FranchiseVerdict
Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More logo
FV-00296·MODERATEStandard76

Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More

Formerly known as Brake Masters

Automotive - Repair & ServiceFranchising since 1989Website
Investment
$100K – $1.1M
23rd pct Repair & Serv…
Avg revenue
54th pct Repair & Serv…
Royalty
5.5%
16th pct Repair & Serv…
Units
14
26th pct Repair & Serv…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $100K – $1.1M including a $15K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 9 loans (below the industry average).
  • No 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

Legal entity
Big Al's Franchising, Inc.
Incorporated in
Virginia
HQ
109 East 40th Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23504
Auditor
Colonial CPA Group
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$48K
vs $58K prior year

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 Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: automotive
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $100K–$1.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

19%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$116K
EBITDA margin
15.5%
Total invested
$612K
Payback
63 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Big Al's Mufflers franchisees operate automotive service centers focused on muffler, brake, and general maintenance repair. Day-to-day operations include customer intake, vehicle diagnostics, parts installation, invoicing, and inventory management in a small-to-medium service bay setting.

CEO
Ralph L. Wetherington, Jr.
Founded
1988
FDD year
2026
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$100K – $1.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$15K
Royalty
5.5%
Fixed Percentage · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

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 (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
15-1
Franchised units
2025
15
Franchised units
2026
15
Franchised units

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)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
9
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

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.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate ROI claims
  2. 02MINOROnly 14 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining brand
  3. 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level
  4. 04MINORTerritory completely unprotected — franchisees face internal competition and cannibalization risk
  5. 05MINORWide investment range ($99K-$1.09M) with no clarity on what drives 11x cost variance
  6. 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

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Virginia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
18 hrs
On-the-job training
280 hrs
POS system
Point of Sale Software
Operating tech stack

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

13 numbers

Locked
(757) 595-••••
VA
(757) 485-••••
VA
(757) 671-••••
VA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Big Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More · FDD (2026) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above