Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Franchise Cost & 2025 FDD Data
65/100
Second tier
65 this brand59 Automotive medianlikely 61–69 (high confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#784 of 3,068 graded brands
Why a B: Helped by legal record and transparency. Held back by unit growth. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $222K – $724K
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- “All qualifying franchised outlets (2024)”, 59 outlets; not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 70 loans: too few to judge
Data from the FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2025 FDD
Per the 2025 FDD, a Tuffy Tire & Auto Service franchise requires a total initial investment of $222K – $724K, including a $30K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 5.0%. Per the 2025 FDD, average gross sales were $1.4M (Item 19 group “All qualifying franchised outlets (2024)”, 59 outlets; gross sales, not profit). Verdict grade: B (Second tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2025 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium (issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file)
Evidence for the headline figures: 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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Automotive median
Top edge: green = better than the Automotive median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSAverage gross sales of $1.4M/year (outlet median $1.3M; Item 19 group “All qualifying franchised outlets (2024)”, 59 outlets; gross sales, not profit).
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets grew by 1 (3 opened, 2 left the franchised system, 1 of them bought back by the franchisor).
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $61K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $95K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $378K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (2)
- -2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2024 (Item 20, outlet counts). Ask owners why outlets closed.
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating, no lawsuit naming the franchisor in Item 3 and the full filing on file, and an Item 19 average from 59 units. Not on file here, so ask: SBA charge-off rate against the category median, jury-trial waiver, supplier rebates and owner-operator rule.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Shortcut: the Tuffy Tire & Auto Service owner list as a CSV, in the Contacts section.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match, or the lenders already lending to this brand in the SBA section. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 29% above the Automotive median ($366K).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Gimex Properties Corp., Inc. (Item 1: 7071 W. Central Avenue, Suite C, Toledo, Ohio 43617) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Signs | $10K | $45K | |
| Equipment and Furniture | $145K | $200K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $300K | |
| Lease Deposit and First Month’s Rent | $7K | $35K | |
| Initial Inventory | $3K | $10K | |
| Initial Advertising Fee | $3K | $15K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $1K | $3.5K | |
| Miscellaneous Pre- Opening Expenses | $13K | $35K | |
| Additional Funds(9) – 3 months | $10K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $222K | $724K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee loadabove the Automotive median of 7.5% (heavy) | 10.0% of sales |
What do units actually make?
Average gross sales are 38% above the Automotive median ($1.0M).
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19 (sales and earnings)
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Tuffy Tire & Auto Service unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
Average gross sales are $1.4M (FDD p.45), and the royalty and ad fund take about $142K of that a year (Item 6). This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. So this box does not estimate a profit. To cover the loan payment alone, one unit has to clear $61K a year after its food, labor, rent and other costs and the franchisor's fees.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $473K Item 7 midpoint is a $378K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $61K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours. Tuffy Tire & Auto Service's past SBA 7(a) loans averaged 6.2% at approval; 7(a) rates move with the prime rate, so 10.5% is a current-rate assumption, not this brand's history.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $95K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $473K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $378K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
One unit
One unit: what is left after the loan payment
Gross sales, minus the franchisor's fees and the operating costs, is the unit's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Minus an assumed loan payment, that is what is left for you, before tax. Gross sales are not profit.
This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. Invested capital is the Item 7 total, which already includes its working-capital (additional funds) line.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Tuffy Tire & Auto Service unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Item 19: $1,416,325 average for 59 outlets (All qualifying franchised outlets, 2024). Use a figure for outlets like yours if yours differ.
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $222K to $724K
Item 7's $10K to $50K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies direct costs, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $378K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
Buying several existing units? The acquisition scenario
Buying several units
What buying a few existing units could return
Prices an existing operator of a few units off the single-unit EBITDA above, after shared services, and finances it with an SBA 7(a) loan, a conventional loan and a seller note. It shows the yearly return on your cash (IRR), whether year-1 earnings cover the loan payments (DSCR) and how the price is paid for. It starts at 5 units; every deal term is an assumption you can change, and none is from the FDD.
Not modelled yet
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies direct costs, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
This scenario starts from a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in the one-unit model above and it runs on that figure, or take it to the full ROI workbench, where the multi-unit and acquisition models accept your own per-unit economics.
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: 2025 FDD · filed by Gimex Properties Corp., Inc.
