Detail Garage Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $161K – $270K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 11 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Detail Garage is an automotive franchise providing car detailing and selling detailing products and supplies to enthusiasts and pros. Franchisees run a store-and-service operation offering detailing services and retail in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Detail Garage franchise requires a total initial investment of $161K – $270K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2023 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (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: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $161K – $270K
- 22nd pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 4th pct Automotive
- Units
- 92
- 28th 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 $161K – $270K including a $30K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (11 opened, 8 closed) (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 20.4% CAGR over 3 years with 92 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Detail Garage, LLC
- Parent company
- CG Group Holdings, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2023 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- CHE Holdings I LP
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2023 FDD
- Predecessor
- None
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Managing Member and Chief Executive Officer
- Arthur Zambelli Almeida
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 3501 Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance, California 90505
- Auditor
- Windes, Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.2M
- vs $2.8M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Arthur Zambelli Almeida
- Headquarters
- California
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 20
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 41% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $18K | $35K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $113K | $205K |
| Total initial investment | $161K | $270K |
Source: Detail Garage 2023 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
- $161K – $270K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $18K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 0.1%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $238 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $50K – $70K |
| Total fee load | 0.1% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2023 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Detail Garage is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Detail Garage 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 annual revenue, 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.
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: 2023 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 92
- vs category median 70
- Reporting year
- 2022
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2023
- Disclosed in the 2023 filing, covering 2022
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.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 0.1% — below the Automotive median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
System expanding at 20.4% CAGR over 3 years across 92 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 Detail Garage 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 2023 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 92
- Opened
- 11
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 8.7%
- Company-owned
- 33
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 64%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +20.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +20.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 5
- Reacquired
- 5
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 5.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 3.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 8.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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
10 current owners across 7 states.
- CA 4
- CT 1
- NC 1
- OR 1
- TX 1
- UT 1
- VA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 6 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- $1.8M
- Median loan
- $135K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 11 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 11 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 11 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 11 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 1
- Typical loan rate
- 7.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 17.8%
- n=512 loans
- Jobs supported
- 39
- 3.5 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 29%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in automotive parts and accessories stores, franchised businesses charge off at 17.8% vs 19.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 9% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Detail Garage franchisees
Showing 3 of 5 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Detail Garage from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 7.3%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 79%
- Avg interest rate
- 7.47%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $80K
- Lender concentration
- 28.6%
- Job velocity
- 3.5 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 14.6%
- NAICS 441310
- Jobs supported
- 39
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 29% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 2 | $265K | 100.0% |
| 2 | Stearns Bank National Association | 2 | $304K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Newtek Small Business Finance, Inc. | 1 | $107K | 0.0% |
| 4 | The Huntington National Bank | 1 | $150K | N/A |
| 5 | The Bancorp Bank National Association | 1 | $279K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
| TXTexas | 2 | 0 | -- |
| FLFlorida | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MIMichigan | 1 | 0 | -- |
| NVNevada | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Detail Garage presents elevated risk due to litigation history involving misrepresentation, regulatory consent orders, lack of financial transparency (no Item 19), and anemic unit growth—requiring deep validation of actual franchisee profitability and franchise support quality before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
One concluded class action (Cardinal Investments One/Two v. Detail Garage) alleging franchise-law, antitrust and misrepresentation claims, settled confidentially with franchisor paying $850,000 and taking over plaintiffs' three stores. One governmental/administrative action: California DFPI consent order (Oct 2021) for failure to disclose parent in 2018-2019 FDDs ($5,000 penalty) and affiliate CFL licensing violation ($10,000 penalty).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Windes, Inc.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 44 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHLitigation history: settled class action for misrepresentation of franchise costs and pricing control, plus California DFPI consent order for disclosure failures and unlicensed financing schemes
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of only 5.4% YoY in a 92-unit system suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or refranchising challenges
- 03MINORMid-to-high initial investment ($160,975–$270,450) with opaque profitability creates high downside risk if unit economics are weak
- 04MINORConsent order indicates past regulatory violations around affiliate inventory financing and parent company disclosure—signals governance and transparency issues
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 0.1% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2023 · 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 | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | County where franchisor's then-current headquarters is located |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | State where the Franchised Business is located |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One concluded class action (Cardinal Investments One/Two v. Detail Garage) alleging franchise-law, antitrust and misrepresentation claims, settled confidentially with franchisor paying $850,000 and taking over plaintiffs' three stores. One governmental/administrative action: California DFPI consent order (Oct 2021) for failure to disclose parent in 2018-2019 FDDs ($5,000 penalty) and affiliate CFL licensing violation ($10,000 penalty).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 68 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 48 hrs
- Training location
- Smart Detailing University (SDU), Torrance, California
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Lightspeed
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Lightspeed
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
16 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 Detail Garage franchise?
The total investment to open a Detail Garage franchise ranges from $161K – $270K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Detail Garage franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Detail Garage FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Detail Garage?
Detail Garage is franchised by Detail Garage, LLC. Its parent company is CG Group Holdings, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is CHE Holdings I LP. Source: FDD Item 1, 2023 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Detail Garage 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 Detail Garage FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Detail Garage's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Detail Garage (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 Detail Garage franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Detail Garage has 92 total units in the United States, including 59 franchised units and 33 company-owned units. 11 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Detail Garage a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Detail Garage as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 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 Detail Garage, 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.