Bottom line
- Total investment $235K – $353K including a $40K franchise fee, 7.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $937K/year (median $888K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 615 loans (below the industry average).
- 23 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one AAMCO unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
40%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 AAMCO units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.4M
on $7.0M purchase
Total debt
$5.6M
SBA $3.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
AAMCO franchisees operate automotive transmission repair and service centers, diagnosing and repairing transmission systems, performing fluid services, and handling related drivetrain work. Day-to-day operations involve customer intake, mechanical diagnostics, parts replacement, quality testing, and warranty management while managing technician staff and shop inventory across a 15-year lease or ownership term.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
AAMCO presents HIGH RISK due to a contracting franchise system, pervasive litigation involving consumer fraud and franchisee disputes, absent profitability disclosure, unprotected territory, and false going concern status—indicating franchisor instability and deteriorating unit economics.
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem contracting at -1.4% YoY with 560 units suggests market saturation or operational challenges in core transmission repair business
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation history including two pending consumer fraud allegations, concluded franchisee disputes over misrepresentation, and 10 franchisor enforcement actions in 2022-2023 indicate systemic relationship issues
- 03MINORNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosure despite $937K average revenue prevents ROI validation; 7.5% royalty on gross receipts with unknown profitability creates opaque financial picture
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, which is concerning for a 560-unit franchise and suggests potential franchisor financial instability or operational distress
- 05MINORNo protected territory with declining unit count increases cannibalization risk and competitive pressure on unit-level economics
- 06MEDHigh cumulative investment ($234.8K-$353.2K) relative to undisclosed net income creates unfavorable risk-reward asymmetry
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
AAMCO · FDD (2023) PDF