Ideal Automotive Sales Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $164K – $405K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ideal Automotive Sales is a franchise operating used and new car dealerships. Franchisees run the dealerships, managing inventory acquisition, sales, financing coordination, and service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ideal Automotive Sales franchise requires a total initial investment of $164K – $405K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% 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: B (Above 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: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: partial✓ 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
- $164K – $405K
- 81st pct Real Estate
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Real Estate
- Units
- 5
- 9th pct Real Estate
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Real Estate · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Real Estate 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 $164K – $405K including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% 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 B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis 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.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ideal Automotive Broker Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Ideal Automotive Holdings, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jian Li
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 15-23 132nd Street, College Point, NY 11356
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $127K
- vs $89K prior year
Affiliated brands
- Liberty Assist
- Ideal Automotive IP Holdings
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 7
1 other brand on this site name Ideal Automotive Holdings, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 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
- Jian Li
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 114% above the typical real estate franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown21 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45K | $45K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising and Promotion Event | $6K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Assistancenot refundable | $9K | $10K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $800 | $8K | |
| Lease Payments (3 Months)not refundable | $6K | $30K | |
| Lease Security Deposit | $6K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $10K | $50K | |
| System Setup Feenot refundable | $295 | $295 | |
| Computer Equipment and Softwarenot refundable | $3K | $7K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $6K | $10K | |
| Furniture & Equipmentnot refundable | $3K | $13K | |
| Utilitiesnot refundable | $200 | $800 | |
| Uniformsnot refundable | $100 | $1K | |
| Office Suppliesnot refundable | $400 | $500 | |
| Promotional Suppliesnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Architecture Feesnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $300 | $8K | |
| Legal and Accountingnot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Dues and Subscriptionsnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Total initial investment | $164K | $405K |
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
- $164K – $405K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $150K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 47.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $40 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $50 |
| Total fee load | 47.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Ideal Automotive Sales 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 Ideal Automotive Sales 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: 2025 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 47.0% — above the Real Estate median of 7.5%.
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
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (1 opened, 0 closed).
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 Real Estate medians
How Ideal Automotive Sales Compares
Category median of published Real Estate 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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 20%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 20.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2024 total operating revenues of $126,679 comprised Royalty $90,485 and Branding Advertisement $36,194. Audited financials (Report of Independent Auditors, Troy, MI, dated April 1, 2025) present only the single year ended December 31, 2024.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 58 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDOnly 5 units system-wide suggests minimal scale, limited support infrastructure, and high franchise failure risk
- 02MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income prevents ROI validation and suggests poor financial transparency
- 03MINORWide investment range ($164K-$405K spread of 147%) indicates unclear unit economics or inconsistent implementation
- 04MEDHigh royalty rate (5% of gross profits, not revenue) combined with undisclosed profitability creates earnings unpredictability
- 05MINORFranchise fee ($45K) represents 27% of minimum investment—high upfront cost relative to system size and support capacity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 47.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York County, NY |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | NY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor HQ (College Point, NY)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Syndicate System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Syndicate System
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ideal Automotive Sales franchise?
The total investment to open a Ideal Automotive Sales franchise ranges from $164K – $405K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ideal Automotive Sales franchise owners earn?
Ideal Automotive Sales 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 Ideal Automotive Sales?
Ideal Automotive Sales is franchised by Ideal Automotive Broker Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Ideal Automotive Holdings, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ideal Automotive Sales 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 Ideal Automotive Sales FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Ideal Automotive Sales's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ideal Automotive Sales (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 Ideal Automotive Sales franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ideal Automotive Sales has 5 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ideal Automotive Sales a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ideal Automotive Sales as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 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
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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.