Bottom line
- Total investment $225K – $1.2M including a $45K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $971K/year (median $914K). Estimated payback in 3.4 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 103 loans (below the industry average).
- 18 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Meineke unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
13%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Meineke units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$583K
on $2.9M purchase
Total debt
$2.3M
SBA $1.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Meineke franchisees operate automotive service centers focused on exhaust systems, batteries, tires, and general maintenance/inspections. Daily operations include customer vehicle intake, diagnostic services, parts installation, and service sales across multiple product categories. Revenue is driven by both reactive maintenance (exhaust, batteries) and proactive upselling of inspections and towing services.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 15 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Meineke presents a mature, slow-growing system with significant corporate litigation exposure and modest unit economics that may not justify the capital investment, particularly given stagnant market expansion.
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (2.0% YoY) suggests market saturation or system challenges in 716-unit network
- 02HIGHMultiple active litigation cases including franchisor-initiated actions and securities class actions indicate governance/compliance issues at corporate level
- 03MINORTiered royalty structure (3-7%) with exhaust systems at 7% creates complexity and potential disputes over revenue categorization
- 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($224K-$1.2M) paired with only $211K average net income represents 1-5.7 year payback with no growth momentum
- 05HIGHDeclining/flat unit count in automotive service sector suggests competitive pressure or franchisee dissatisfaction not reflected in litigation disclosure alone
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
23 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Meineke · FDD (2025) PDF