NOLN defines oil change-plus as facilities that have dual profit centers, like an auto repair/fast lube, co-branded facilities or tires stores that also have a lube bay or two. The category also includes muffler shops, mass merchant retailers like Walmarts Tire & Lube Express, etc. The places surveyed change oil, but its not their primary business model.

NOLN Editor Tammy Neal told Lube Report one surprising find in the survey was that oil change-plus facilities are reporting that customers have an average oil change interval of less than 4,000 miles, and they are servicing older vehicles than their fast lube counterparts are.

The average age of vehicles served in an oil change-plus facility was 8.3 years, and the average number of miles on vehicles serviced was 99,660 miles. This compared to 9.5 years and 83,435 miles for quick lubes.

Oil-change plus facilities told NOLN that only 3 percent of the vehicles they service have less than 5,000 miles on them.

The average price of a standard, full-service lube oil and filter service was $36.47.

The percentage of oil change-plus facilities offering a basic, low-cost lube oil and filter service reached 98 percent, compared to only 11 percent of quick lubes surveyed. The price was $21.39, compared to $28.01 for fast lubes.

Only two percent of oil change-plus operators surveyed offered rerefined or green engine oils, reporting a $36.16 average charge for service. That compared to 14 percent of quick lube survey participants, who charged $73.28 for such service.

The average ticket total for quick-change plus facilities was $90.36 in 2014, compared to $71.02 for quick lubes. The total cost of goods for a standard, full-service lube oil and filter change was $13.21 for quick-change plus facilities.

The average number of oil changes per day was 15, compared to nearly 32 for quick lubes.

Yearly sales per store for quick-change plus operators amounted to $961,829, compared to $683,190 for quick lubes. Net profit was 16.9 percent. The portion of gross sales used for payroll reached 25.9 percent.

The number of bays for oil change-plus operators was 6.7, compared to 2.9 for quick lubes.

Miles driven by customers between oil changes reached 3,998 miles, compared to 4,597 for fast lube customers. Oil change-plus operators said miles driven between oil changes by vehicles equipped with oil life monitors topped 5,763 miles compared to 4,686 miles for such vehicles serviced at quick lubes.

The average per-gallon cost of highest volume bulk oil was $9.15.

Among oil change-plus operators surveyed, conventional oils accounted for 29 percent of motor oil sales, followed by full synthetic oils at 27 percent, synthetic blend oils at 23 percent and high mileage with 14 percent. By comparison, quick lube operators reported 47 percent of motor sales as conventional, followed by high mileage (18 percent), full synthetic (15 percent) and synthetic blend (4 percent). Among both oil change-plus and fast lube operators, rerefined oils only accounted for 1 percent of sales.

Among popular motor oil brands in oil change-plus facilities, Valvoline led with 19 percent of reported sales, followed by various private label brands with 14 percent, Havoline at 9 percent, Kendall with 9 percent, Castrol at 9 percent, Service Pro with 8 percent, Mobil at 8 percent and Pennzoil with 7 percent. Other brands accounted for the remaining 17 percent. In fast lubes, top brands included Pennzoil with 22 percent, followed by Valvoline (16 percent), Havoline (13 percent), Mobil (12 percent) and Castrol (10 percent), with other brands and private labels accounting for the rest.

Among synthetics carried by oil change-plus facilities, Mobil topped the list with 37 percent, followed by Valvoline at 15 percent, Pennzoil with 12 percent, Kendall with 12 percent, and Castrol at 8 percent. Other brands accounted for the remaining 16 percent. In fast lubes, Mobil also led at 36 percent, followed by Pennzoil (17 percent), Valvoline (12 percent), Castrol (7 percent), Havoline (7 percent), Service Pro (6 percent), Kendall (3 percent, and Amsoil (2 percent). Others accounted for the rest.

The complete 2014 NOLN Oil Change-Plus Operator Survey report is available on the NOLN website (www.noln.net) at no charge to paid subscribers.