FranchiseVerdict
Mr. Transmission / Milex Complete Auto Care logo
FV-01709·STRONGExcellent95

Mr. Transmission / Milex Complete Auto Care

Formerly known as Moran Family of Brands

Automotive - Repair & ServiceFranchising since 1970Website
Investment
$249K – $323K
65th pct Repair & Serv…
Avg revenue
$868K
21st pct Repair & Serv…
Royalty
7.0%
43rd pct Repair & Serv…
Units
112
63rd pct Repair & Serv…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $249K – $323K including a $40K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $868K/year (median $800K). Estimated payback in 0.7 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 74 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -7.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Moran Industries, Inc.
Parent company
Moran Industries, Inc.
Incorporated in
Illinois
HQ
11524 West 183rd Place, Suite 100, Orland Park, Illinois 60467
Auditor
FGMK, LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$6.1M
vs $4.9M prior year

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 Mr. Transmission / Milex Complete Auto Care unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $868,358
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: automotive
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $249K–$323K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $37K–$58K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

44%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$148K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$333K
Payback
27 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Mr. Transmission / Milex Complete Auto Care units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.7M

on $8.7M purchase

Total debt

$6.9M

SBA $4.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate automotive service centers specializing in transmission repair, maintenance, and complete car care services. Day-to-day operations include customer intake, diagnostic testing, parts sourcing, technician management, and warranty/service documentation. Revenue comes from labor, parts markup, and fluid services across transmission, brake, oil, and general maintenance categories.

CEO
Barbara Moran-Goodrich
Founded
1990
FDD year
2024
States available
23

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$249K – $323K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$37K – $58K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
0.7 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$868K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$800K
Item 19 type
Average Gross Sales, COGS, and Gross Profit Margin
Sample size
72 units
vs category median 59
Range (low → high)
$566K$2.5M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
9 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank21th
vs Automotive - Repair & Service peers
Investment cost rank65th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank43th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank63th
vs Automotive - Repair & Service peers
Risk score rank2th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
112
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
0.9%
Company-owned
3
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
97%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-3.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-7.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
107-3
Franchised units
2023
111
Franchised units
2024
116
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 21 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
74
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

42
Risk · 0-100
STRONG42 / 100

Declining unit count combined with unverified revenue claims and rigid minimum royalty obligations creates moderate-to-high risk for capital recovery in a consolidating industry.

Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 3.6% YoY (112 units) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee struggles
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representation disclosed despite $868K avg revenue claim — inability to verify earnings claims independently
  3. 03MINORMinimum royalty of $250/week ($13,000/year) creates floor obligation regardless of sales performance, problematic during slow periods
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment ($248.6K-$323.1K) against 15-year term requires sustained 8%+ annual returns just to break even on capital
  5. 05MEDMature transmission/auto care market with consolidation pressure from national chains (Firestone, Jiffy Lube, Midas) and independent competitors

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
15 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Illinois

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
32 hrs
On-the-job training
61 hrs
POS system
Approved POS System
Operating tech stack

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

69 numbers

Locked
(513) 769-••••
OH
(319) 382-••••
IA
(770) 822-••••
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Mr. Transmission / Milex Complete Auto Care · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above