Mr. Transmission Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $268K – $341K
- Disclosed sales
- $835K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 47.2%
- on 46 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Mr. Transmission franchise requires a total initial investment of $268K – $341K, including a $45K – $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $835K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 47.2% charge-off rate across 46 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below 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 scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $268K – $341K
- 37th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $835K
- Outlet subset8th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 31st pct Automotive
- Units
- 104
- 31st pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- 47.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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 $268K – $341K including a $45K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $835K/year (median $749K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 31/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 47.2% across 46 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -7 franchised outlets in the latest year (2 opened, 9 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -7.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Moran Family of Brands, LLC
- Parent company
- Automotive Franchise Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Legacy Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- Moran Industries, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Barbara Moran-Goodrich
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- HQ
- 11524 West 183rd Place, Suite 100, Orland Park, Illinois 60467
Overview
About
Mr. Transmission / Milex Complete Auto Care franchised retail automotive transmission repair and general automotive maintenance and repair service centers (also offered in Co-Branded format).
- CEO
- Barbara Moran-Goodrich
- Headquarters
- Illinois
- Founded
- 1962
- FDD year
- 2026
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 17% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $70K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $173K | $226K |
| Total initial investment | $268K | $341K |
Source: Mr. Transmission 2026 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
- $268K – $341K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $70K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $55K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- Local Advertising: new locations $5,000/month for first 6…
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $299 |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $5K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 19% below the automotive norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 Mr. Transmission 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 ad fund rate, 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
$364K
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 Mr. Transmission 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 ad fund rate, 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 ad fund rate, 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $835K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $749K
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 ranges
- Sample size
- 68 outlets
- vs category median 70
- Range (low → high)
- $130K→$2.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 57 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
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 $835K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.7x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
7.0% royalty — higher than the category average of 6.0%.
Operator retention
System contracting at -7.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Mr. Transmission 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
- 104
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 8.7%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -7.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -7.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 5
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 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
69 current owners across 21 states.
- GA 10
- IL 9
- AL 6
- FL 5
- NC 4
- TX 4
- IA 3
- KY 3
- MD 3
- MI 3
- SC 3
- TN 3
- +9 more states
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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 46
- Loan volume
- $17.3M
- Median loan
- $152K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 47.2%
- on 46 loans · 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)
- 52.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 27
- Defaults
- 17
- Typical loan rate
- 8.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 8111
- Jobs supported
- 246
- 1.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 13%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 50% went to startups / new businesses, 50% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Mr. Transmission charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Mr. Transmission 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Mr. Transmission from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 10.4%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 74%
- Avg interest rate
- 8.30%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $106K
- Lender concentration
- 13.0%
- Job velocity
- 1.4 per $100K
- Jobs supported
- 246
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 13% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | N/A | N/A | |
| 2 | 5 | N/A | N/A | |
| 3 | 3 | N/A | N/A | |
| 4 | 3 | N/A | N/A | |
| 5 | 2 | N/A | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TNTennessee | 7 | 2 | 33.3% |
| ILIllinois | 6 | 3 | 60.0% |
| TXTexas | 6 | 2 | 100.0% |
| ALAlabama | 4 | 1 | 33.3% |
| GAGeorgia | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| MOMissouri | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MSMississippi | 3 | 1 | 100.0% |
| COColorado | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
| INIndiana | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
A 47.2% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 2 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 47.2% — 195% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| 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 | 10 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Orland Park, Illinois (franchisor's then-current headquarters, per mediation clause); litigation venue is Cook County, Illinois / U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 57 hrs
- Training location
- Orland Park, Illinois (classroom); online at franchisee's chosen location; field training at a designated operating Center
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 57 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisor approves franchisee-selected site
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Shop-Ware
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Shop-Ware
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
69 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 Mr. Transmission franchise?
The total investment to open a Mr. Transmission franchise ranges from $268K – $341K, 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 Mr. Transmission franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Mr. Transmission FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $835K. The median is $749K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Mr. Transmission?
Mr. Transmission is franchised by Moran Family of Brands, LLC. Its parent company is Automotive Franchise Brands, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Legacy Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Mr. Transmission 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 Mr. Transmission FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Mr. Transmission's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Mr. Transmission has a charge-off rate of 47.2% across 46 loans, meaning 47.2% 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 Mr. Transmission franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Mr. Transmission has 104 total units in the United States, including 99 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Mr. Transmission a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Mr. Transmission as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 31 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.