texas, in October 2022, the 300th franchised location in Decatur, Georgia, in October 2023, and its December 2025 debut in Philadelphia as part of a strategic Northeast expansion where the brand more than doubled its footprint in two years. International expansion is underway with a location recently opened in Brantford, Ontario, and a planned debut in Puerto Rico in late 2025. The brand has risen from 42nd to 27th on Entrepreneur's Fastest-Growing Franchises list over just three years, and in 2026 climbed 31 spots to 70th on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500, while ranking 22nd on Franchise Times' 2026 Fast and Serious list. CARFAX named 1,119 Take 5 locations as 2025 Top-Rated Service Centers based on verified customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 across all locations — a customer satisfaction signal that reinforces the brand's retention economics. The competitive moat is built on four pillars: Driven Brands' purchasing scale, proprietary operational technology, the no-appointment stay-in-your-car format that competitors have struggled to replicate at scale, and a customer education philosophy that replaces high-pressure upselling with transparent service recommendations that drive repeat visits.

The ideal Take 5 franchise candidate is not the first-time business owner starting from scratch — the brand's profile skews strongly toward experienced business operators and existing franchisees of other brands who are looking to diversify their portfolio, build long-term wealth, and capture first-mover advantage in markets where the brand has not yet established density. Management experience and a mentorship mentality are emphasized over automotive industry knowledge, since the service model is designed to be operated by trained technicians rather than mechanic-franchisees. Multi-unit development agreements are the norm, and many franchisees expand to double-digit store counts, with some signing second multi-location development agreements after seeing initial returns. The immediate geographic focus for franchise growth is in the Southeast United States, where the brand has its deepest existing footprint, with longer-term expansion targeting the Midwest and Northeast — regions where the brand doubled its locations in two years leading into 2025. Take 5 currently operates in 19 states, and the pipeline of over 950 locations identified in 2022 suggests the brand's own internal territory mapping identifies substantial remaining availability across the country. The franchise process moves from an introductory FDD review call through a market plan and territory discussion, a competitor SWOT analysis review, validation conversations with existing multi-unit owners, and ultimately a Letter of Intent followed by Discovery Day in Charlotte. The franchise agreement term structure and the brand's goal of reaching 2,000 total locations within 10 years create a window of opportunity for investors who want to enter established territories before saturation dynamics shift the availability picture.

The Take 5 franchise opportunity presents a data-supported investment thesis that merits serious evaluation from any experienced multi-unit operator active in the essential services or automotive services categories. The brand operates in a 20-billion-dollar essential services market with over 450 million annual service events, is backed by the largest automotive aftermarket company in North America with NASDAQ-listed institutional governance, and has demonstrated 110% franchise footprint growth over three years — a growth rate that places it among the top-performing franchise systems in any category. Average gross sales of $1,384,790 per unit in fiscal year 2024, daily car counts 45% above the industry average, repeat customer rates exceeding 70%, and a 4.7-star average across 1,119 CARFAX-verified locations collectively paint a picture of a brand with genuine consumer resonance and operational execution quality. The risks are real and quantifiable: a total investment that can exceed $2 million for a ground-up build, combined royalty and ad fund fees of 12% of gross sales, and a capital recovery period that may extend six to ten years depending on margin performance. Balanced against those risks is a conversion format that can reduce investment to under $760,000, a corporate infrastructure that provides purchasing leverage unavailable to independent operators, and a franchise development pipeline pointing toward 2,000 locations over the next decade. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark Take 5 against competing franchise opportunities across the automotive services category with independent, unbiased analysis. Explore the complete Take 5 franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.