Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Big Al's Mufflers, Brakes & More is an automotive franchise offering exhaust, brake, and general auto repair. Franchisees run the service centers, managing technicians, scheduling, and customer service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More franchise requires a total initial investment of $100K – $1.1M, including a $15K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $100K – $1.1M
- 13th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 13th pct Automotive
- Units
- 14
- 12th pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Automotive · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Automotive avg · 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 $100K – $1.1M including a $15K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 21 references Big Al's Franchising, Inc. audited Financial Report (Independent Auditor's Report dated Jan 10, 2025; Balance Sheet, Statement of Operations, Statement of Cash Flows for FYE Dec 31 2024/2023/2022) attached as Exhibit C, but the actual statement figures and auditor/CPA firm name are NOT present in the provided OCR text — Exhibit C financial pages were not OCR'd into this file. All numeric Item 21 fields and auditor_name left null (not guessed).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- DATANo Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Big Al's Franchising, Inc.
- Predecessor
- corporation
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chief Executive Officer, Director
- Ralph L. Wetherington, Jr.
- CEO experience
- 2012 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- VA
- HQ
- 109 East 40th Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23504
- Auditor
- Colonial CPA Group
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $64K
- vs $58K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ralph L. Wetherington, Jr.
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 1988
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 36% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $15K | $15K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $3K | $480K | |
| Equipment | $33K | $465K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $1K | $5K | |
| Lease and Utility Deposits | $5K | $8K | |
| Real Estate (Leased) | $2K | $5K | |
| Initial Inventory | $13K | $29K | |
| Office Supplies | $2K | $3K | |
| Working Capital | $15K | $20K | |
| Signage | $3K | $10K | |
| Initial Advertising | $10K | $10K | |
| Insurance | $375 | $500 | |
| Total initial investment | $100K | $1.0M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $100K – $1.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $13K – $29K |
| Total fee load | 9.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
19%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
Item 21 references Big Al's Franchising, Inc. audited Financial Report (Independent Auditor's Report dated Jan 10, 2025; Balance Sheet, Statement of Operations, Statement of Cash Flows for FYE Dec 31 2024/2023/2022) attached as Exhibit C, but the actual statement figures and auditor/CPA firm name are NOT present in the provided OCR text — Exhibit C financial pages were not OCR'd into this file. All numeric Item 21 fields and auditor_name left null (not guessed).
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.5% (near the Automotive average).
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System contracting at -6.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
33% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 averages
How Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 14
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 7.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 33.3%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -6.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -6.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 0.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
A micro-system with undisclosed unit economics, no territorial protection, and franchisor financial concerns presents substantial risk; the absence of Item 19 data makes informed investment impossible.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Colonial CPA Group
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 58 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate ROI claims
- 02MINOROnly 14 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining brand
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 04MINORTerritory completely unprotected — franchisees face internal competition and cannibalization risk
- 05MINORWide investment range ($99K-$1.09M) with no clarity on what drives 11x cost variance
- 06MINORLow franchise fee ($15K) paired with high royalties (5.5%) may indicate franchisor relies on royalty extraction vs. franchisee success
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.5% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Territory population | 30,000 |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 10 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Mutually agreed upon (default: Franchisor's offices in Norfolk, Virginia) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | VA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 18 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 280 hrs
- Training location
- Company or franchise store location; home office in Norfolk, Virginia
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor must approve
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Point of Sale Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Point of Sale Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More franchise?
The total investment to open a Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More franchise ranges from $100K – $1.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More franchise owners earn?
Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More 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 Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More (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 Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More has 14 total units in the United States, including 14 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.