Auto Lab Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $297K – $746K
- Disclosed sales
- $970K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (9)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Auto Lab franchise requires a total initial investment of $297K – $746K, including a $14K – $28K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $970K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $297K – $746K
- 39th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $970K
- Outlet subset10th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Automotive
- Units
- 19
- 13th pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Automotive · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Automotive median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $297K – $746K including a $28K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $970K/year (median $932K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Auto-Lab Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Wilson Holdings, L.L.C.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- Auto-Lab, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Stephen R. Wilson
- Incorporated in
- Michigan
- HQ
- 40400 Ann Arbor Road, Suite 101, Plymouth, MI 48170
- Franchisor revenue
- $940K
- vs $901K prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
1 other brand on this site name Wilson Holdings, L.L.C. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
Full-service and diagnostic-oriented automotive repair and maintenance facility ("Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Centers") offering automotive and engine analysis, electrical system repair, air conditioning repair, engine repair and other automotive repair services for cars, SUVs, and light-duty trucks.
- CEO
- Stephen R. Wilson
- Headquarters
- Michigan
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 42% above the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $28K | $28K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $244K | $644K |
| Total initial investment | $297K | $746K |
Source: Auto Lab 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $297K – $746K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $14K – $28K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%not currently collected
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $24K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the automotive norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Auto Lab until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$571K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Auto Lab unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $970K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $932K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales average and growth
- Sample size
- 17 outlets
- vs category median 70 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $293K→$1.6MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 38 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
Compared against 167 Automotive brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $970K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
6.0% royalty + 3.0% ad fund.
Operator retention
System expanding at 11.8% CAGR over 3 years across 19 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Automotive medians
How Auto Lab Compares
Category median of published Automotive brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 19
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +11.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +11.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
20 current owners across 3 states.
- MI 17
- IN 2
- TX 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $2.5M
- Median loan
- $225K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (9)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 9 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (9)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (9)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (plaintiff).
Franchisee Empower Central Michigan, Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Aug 2023) and sought to reject its franchise agreement to operate a competing business; Bankruptcy Court (E.D. Mich.) held Auto-Lab's contract rights survived rejection and enjoined Empower from competing/violating confidentiality and non-compete provisions; Empower's Amended Plan of Reorganization (assuming the franchise agreement) was confirmed Aug 21, 2024; case closed Oct 28, 2024.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenue of franchisor Auto-Lab Franchising, LLC for FY2024 ($939,609) comprised Royalties $658,183, Franchise fees $44,471, Advertising $140,122, Software and technology $59,930, and Other fees $36,903.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Oakland County, Michigan |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Franchisee Empower Central Michigan, Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Aug 2023) and sought to reject its franchise agreement to operate a competing business; Bankruptcy Court (E.D. Mich.) held Auto-Lab's contract rights survived rejection and enjoined Empower from competing/violating confidentiality and non-compete provisions; Empower's Amended Plan of Reorganization (assuming the franchise agreement) was confirmed Aug 21, 2024; case closed Oct 28, 2024.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 72 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 72 hrs
- Training location
- Home Office (Plymouth/Bloomfield Hills, Michigan); Belleville, Michigan affiliate Store; or Area Representative's Pilot Store
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisor_approval_franchisee_selects
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Auto-Lab Business Management System (ALBMS)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Auto-Lab Business Management System (ALBMS)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Auto Lab franchise?
The total investment to open a Auto Lab franchise ranges from $297K – $746K, with an initial franchise fee of $28K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Auto Lab franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Auto Lab FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $970K. The median is $932K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Auto Lab?
Auto Lab is franchised by Auto-Lab Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Wilson Holdings, L.L.C.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Auto Lab FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Auto Lab FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Auto Lab's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Auto Lab (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Auto Lab franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Auto Lab has 19 total units in the United States, including 19 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Auto Lab a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Auto Lab as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.