Prime Car Wash
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.9M – $3.7M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $2.1M).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 14 loans (below the industry average).
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 Prime Car Wash unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
12%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Prime Car Wash units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
27.7%
3.40× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.94×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$11.5M
on $23.6M purchase
Total debt
$12.1M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate automated or manual car wash facilities, managing daily operations including customer service, equipment maintenance, chemical/water management, and staffing. Revenue derives from per-vehicle wash fees, premium services (detailing, undercarriage), and membership programs, with significant fixed costs for facility rent, utilities, and equipment.
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 · 18 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
Prime Car Wash presents high investment risk due to microscopic profit margins, ongoing corporate litigation, financial distress indicators, and insufficient franchisee profitability relative to capital requirements.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSevere profitability crisis: Average net income of $32,480 on $1.96M revenue = 1.65% net margin after 4% royalty, making ROI on $1.9M-$3.7M investment potentially 10+ years
- 02HIGHLitigation involving CEO/CFO alleging breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement of affiliated entities raises governance and trust concerns for franchisees
- 03MEDExtremely small system (9 units) with unknown growth trajectory indicates limited support infrastructure and inability to achieve economies of scale
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status = False suggests financial distress at corporate level, threatening franchisor's ability to provide promised support and services
- 05MINORWide investment range ($1.9M-$3.7M spread) with no clear explanation indicates unpredictable startup costs and potential hidden expenses
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
25 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Prime Car Wash · FDD (2025) PDF