Car-X Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Car-X is an automotive-service franchise providing brakes, exhaust, tires, and general maintenance and repair. Franchisees run service centers managing technicians, diagnostics, and parts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Car-X franchise requires a total initial investment of $330K – $527K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $792K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 18.2% charge-off rate across 14 loans[1]. 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
- $330K – $527K
- 42nd pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $792K
- 6th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 10th pct Automotive
- Units
- 97
- 30th pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- 18.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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 $330K – $527K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $792K/year (median $703K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 18.2% across 14 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -38.2% 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
- Car-X, LLC
- Parent company
- Monro, Inc.
- Predecessor
- CXAC, Inc. (formerly Car-X Associates Corp.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Executive Director
- Michael De Marco
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 1100 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 105, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.2B
- vs $1.2B prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Monro
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael De Marco
- Headquarters
- Illinois
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 7
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 51% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $35K | |
| Equipmentnot refundable | — | — | |
| Office and Waiting Room Furnishingsnot refundable | — | — | |
| Signsnot refundable | — | — | |
| Inventorynot refundable | — | — | |
| Real Estate / Rent (Annual, leased new construction)not refundable | $72K | $180K | |
| Real Estate Purchase and Construction (alternative to leasing)not refundable | $800K | $2.0M | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Expensesnot refundable | — | — | |
| Initial Advertising Fee | $10K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months)not refundable | — | — | |
| Total initial investment | $917K | $2.2M |
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
- $330K – $527K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $12K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- Not to exceed 10% of weekly gross sales; discretionary re…
- Total fee load
- 12.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $80 |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $12K – $18K |
| Total fee load | 12.5% of rev |
At 12.5% total fee load, roughly $99K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 43% below the automotive norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 Car-X 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 ad fund rate, 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
$465K
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 Car-X 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 ad fund rate, 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 ad fund rate, 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $792K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $703K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Average / median / high / low Gross Sales with a met-or-exceeded count, 47 franchised outlets, 2024 gross sales as reported in the 2025 edition
- Sample size
- 47 outlets
- vs category median 70
- Range (low → high)
- $312K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
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 $792K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.8x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 12.5% — above the Automotive average of 9.4%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -38.2% 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 Car-X Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 97
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 1.0%
- Company-owned
- 51
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 47%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -38.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -38.2%
- 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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 14
- Loan volume
- $6.5M
- Median loan
- $466K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 18.2%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
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
- 10
- Defaults
- 2
Vintage analysis
Car-X charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Car-X franchisees
Showing 3 of 10 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Car-X's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 6 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 18.2% — 14% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Car-X presents elevated risk due to contracting franchise system, undisclosed profitability metrics, and high capital requirements without clear path to positive ROI validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — cannot assess actual profitability or ROI despite $792k avg revenue
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($330k-$527k) combined with declining unit growth raises recapture risk
- 03MINORRoyalty structure front-loads incentive (2.5% for 180 days) then jumps to 5% — suggests franchisor prioritizes short-term ramp-up over franchisee sustainability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 12.5% 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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 27 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 18 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 115 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 48 hrs
- Training location
- Car-X office in Schaumburg, Illinois (HQ) and at a Car-X Center
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 36 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- VAST Enterprise Retail
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: VAST Enterprise Retail
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
64 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Car-X · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Car-X franchise?
The total investment to open a Car-X franchise ranges from $330K – $527K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Car-X franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Car-X FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $792K. The median is $703K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Car-X 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 Car-X FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Car-X's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Car-X has a charge-off rate of 18.2% across 14 loans, meaning 18.2% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Car-X franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Car-X has 97 total units in the United States, including 46 franchised units and 51 company-owned units.
Is Car-X a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Car-X as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Car-X, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Automotive franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Automotive category
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.