Financial performance
- Range (low → high)
- $468K→$4.9MSource: 2025 FDD, page 45
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
Percentile ranks within Automotive
Each rank is among the Automotive brands that report that figure (the count is under each bar).
vs Automotive medians
How Tuffy Tire & Auto Service 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.
Who are you contracting with?
Gimex Properties Corp., Inc., owned by Metis HoldCo, Inc.
Item 1 (the franchisor) · who you're contracting with
The franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Gimex Properties Corp., Inc.
- Parent company
- Metis HoldCo, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- Tuffy Associates Corp.
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 7071 W. Central Avenue, Suite C, Toledo, Ohio 43617
- Auditor
- Warren Averett, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.6M
- latest fiscal year in the 2025 FDD; $3.4M the year before
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
1 other brand on this site names Metis HoldCo, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in its own FDD.
- Midas (grade A)
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
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
- Franchised outlets in
- 14 states and territories
- Item 20 Table 3, at year end
Is the system healthy?
-2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2024 (103 to 101, -1.9% in total, -1.0% a year compounded).
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20 (outlets opened, closed and transferred)
Item 20 (outlet counts) · unit dynamics
The growth chart
- Company-owned
- 28
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 78%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 rates and pipeline
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 8
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Item 20 · franchised units at year end
Franchised units fell from 103 in 2022 to 101 in 2024
Axis does not start at zero.
Source and method
Item 20 (outlet counts) Table 3 · franchised outlets at year end
Where current outlets are
Franchised outlets at year end by state, as the filing's Item 20 Table 3 counts them. Not a list of where the franchisor may sell new units.
Current outlets (count on the tile) · 14 statesNo current outlet
101 franchised outlets at year end in 14 states (Item 20 Table 3).
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
- Loans on file
- 70
- SBA 7(a) loans matched to this brand, incl. those still being repaid
- Loan volume
- $33.8M
- Average loan
- $483K
- loan volume divided by loans
- Charge-off rate
- 70 loans: too few to judge
- Limited SBA coverage: 70 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
- Paid in full
- 70 loans: too few to judge
- Recent-loan charge-off
- 70 loans: too few to judge
- Lenders
- 33
- Average interest rate
- 6.2%
- Jobs reported
- 431
- Lender concentration
- 21%
- top lender's share
Cumulative: every 7(a) loan matched to this brand in the SBA’s FOIA files, approved FY1991 onward. Historical lending data, not predictive of future performance. Lenders, interest rate, jobs and lender concentration cover only the 29 non-cancelled loans approved FY2013 to FY2025. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
Borrower mix: of the 22 loans with a recorded business age, 5 (23%) went to startups or businesses under two years old and 17 (77%) to established businesses or ownership changes.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Full SBA lending reportlenders · charge-off rate · trend
Lender network · SBA 7(a)
SBA Lending Report
Lender, state and yearly detail for Tuffy Tire & Auto Service from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records.
The tables below cover the 29 non-cancelled loans approved FY2013 to FY2025, the window this report’s lender, state and yearly detail is built from. The headline charge-off rate comes from the full loan file (70 loans, cumulative from fiscal 1991; the rate counts only loans that have finished), so the two can differ.
- Average SBA guarantee
- 72%
- Average interest rate
- 6.2%
- Lender concentration
- 21%
- Jobs reported
- 431
- among the 29 non-cancelled loans approved FY2013 to FY2025
Top 10 SBA lenders by loan count
| Loans | Volume | Charge-off |
|---|---|---|
| Live Oak Banking Company | ||
| 15 | $15.8M | Not on file |
| The Huntington National Bank | ||
| 4 | $1.6M | Not on file |
| Hinsdale Bank & Trust Company, National Association | ||
| 2 | $755K | Not on file |
| Customers Bank | ||
| 2 | $776K | Not on file |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | ||
| 1 | $50K | Not on file |
A lender’s rate counts only its resolved loans, the loans that have finished (paid in full or charged off); a 0.0% often means few of its loans have finished. Under 10 resolved loans, the rate reads “Too few”.
