Honest1 Auto Care Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Honest-1 Auto Care is a full-service auto repair franchise offering maintenance, diagnostics, and repairs with an eco-friendly, customer-first positioning. Franchisees run the service centers, managing technicians, service advisors, and scheduling.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Honest1 Auto Care franchise requires a total initial investment of $256K – $1.2M, including a $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 9.5% charge-off rate across 56 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $256K – $1.2M
- 36th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 16th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Automotive
- Units
- 62
- 22nd pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- 9.5%
- % 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 $256K – $1.2M including a $75K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.4M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 9.5% across 56 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- H-1 Auto Care, LLC
- Parent company
- H-1 Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Honest-1 Auto Care, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and CEO
- Michael B. Cowan
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 100 2nd Avenue S, Suite 1203, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
- Auditor
- SMITH+HOWARD PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.4M
- vs $6.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael B. Cowan
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2007
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 17
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 14% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75K | $75K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $131K | $1.1M |
| Total initial investment | $256K | $1.2M |
Source: Honest1 Auto Care 2025 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
- $256K – $1.2M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $75K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $25 |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the automotive norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Honest1 Auto Care 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 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
$812K
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 Honest1 Auto Care 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 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 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.4M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 59 outlets
- vs category median 70
- Range (low → high)
- $380K→$2.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
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 $1.5M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Automotive average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -3.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
33% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 Honest1 Auto Care Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 62
- 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
- 3.2%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 95%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 33.3%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -3.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.2%
- 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)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 3.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 56
- Loan volume
- $25.3M
- Median loan
- $316K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 9.5%
- 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)
- 90.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 13.3%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 27
- Defaults
- 4
- Typical loan rate
- 6.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 8111
- Jobs supported
- 426
- 1.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 23%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Honest1 Auto Care charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Honest1 Auto Care franchisees
Showing 3 of 27 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 Honest1 Auto Care'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 20 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 10-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 9.5% — 41% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Case 1 (Franchisor as plaintiff): H-1 Auto Care LLC v. Balhar Lasher et al. (NJ federal court, filed 2021) - breach of franchise agreements, trademark infringement, trade secret violations against former franchisees who opened competing centers. Case 2 (Franchisor as defendant): Charles D. Fasnacht III et al. v. H-1 Auto Care LLC (AAA arbitration, filed 2024) - former Region Developers claim wrongful termination of Region Developer Agreements.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · SMITH+HOWARD PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited financial statements (FYE Dec 31, 2023/2022/2021) are referenced in Exhibit G but the audited figures and CPA auditor's report are not present in the extracted text. Only unaudited interim statements for the six months ended June 30, 2024 are reproduced (Total Revenues $3,304,747; Member's Equity $6,302,772; Total Assets $8,057,141; Net income $5,098,270 incl. $4,746,065 'Other Income'). Item 8 notes total revenues of $6,622,957 for FY2023.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count declining 1.6% YoY suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORNo Net Income disclosure (Item 19) prevents validation of actual profitability claims; average revenue of $1.49M may not translate to promised returns
- 03HIGHActive litigation on two fronts (franchisor lawsuit + regional developer arbitration with counterclaim) indicates operational/contractual friction and potential governance issues
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($255K-$1.24M) with 20-year commitment creates long payback exposure if unit economics deteriorate
- 05MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) means franchisees pay regardless of profitability, amplifying risk during economic downturns
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status = False suggests potential financial stress at corporate level, raising sustainability questions
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Case 1 (Franchisor as plaintiff): H-1 Auto Care LLC v. Balhar Lasher et al. (NJ federal court, filed 2021) - breach of franchise agreements, trademark infringement, trade secret violations against former franchisees who opened competing centers. Case 2 (Franchisor as defendant): Charles D. Fasnacht III et al. v. H-1 Auto Care LLC (AAA arbitration, filed 2024) - former Region Developers claim wrongful termination of Region Developer Agreements.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 71 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 56 hrs
- Training location
- St. Petersburg, FL (corporate headquarters or designated location)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 120 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Protractor
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Protractor
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
66 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Honest1 Auto Care · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Honest1 Auto Care franchise?
The total investment to open a Honest1 Auto Care franchise ranges from $256K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $75K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Honest1 Auto Care franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Honest1 Auto Care FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. The median is $1.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Honest1 Auto Care 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 Honest1 Auto Care FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Honest1 Auto Care's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Honest1 Auto Care has a charge-off rate of 9.5% across 56 loans, meaning 9.5% 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 Honest1 Auto Care franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Honest1 Auto Care has 62 total units in the United States, including 59 franchised units and 3 company-owned units.
Is Honest1 Auto Care a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Honest1 Auto Care as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 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?
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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.