TuffyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tuffy franchise requires a total initial investment of $222K – $724K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 2.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $222K – $724K
- 24th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 17th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- 2.5%
- 1st pct Automotive
- Units
- 129
- 26th 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 1986. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 103 to 101 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $222K – $724K including a $30K franchise fee, 2.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $1.3M).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 61/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Gimex Properties Corp., Inc.
- Parent company
- Metis HoldCo, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7071 W. Central Avenue, Suite C, Toledo, Ohio 43617
- Auditor
- Warren Averett, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.4M
- vs $2.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- purchase or lease the Licensed Location
- of Licensor
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate automotive service centers providing brake service, maintenance, batteries, and general repairs. Day-to-day operations include managing technicians, handling customer intake/scheduling, performing quality checks, and managing inventory of parts and supplies.
- CEO
- David J. Sorbaro
- Headquarters
- OH
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 14
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 9 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | — | — | |
| Signs (installation and delivery) | — | — | |
| Equipment, Office and Waiting Room Furnishings | — | — | |
| Leasehold Improvements | — | — | |
| Real Estate / Rent | — | — | |
| Inventory | — | — | |
| Initial Advertising Fee (Grand Opening)not refundable | $3K | $15K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Expenses | — | — | |
| Additional Funds (3 Months) | — | — | |
| Total initial investment | $3K | $15K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$248K
17.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
49%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
24 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $222K – $724K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 2.5%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $50 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.3M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 59 units
- vs category median 70
- Range (low → high)
- $468K→$4.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 221 Automotive brands
vs Automotive averages
How Tuffy Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 129
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 32
- Turnover rate
- 24.8%
- Company-owned
- 28
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 78%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -1.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 10
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 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
- 99
- 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
Tuffy presents moderate-to-cautious risk as a flat-growth automotive service franchise lacking transparent profitability disclosure and burdened by above-market royalties after an introductory period.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $30,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Warren Averett, LLC
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.0% YoY) suggests mature/declining system despite 129 locations
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — unable to verify profitability claims against $1.4M avg revenue
- 03MINORWide investment range ($222K–$723.5K) indicates inconsistent startup costs and unclear ROI pathways
- 04MINORTiered royalty structure (2.5% vs 5%) creates cash flow pressure after 6 months; lower tire/battery rate may mask true effective royalty
- 05MINOR15-year term is longer than industry standard (10 years typical), locking franchisees into aging brand with minimal growth trajectory
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 85 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Tekmetric
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Tekmetric
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
22 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Tuffy · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tuffy franchise?
The total investment to open a Tuffy franchise ranges from $222K – $724K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Tuffy franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Tuffy FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. The median is $1.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Tuffy's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Tuffy (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 Tuffy franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tuffy has 129 total units in the United States, including 103 franchised units and 28 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tuffy a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tuffy as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 61 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.