Charge-off rate by state (top 10 by loans)
| State | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI Michigan | 9 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| FL Florida | 6 | 1 | Too few1 resolved |
| OH Ohio | 4 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| NC North Carolina | 3 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| IL Illinois | 2 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| AL Alabama | 1 | 0 | Too few0 resolved |
| AZ Arizona | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| CA California | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| IA Iowa | 1 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| TN Tennessee | 1 | 0 | Too few0 resolved |
Rate: charged-off loans over resolved loans (paid in full plus charged off), shown from 10 resolved loans. "Too few": under 10 resolved. The Loans column counts every approval in the window, including loans still being repaid.
SBA 7(a) loans approved per year
Borrower profile
The SBA's own business-age labels (4)
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level data, matched to the brand by FranchiseVerdict.
What are the risks?
Main risk: a shrinking system. Franchised outlets fell from 103 to 101 over the two years to 2024.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade B: Second tier, 65/100 (category median 59); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why a B, factor by factor
- Financial health NeutralAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; franchisor net income positive; negative net worth
- Unit economics NeutralAvg gross sales $1.4M on a $473K investment midpoint, 3.0x (gross sales, not profit)
- Unit growth Weighs on it, weakest dimension-2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2024 (103 to 101, -1.9% in total, -1.0% a year compounded); turnover 1.6%
- Scale Neutral101 franchised units, +28 company-owned (129 in all); franchising since 2016
- Legal HelpsNo litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 discloses financial performance; audited financials
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Warren Averett, LLC
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 3 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Non-compete (years) | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles) | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Governing law | Ohio |
Items 5 (initial fees), 7 (startup costs), 12 (territory) and 20 (outlet counts) · development agreement
Area development (several units)
A development fee of $5,000 per unit you commit to.
Every term, with its page
- Development fee
- $5,000 per unit committed.
2025 FDD p.1
“If you purchase an area development franchise you must pay an additional area development fee that will be negotiated based on the number of franchises to be developed and the development schedule, but you will only pay an initial franchise fee of $5,000 for each franchise developed.” - Signed, not yet open
- 0 franchises sold but not open at year end (Item 20, Table 5; see Growth).
Each unit still needs its own Item 7 investment on top of the development fee ($5K times the units you commit to). Have a franchise attorney read the schedule and the default terms before you sign.
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Site selection
- franchisor approves, franchisee proposes
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Item 20 (outlet counts) · call current owners
Franchisee contacts
Who can you call before you sign?
85 current outlets listed, run by 82 franchisee companies
Each record has a phone number and state. 86 of 91 also name the franchisee; 85 of 91 also name a city. 91 records: 85 current outlets + 6 former owners (terminated, transferred, not renewed or otherwise left). From the filing's Item 20 (the outlet list); the FDD itself is the free source. Our list covers 85 of the 101 franchised outlets Item 20 counts at year end; the owner exhibit prints the rest without a usable phone number, or omits them.
For your own due-diligence calls only. Not for telemarketing, marketing lists, or automated or prerecorded calls or texts.
One-time · CSV download · full refund within 7 days if the data does not match the FDD. Some numbers, especially for former owners, may be outdated.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Tuffy Tire & Auto Service franchise?
Per the 2025 FDD, the total investment to open a Tuffy Tire & Auto Service franchise ranges from $222K to $724K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Tuffy Tire & Auto Service franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Tuffy Tire & Auto Service FDD, average gross sales were $1.4M (Item 19 group “All qualifying franchised outlets (2024)”, 59 outlets; gross sales, not profit). The median is $1.3M. What an owner keeps depends on location, operating costs and management.
Who owns Tuffy Tire & Auto Service?
Tuffy Tire & Auto Service is franchised by Gimex Properties Corp., Inc. Its parent company is Metis HoldCo, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Tuffy Tire & Auto Service 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 Tuffy Tire & Auto Service FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tuffy Tire & Auto Service's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Tuffy Tire & Auto Service has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
How many Tuffy Tire & Auto Service franchise locations are there?
Per the 2025 FDD, Tuffy Tire & Auto Service has 101 franchised units and 28 company-owned (129 in all). In the latest year, the number of franchised outlets grew by 1 (3 opened, 2 left the franchised system, 1 of them bought back by the franchisor).
Is Tuffy Tire & Auto Service a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Tuffy Tire & Auto Service a B Verdict grade (Second tier) with a verdict score of 65 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by legal record (no litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3) and transparency. Held back by unit growth (-2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2024: 103 to 101, -1.9% in total, -1.0% a year compounded). The “Why a B” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Automotive franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.