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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  BAbove averageBig Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More Automotive 2025 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierCARSTAR Automotive 2025 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
FDD filing | FDD issued Jul 9, 2025 | 2025 FDD |
Investment range | $100K – $1.1M | $298K – $804K |
Liquid capital | $15K – $20K | $10K – $84K |
Franchise fee | $15K | $10K |
Royalty rate | 5.5% | 1.5% |
Ad fund rate | 4.0% | 1.0% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | No Item 19 representation | $3.2M |
Median gross sales | Not disclosed | $2.6M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not disclosed | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | BAbove average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 60 / 100 | 95 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Not SBA-matched | 0.0% (n=40) |
SBA loans on record | N/A | 40 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 15 | 471 |
Net change (latest yr) | 0 | +16 |
Signed, not yet open | Not extracted | 83 (0.18 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 5 |
Renewal term (years) | 5 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 298 | 22 |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 13 | 542 |
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