ThriftyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Thrifty franchise requires a total initial investment of $879K – $16.2M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $879K – $16.2M
- 40th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 24th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 8th pct Automotive
- Units
- 302
- 32nd pct Automotive
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Franchising since 1962. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
22 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $879K – $16.2M including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 40/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, LLC
- Parent company
- The Hertz Corporation
- Ultimate parent
- Hertz Global Holdings, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Gil West
- CEO experience
- 2024 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- OK
- HQ
- 8501 Williams Road, Estero, Florida 33928
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.4B
- vs $9.0B prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Thrifty is a vehicle rental franchise where franchisees operate rental counter/lot locations, managing customer reservations, vehicle maintenance, fleet acquisition, and daily rental operations. Franchisees typically employ staff to handle customer service, vehicle logistics, and administrative functions while paying 6-8% royalties on gross receipts to the parent company.
- CEO
- Gil West
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1950
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 26
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $500K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $834K | $15.7M |
| Total initial investment | $879K | $16.2M |
Source: Thrifty 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
- $879K – $16.2M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $500K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $500K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $5 |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Automotive averages
How Thrifty Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 302
- Opened
- 9
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.3%
- Company-owned
- 221
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 27%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +22.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Ceased ops
- 0.3%
- Units that stopped operating
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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 32
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Thrifty presents HIGH RISK due to undisclosed financials (no Item 19), severe parent company litigation and going concern status, unprotected territories, and lack of transparency on unit-level profitability — making ROI validation impossible despite modest system growth.
Litigation (Item 3)
Three cases involving Thrifty/Dollar Rent A Car in South Africa. Case 1: Franchisor claims against franchisee Yunus Moolla, Imraan Moolla, Springs Car Wholesalers for trademark infringement post-franchise expiration; damages claim active. Case 2: Franchisee application dismissed with punitive costs awarded to franchisor; application withdrawn in April 2024. Case 3: Application by franchisee/affiliated parties to prevent franchisor trademark use; status incomplete in source document.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Franchisor Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. and parent The Hertz Corporation filed Chapter 11 voluntary petitions on May 22, 2020 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware. Nine entities total filed including Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, LLC. Successfully emerged from bankruptcy on June 30, 2021.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHParent company has going concern warning — indicates solvency/operational viability questions at corporate level
- 02HIGHExtreme litigation exposure: 22 total legal actions (3 pending Thrifty-specific, 4 pending parent, 13 past parent actions) including $168M false arrest settlement and major bankruptcy-related claim vs. Wells Fargo
- 03MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average unit volumes/net income) — impossible to validate ROI on $879K-$16.2M investment range
- 04MINORUnprotected territory with modest 11% YoY growth (302 units) — suggests market saturation risk and cannibalization potential
- 05MINORWide investment range ($879K to $16.2M) indicates highly variable unit economics depending on location type
- 06HIGHParent entity instability (Hertz bankruptcy context) creates supply chain, brand support, and operational continuity risks
- 07MEDHigh royalty burden (6-8%) without disclosed revenue benchmarks means franchisees cannot assess profitability thresholds
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Geographic |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 180 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 22 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three cases involving Thrifty/Dollar Rent A Car in South Africa. Case 1: Franchisor claims against franchisee Yunus Moolla, Imraan Moolla, Springs Car Wholesalers for trademark infringement post-franchise expiration; damages claim active. Case 2: Franchisee application dismissed with punitive costs awarded to franchisor; application withdrawn in April 2024. Case 3: Application by franchisee/affiliated parties to prevent franchisor trademark use; status incomplete in source document.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 66 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 8 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor location and on-site
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Approved Counter System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Approved Counter System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
32 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Thrifty · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Thrifty franchise?
The total investment to open a Thrifty franchise ranges from $879K – $16.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Thrifty franchise owners earn?
Thrifty does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Thrifty's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Thrifty (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Thrifty franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Thrifty has 302 total units in the United States, including 66 franchised units and 221 company-owned units. 9 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Thrifty a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Thrifty as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 40 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Thrifty, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Automotive franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Automotive category
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.