Dollar Rent A Car Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $879K – $16.2M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Dollar Rent A Car is a value car-rental franchise serving leisure and business travelers. Franchisees run rental locations managing the fleet, reservations, counter service, and vehicle turnaround.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Dollar Rent A Car franchise requires a total initial investment of $879K – $16.2M, including a $25K – $500K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. 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: low - issued within the last 12 months
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 scored4 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $879K – $16.2M
- 53rd pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Automotive
- Units
- 262
- 41st 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 $879K – $16.2M including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 41/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -2 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 2 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Dollar Rent A Car, Inc.
- Parent company
- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 13 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 13 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- DTG Operations, Inc. (formerly Dollar Rent A Car System, Inc.) - offered licenses Aug 1991 to Jan 1, 2003
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer – The Hertz Corporation
- Gil West
- Incorporated in
- OK
- HQ
- 8501 Williams Road, Estero, Florida 33928
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $8.5B
- vs $9.0B prior year
Affiliated brands
- Hertz International
- DTG Canada
- DTG Operations
- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Canada
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 13
1 other brand on this site name Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Gil West
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 2227% above the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $25K | $500K | |
| Training Expenses | $3K | $3K | |
| Passenger Cars | $750K | $15.0M | |
| Courtesy Vehicles | $55K | $350K | |
| Equipment and Supplies | $5K | $25K | |
| Insurance | $5K | $45K | |
| Real Estate & Improvements | — | — | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $10K | |
| Computer System, Hardware and Software | $12K | $250K | |
| Optional Software | $2K | $15K | |
| Business License | $100 | $500 | |
| Miscellaneous Installation Fees | $200 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $20K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $879K | $16.2M |
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
- $879K – $16.2M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $500K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $5 |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $750K – $15.0M |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Dollar Rent A Car makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. 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 Dollar Rent A Car 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
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 6.0% — below the Automotive median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+3.1% 3-year CAGR) with 262 units.
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 Dollar Rent A Car 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 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 262
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 196
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 25%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -2.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 2
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 97.1%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 3.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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
4 current owners across 4 states; 1 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
- AL 1
- FL 1
- NE 1
- SD 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $2.5M
- Median loan
- $250K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 6 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Pending Dollar actions include South Africa franchise dispute (SAFY parties) and Puerto Rico franchisee arbitration (dismissed Oct 2025). Parent pending cases include Brazilian franchise dispute, Saskatchewan license dispute, and Wells Fargo bankruptcy note dispute. Numerous prior settled actions related to vehicle damage charges, consumer fraud, and class actions mostly resolved through bankruptcy mediation.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. and parent/affiliates filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on May 22, 2020 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware; emerged from bankruptcy June 30, 2021
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Financials are the audited consolidated statements of The Hertz Corporation (the franchisor's Parent and guarantor of the Franchise Agreement), presented alongside Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. per the consolidated 10-K. Revenues of $8,504M (FY2025) and $9,049M (FY2024) are in millions USD. The Hertz Corporation had a total stockholder's equity deficit of $(243)M and a net loss of $(703)M for FY2025.
ⓘ 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
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count declining 2.9% YoY (262 units) — shrinking franchise system indicates market contraction or franchisee exits
- 02MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income (Item 19) — impossible to validate ROI or profitability claims
- 03HIGHMultiple ongoing litigation matters including international trademark disputes, franchisee terminations, and consumer fraud settlements suggesting operational and legal instability
- 04MINORLarge settlement history involving false arrests and consumer protection violations — reputational and operational risk exposure
- 05MINORUnprotected territory with 5-year term — franchisees face direct competition from other Dollar locations and no guaranteed market exclusivity
- 06MINORRoyalty rate 6-8% of gross receipts is high-end for car rental with no transparency on break-even thresholds
- 07MINORWide investment range ($879K–$16.2M) suggests inconsistent unit economics or disclosure clarity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 180 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 31 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Pending Dollar actions include South Africa franchise dispute (SAFY parties) and Puerto Rico franchisee arbitration (dismissed Oct 2025). Parent pending cases include Brazilian franchise dispute, Saskatchewan license dispute, and Wells Fargo bankruptcy note dispute. Numerous prior settled actions related to vehicle damage charges, consumer fraud, and class actions mostly resolved through bankruptcy mediation.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 62 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 8 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor's Headquarters (Estero, FL), franchisee's designated location, online, and airport/off-airport locations
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 0 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval required within 30 days
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Approved Counter System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Approved Counter System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
5 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 Dollar Rent A Car franchise?
The total investment to open a Dollar Rent A Car franchise ranges from $879K – $16.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Dollar Rent A Car franchise owners earn?
Dollar Rent A Car makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Dollar Rent A Car?
Dollar Rent A Car is franchised by Dollar Rent A Car, Inc.. Its parent company is Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Dollar Rent A Car 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 Dollar Rent A Car FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Dollar Rent A Car's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Dollar Rent A Car (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 Dollar Rent A Car franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Dollar Rent A Car has 262 total units in the United States, including 66 franchised units and 196 company-owned units.
Is Dollar Rent A Car a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Dollar Rent A Car as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 41 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.
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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.