Franch Monsters

Meineke Franchisor SPV LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Driven Brands, Inc., franchises Meineke Car Care Centers: auto maintenance and repair shops that specialize in exhaust and brake system work and also provide other maintenance and repair services.

Key figures

Investment

from $224,898

Payback

not disclosed

Royalty

5% of Gross Revenues

Initial fee

$45,000

Listing updated October 21, 2026. Investment, royalty, and initial fee are from the franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and may be out of date; check them with the franchisor and in its current FDD. Franch Monsters is not affiliated with Meineke; this page is not an offer to sell a franchise.

About the franchise

Item 20 of Meineke's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), issued June 20, 2025, and amended December 29, 2025, counts 705 Meineke Centers at the end of fiscal 2022, 702 at the end of fiscal 2023, and 716 at the end of fiscal 2024 (December 28, 2024), all of them franchised; 7 of the 716 were in Puerto Rico. According to Item 1, Driven Brands is owned by Driven Holdings, LLC, which is owned by Driven Brands Holdings Inc. and is the indirect parent of 9 franchisors, including those of Meineke, Maaco, Take 5, and CARSTAR.

Item 19 of the same FDD presents the average and median fiscal 2024 Gross Revenues of 549 franchised Centers with at least 5 repair bays and at least 2 full years of operation, the first-year Gross Revenues of new Centers, and a Gross Revenues and cost analysis.

Included in the franchise

Help with the site: a Project Resource Manual, site evaluation mapping and location analysis, and real estate contacts, contractors, and developers that Meineke may provide; once your site is approved, Meineke will not grant anyone else the right to operate a Meineke Center within a 2-mile radius of it, apart from Centers already open, under development, or approved by then (FDD Items 11 and 12)
Initial training lasting a maximum of 13 days for you (or your Operating Partner) and one other person who has signed the Franchise Agreement or is a guarantor of it, at the Meineke University training center in Charlotte, North Carolina, a designated Meineke Center, or virtually; there is no training fee if you have paid the initial franchise fee in full and attend before opening, but you pay for travel, food, and lodging. Your manager's required Internet training is also free (FDD Item 11)
National, regional, and local advertising through the Meineke Advertising Fund (MAF), to which franchisees contribute weekly (FDD Item 11)
Access to the online Operations Manual at no charge, periodic guidance on the Meineke system, and a national customer warranty program (FDD Item 11)

Franchisee requirements

Have a net worth of at least $1,000,000 and liquid assets of at least $500,000, per the What It Takes page of Meineke's franchising site, meinekefranchise.com ("Net worth of $1M+" and "Liquid assets of $500K+"). The FDD sets no net worth or liquid capital minimum for a Center; under a Development Agreement, at least one guarantor must meet a $1,000,000 net worth threshold (FDD Exhibit S)
Complete initial training before opening, yourself or, if the franchisee is a company, through an Operating Partner who owns and controls at least 10% of its equity and voting rights, and designate a manager who has completed Meineke's Internet training and devotes substantially all of his or her business time to running the Center (FDD Items 11 and 15)
Have at least one employee obtain Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification for each area of service at the Center for which it is offered, within one year after signing or, for a new Center, after opening, and maintain it (FDD Item 15)
If the franchisee is a company, have each direct or indirect owner of 10% or more sign a personal guaranty of its obligations under the Franchise Agreement (FDD Item 15)
Carry insurance that includes commercial general liability, currently $1,000,000 per occurrence, and garage keepers liability, currently $20,000 per bay (FDD Item 8)

Franchise agreement

The initial term of the Franchise Agreement is 15 years. Meineke may grant a renewal under a successor franchise agreement for 15, 8, or 5 years, at your choice, if you give notice at least 180 days before the term ends, comply with your agreements, keep possession of the Premises for the renewal term, remodel the Center, sign a release where state law allows, pay a $5,000 successor franchise fee (subject to increases in the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, with $1,000 rebated if you complete the renewal within 180 days before expiration), and sign the successor agreement, whose terms may be materially different. No Initial Advertising Contribution is charged on renewal. During the term, substantial upgrades or remodeling may be required no more than once every 5 years and at a capital cost of no more than $20,000 per occurrence; on renewal, that cost has no monetary limit (FDD Items 5, 6, and 17).

Meineke must approve any transfer and can match any offer for the Center. You or the buyer must pay a transfer fee of $7,500, subject to CPI increases, or, at Meineke's option, its then-current initial franchise fee if the buyer signs the then-current franchise agreement. The buyer must also meet Meineke's standards and financial requirements, complete its training program, pay the $20,000 Initial Advertising Contribution, and remodel the Center; if you join Meineke's resale assistance program, its fee is $15,000 (FDD Items 6 and 17).

