Bakken Lube and Wash, 4-Location Jiffy Lube & Car Wash Portfolio, North Dakota

$8.2M

Revenue

$1.8M

SDE

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Full Editorial Writeup

Bakken Lube and Wash, LLC is a four-property Jiffy Lube quick-lube and car wash portfolio operating across North Dakota, with two of the four locations also housing car wash operations. Built and expanded by its founder from 2013 through today, the business pairs fee-simple real estate ownership with an established operating company that has posted consistent multi-year growth. The Williston store is a standout, earning a President's Award in 2024 as the top-performing Jiffy Lube across all franchise locations and crossing the $3M store milestone the same year.

The portfolio generates $8.17M in TTM revenue and $1.84M in EBITDA, with revenue growing every year since 2023 at roughly a 20% CAGR and EBITDA up approximately 32% over the same period. Growth has been driven by both rising customer volume and climbing average ticket sizes at every store, a favorable combination that suggests genuine pricing power rather than one-off tailwinds. Ownership reinvested heavily in 2025, including a full car wash equipment upgrade, meaning a buyer inherits refreshed hard assets rather than deferred capex.

This is a recession-resilient business. Oil changes, brake work, and basic maintenance are non-deferrable for most drivers, and the Jiffy Lube brand carries national recognition and standardized operating systems. The North Dakota footprint sits in the Bakken oil region, which brings a mix of local retail demand plus fleet and commercial receivables. The offering includes both business and real estate, available together or separately, which gives a buyer flexibility on how to structure and finance the deal.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong and improving, with $1.84M EBITDA on $8.17M revenue, a healthy roughly 22% margin for a quick-lube operator. EBITDA has grown about 32% since 2023 in step with revenue, and rising ticket averages at every location signal real pricing power rather than volume gimmicks.
The moat here is a blend of brand and location. Jiffy Lube is a nationally recognized franchise with proven systems and marketing, and fee-simple ownership of four real estate parcels protects the operator from lease renewal risk and rent inflation that squeezes so many service businesses.
Quick-lube and basic maintenance is about as recession-durable as auto services get. Drivers defer new car purchases in a downturn and keep older vehicles running longer, which actually increases demand for oil changes and routine service.
This is an operator's dream setup: a tenured multi-store GM and store managers already in place, an award-winning flagship in Williston, and 2025 capex already spent on a full car wash equipment upgrade. A buyer steps into refreshed assets and a functioning management layer rather than a turnaround.

How to improve it

Push car wash penetration across the portfolio. Only 2 of 4 locations have car washes today, so evaluate adding wash bays or unlimited monthly membership programs at the lube-only sites to layer high-margin recurring revenue on top of the transactional oil change business.
Build a car wash membership subscription model at the two wash locations. Recurring monthly unlimited-wash plans smooth revenue, lift customer lifetime value, and create a predictable cash flow base that materially raises exit multiple versus pure pay-per-visit.
Systematize fleet and commercial accounts. The Bakken region has heavy fleet and oilfield vehicle traffic, so a dedicated B2B account effort with billing terms and priority scheduling can grow the fleet receivables base and drive higher-frequency, higher-ticket volume.
Codify the Williston playbook and replicate it. The flagship won a President's Award and hit the $3M milestone, so document exactly what drives its ticket averages and throughput and roll those SOPs into the other three stores to close the performance gap.
Optimize labor and bay throughput with data. Install or upgrade point-of-sale and bay timing analytics to track cars per hour, upsell attach rates, and labor productivity per store, then coach managers against clear benchmarks to lift margin without adding headcount.
Evaluate a fifth and sixth location. With a proven 13-year build model, a working management bench, and demonstrated unit economics, disciplined greenfield or acquisition expansion in the region is a natural growth lever that leverages existing overhead and brand relationships.

Diligence notes

Get the store-level P&Ls for all four locations. Portfolio EBITDA of $1.84M is impressive, but you need to confirm how much is concentrated in the award-winning Williston flagship versus the other three, since heavy single-store concentration changes the risk and the price.
Clarify the real estate versus operations split. The listing offers business and real estate together or separately, so obtain independent valuations, cap rates, and any rent assumptions to understand how much of the ask is dirt versus going-concern cash flow and how it affects the blended multiple.
Verify Jiffy Lube franchise terms and transferability. Review franchise agreement remaining terms, royalty and marketing fees, required capex commitments, transfer approval process, and any territory or renewal provisions, as these directly govern future economics and buyer freedom.
Confirm the 2025 car wash equipment upgrade and remaining capex. Validate what was actually spent, warranties, and equipment condition across all sites, and separately assess deferred maintenance on the older lube bays so you are not surprised by near-term reinvestment needs.
Understand the Bakken economic exposure. Williston and the surrounding oil region can be cyclical with energy prices, so pull multi-year traffic and revenue data to test whether the ~20% CAGR reflects durable local demand or an oil-driven boom that could reverse.
Assess management retention and the owner's role. The listing touts a tenured multi-store GM and managers, so confirm employment agreements, compensation, and whether the founder is operationally involved, since losing key managers post-close would erode the value of an already-built operating team.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →