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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 |  AStrongest tierChristian Brothers Automotive Automotive Remove |  BAbove averageBig Al's Mufflers–Brakes & More Automotive Remove |  AStrongest tierCARSTAR Automotive Remove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | |||
Investment range | $515K – $650K | $100K – $1.1M | $298K – $804K |
Liquid capital | $30K – $40K | $15K – $20K | $10K – $84K |
Franchise fee | $85K | $15K | $10K |
Royalty rate | N/A | 5.5% | N/A |
Ad fund rate | 0.4% | 4.0% | 1.0% |
| Performance | |||
Avg gross sales | $2.9M | N/A | $3.2M |
Median gross sales | $2.7M | N/A | $2.6M |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Earnings metric | Gross Margin | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | |||
Rating | AStrongest tier | BAbove average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 88 / 100 | 58 / 100 | 95 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 0.0% | N/A | 0.0% |
SBA loans on record | 295 | N/A | 40 |
| Scale | |||
Total units | 326 | 14 | 471 |
Net change (latest yr) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| Contract | |||
Initial term (years) | 15 | 10 | 5 |
Renewal term (years) | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 545 | 298 | 22 |
| Contacts | |||
Franchisee phones | 18 | 13 | 542 |
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