Byrider Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Byrider is an automotive franchise combining used-car sales with in-house financing for credit-challenged buyers. Franchisees run a dealership managing inventory, sales, loan origination, and collections.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Byrider franchise requires a total initial investment of $947K – $1.6M, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 2.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $7.0M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $947K – $1.6M
- 55th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $7.0M
- 21st pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 2.5%
- 1st pct Automotive
- Units
- 99
- 31st 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 $947K – $1.6M including a $60K franchise fee, 2.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $7.0M/year (median $6.9M), with an estimated 22% cash-on-cash return (based on *Net Income from Operations (before taxes)9).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (higher is better).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -28.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Byrider Franchising Partners, LLC
- Parent company
- Byrider Enterprise Partners, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Byrider Investment Partners, LLC
- Predecessor
- Byrider Franchising, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Michael J. Onda
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 111 Congressional Blvd., Suite 500, Carmel, Indiana 46032
- Auditor
- Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18.3M
- vs $6.0M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- National Owners Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- already operate a Service Center at a Byrider Business
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael J. Onda
- Headquarters
- IN
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 22
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 35% above the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $60K | $60K | |
| Starter Kit | $0 | $3K | |
| Rent (3 months) | $30K | $60K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $2K | $50K | |
| Service Center Equipment | $2K | $70K | |
| Signs and Awnings | $2K | $50K | |
| Security Deposit for Property and Utilities | $2K | $10K | |
| Opening Inventory of Vehicles | $75K | $100K | |
| Advertising and Grand Opening | $19K | $30K | |
| Technology/Phone/Security Systems | $5K | $40K | |
| Bonds, Licenses and Business Permits | $1K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 6 months | $750K | $1.1M | |
| Total initial investment | $947K | $1.6M |
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
- $947K – $1.6M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $750K – $1.1M
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 2.5%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.5 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $75K – $100K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 383% above the automotive norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$1.3M
18.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
59%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
20 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings vs. model
The FDD reports $507K as *Net Income from Operations (before taxes)9. Our model estimates $1.3M SLEBITDA from the same revenue using category-average cost assumptions. These numbers differ because *Net Income from Operations (before taxes)9 deducts different expense categories than our model.
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Byrider unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
59%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Byrider units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
22.1%
2.72× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
4.16×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$51.6M
on $80.9M purchase
Total debt
$29.3M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $7.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $6.9M
- Avg *net income from operations (before taxes)9
- $507K
- Reported as *Net Income from Operations (before taxes)9 in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 22.1%
- Based on *Net Income from Operations (before taxes)9 / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- total revenue
- Sample size
- 70
- vs category median 70
- Range (low → high)
- $3.4M→$12.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $5.5M→$8.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 9 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 167 Automotive brands
Revenue is 5.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $7.0M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 5.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% — below the Automotive average of 9.3%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 9/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -28.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Byrider Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 99
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 4
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 3
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 17.3%
- Company-owned
- 18
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 82%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -28.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -28.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 11
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 3
- Transfers (3yr)
- 5
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $3.1M
- Median loan
- $440K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (7 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- 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
Byrider presents HIGH RISK due to rapidly shrinking franchisee base, multi-state regulatory litigation, thin profit margins under royalty load, and absence of financial performance documentation.
Litigation (Item 3)
Multiple historical cases involving predecessor: Ohio AG consumer protection action (settled 2005), Kentucky AG consumer protection action (settled 2006, $300K payment), Baker v. Byrider arbitration (settled 2018, $500K), Marcantonio arbitration (settled 2020, franchisee paid $25K+$169K), Venturcap arbitration (settled 2020, Byrider paid $750K), Bradford parties arbitration (settled 2021, Bradford paid $1.5M). Current franchisor: Goldstein arbitration (settled 2025, partial $50K refund). Actions against franchisees: Barson (2023/2024) and Driscoll (2025) for breach of franchise agreement.
Largest disclosed settlement: $750,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Katz, Sapper & Miller, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSystem declining sharply with 10% unit contraction YoY (99 to ~89 units) indicating franchisee dissatisfaction and market weakness
- 02HIGHMultiple litigation cases including two state attorney general actions against predecessors for consumer practices and arbitrations involving contract breaches and fee disputes
- 03MINORArbitration history shows pattern of training quality and fee refund disputes, suggesting operational and contractual issues
- 04HIGHInvestment of $947K–$1.58M requires strong ROI justification given system contraction and litigation overhang
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | IN |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Multiple historical cases involving predecessor: Ohio AG consumer protection action (settled 2005), Kentucky AG consumer protection action (settled 2006, $300K payment), Baker v. Byrider arbitration (settled 2018, $500K), Marcantonio arbitration (settled 2020, franchisee paid $25K+$169K), Venturcap arbitration (settled 2020, Byrider paid $750K), Bradford parties arbitration (settled 2021, Bradford paid $1.5M). Current franchisor: Goldstein arbitration (settled 2025, partial $50K refund). Actions against franchisees: Barson (2023/2024) and Driscoll (2025) for breach of franchise agreement.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Carmel, Indiana headquarters (Byrider Franchise Support Center) and/or regional training locations
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; Franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Discover
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Discover
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
99 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Byrider · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Byrider franchise?
The total investment to open a Byrider franchise ranges from $947K – $1.6M, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Byrider franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Byrider FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $7.0M. The median is $6.9M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Byrider 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 Byrider FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Byrider's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Byrider (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 Byrider franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Byrider has 99 total units in the United States, including 81 franchised units and 18 company-owned units.
Is Byrider a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Byrider as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Byrider, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.