Is Rent-A-Wreck or Grease Monkey cheaper to open?

Rent-A-Wreck costs $189,550–$2,592,533 and Grease Monkey costs $708,057–$2,284,321 to open (FDD Item 7). Rent-A-Wreck has the lower entry cost.

Which is safer, Rent-A-Wreck or Grease Monkey?

SBA 7(a) charge-off rate is 3.8% for Rent-A-Wreck and 14.2% for Grease Monkey. Lower is safer, so Rent-A-Wreck has the stronger loan-repayment record.

Which is the better franchise, Rent-A-Wreck or Grease Monkey?

FranchiseVerdict grades Rent-A-Wreck B and Grease Monkey B, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Rent-A-Wreck vs Grease Monkey

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both Rent-A-Wreck and Grease Monkey are automotive franchises. Rent-A-Wreck requires an investment of $190K – $2.6M while Grease Monkey requires $708K – $2.3M. Grease Monkey discloses average revenue of $1.1M; no Item 19 revenue figure is on file for Rent-A-Wreck. Note: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. On SBA loan performance, Rent-A-Wreck has a lower charge-off rate (3.8%) compared to Grease Monkey (14.2%). FranchiseVerdict rates Rent-A-Wreck B (Above average) and Grease Monkey B (Above average).

Metric	Rent-A-Wreck	Grease Monkey
Verdict Grade	BAbove average	BAbove average
Investment Range	$190K – $2.6M	$708K – $2.3M
Franchise Fee	$25K	$40K
Royalty Rate	4.0%	6.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	N/A	$1.1M
SBA Charge-Off Rate	3.8% (29 loans)	14.2% (166 loans)
Total Units	48	408
Unit Growth (YoY)	+2 units	+24 units
Year Began Franchising	1978	2006
FDD Year	2025	2026