MeinekeFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Meineke franchise requires a total initial investment of $225K – $1.2M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $971K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 27.1% charge-off rate across 572 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $225K – $1.2M
- 25th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $971K
- 11th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 18th pct Automotive
- Units
- 716
- 37th pct Automotive
- SBA default
- 27.1%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Automotive · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Automotive avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
27.1% of SBA loans charged off across 572 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1972. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
18 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
30% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $225K – $1.2M including a $45K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $971K/year (median $914K), with an estimated 30% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 96/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 27.1% across 572 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 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
- Legal entity
- MEINEKE FRANCHISOR SPV LLC
- Parent company
- Driven Brands, Inc.
- Predecessor
- began
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 440 South Church Street, Suite 700, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $290K
- vs $270K prior year
Affiliated brands
- shares our pr
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
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.
- CEO
- Daniel Rivera
- Headquarters
- NC
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 46
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $130K | $1.1M |
| Total initial investment | $225K | $1.2M |
Source: Meineke 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$97K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $225K – $1.2M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 8.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 15.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.4 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $475 |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 15.0% of rev |
At 15.0% total fee load, roughly $146K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $971K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $914K
- Avg ebitda
- $211K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 29.6%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 549 units
- vs category median 70 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $156K→$3.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $647K→$1.3M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 221 Automotive brands
vs Automotive averages
How Meineke Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 716
- Opened
- 36
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 74
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 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
- 572
- Loan volume
- $191.5M
- Median loan
- $222K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 27.1%
- 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)
- 72.9%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 13.3%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 152
- Defaults
- 133
Vintage analysis
Meineke charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Meineke'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 34-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 27.1% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
2 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 96 / 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
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 18 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
2 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 69 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 7 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- M.Key
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: M.Key
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
23 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Meineke · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Meineke franchise?
The total investment to open a Meineke franchise ranges from $225K – $1.2M, 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 Meineke franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Meineke FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $971K. The median is $914K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Meineke's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Meineke has a charge-off rate of 27.1% across 572 loans, meaning 27.1% 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 Meineke franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Meineke has 716 total units in the United States, including 705 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 36 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Meineke a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Meineke as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 96 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.