Item 17 gives Meineke no right to terminate without cause; you have 30 days to cure monetary defaults. When the agreement ends without a successor franchise, you must immediately pay all royalties, MAF payments, and other amounts you owe Meineke and its affiliates; on Meineke's request, sell it your inventory of parts and supplies at a mutually agreeable reasonable price; and, if Meineke requires, assign your lease to it or lease it the Center's premises (FDD Item 17; Franchise Agreement, Article 15).

Frequently asked questions

Item 7 of the FDD puts the total estimated initial investment for a leased location from $224,898; the low end is based on a 3,400-square-foot location with 5 bays. The total includes the $45,000 initial franchise fee, the $20,000 Initial Advertising Contribution (listed in Item 7 as Initial Marketing), living expenses during initial training from $7,500, and additional funds for the first 3 months from $50,000, which do not usually include the owner's salary; it does not include buying real estate or constructing a building. Meineke does not offer direct or indirect financing or guarantee your note, lease, or obligation, although it may refer you to financing sources that may be available to you (FDD Items 7, 10, and 11).

The initial franchise fee is $45,000 for each new Meineke Center, paid in full when you sign the Franchise Agreement. You also pay Meineke a $20,000 Initial Advertising Contribution for pre-opening, grand opening, and post-opening promotion, due before you (or your Operating Partner) attend initial training, or 60 days before opening for an existing franchisee who will not attend. A new franchisee, who currently must use and buy Meineke's M.Key shop management software, pays a $4,995 license fee for it (Item 7 lists point-of-sale software and computer hardware, from $4,995, as due before opening) and an AutoNet TV set-up fee for the TV and box that play Meineke ads in the waiting room, from $200 depending on whether the Center has a TV, due 30 days before training. A Development Agreement for at least 4 Centers requires a non-refundable development fee equal to 100% of the initial franchise fee for each Center, credited against each Center's fee: $107,500 for 4 Centers (FDD Items 5 and 7).

Each week, on the Payment Day (currently Wednesday), you pay the greater of $400 (1/52 of the $20,800 annual minimum) or a royalty on Gross Revenues by category of service: 7% on exhaust systems; 5.5% on replacement of engines or transmissions, engine diagnostics, engine seals, mounts and gaskets, transmission mounts, and scheduled maintenance; 4% on batteries; 3% on tires, state inspections, towing services, and emissions inspections; and 5% on all other Authorized Products and Services, the rate shown under "Royalty" on this page. The lower rates apply only to sales properly reported through approved computer systems; otherwise, and on unauthorized services, the rate is 7%, and on unreported services it is 8%. Meineke refunds any amount paid for a calendar year above the greater of the annual minimum or the calculated royalty. For a Center that has never operated, the annual and minimum royalties start 6 months after you begin business. Under the Franchise Agreement, the minimums are subject to adjustment, not more than once a calendar year, for increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since October 2010, and the FDD warns that you must make minimum royalty or advertising payments regardless of your sales levels (FDD Item 6 and Special Risks; Franchise Agreement, Section 3.3).

Together with the royalty, you contribute weekly to the Meineke Advertising Fund (MAF) 8% of Gross Revenues (1.5% from tires, towing services, and government-regulated inspections); in the 12 weeks after a new Center opens, it is the greater of 8% or $250 a week. Under Version 2 of the Advertising Addendum, a franchisee who meets Meineke's eligibility criteria contributes 6% for 12 months and then 5.5% or 6%, and Item 19 says franchisees generally pay a lower MAF contribution under the Advertising Addenda, fleet programs, and other incentives. Meineke also strongly recommends spending 2% of Gross Revenues on local advertising. The M.Key Software Maintenance Fee is currently $375 a month ($275 if you buy AutoVitals), plus optional add-ons, and may rise with the CPI and third parties' charges; AutoNet TV costs from $30 a month and will not exceed $100. Ongoing fees that Meineke and its affiliates charge for required or recommended proprietary software or technology and for computer system maintenance and support may not exceed $750 a month in total, a cap Meineke may raise with the CPI, but one-time fees, hardware, front office software, and anything you must buy or lease to provide your services or operate the Center fall outside it (FDD Items 6, 11, and 19).

The initial franchise fee is $22,500 for a second Center and $20,000 for a third and each later Center under a new Development Agreement or for an existing franchisee in good standing developing a new Center; $20,000 under the conversion program for independent or franchised repair shops that have operated for at least 12 months; and 25% lower for a single Center if you have already bought a franchise from another Driven Brands Holdings affiliate. The royalty is reduced by 75% for the first 6 months of an existing franchisee's new Center, by 50% for the first 2 years of a conversion Center, and by 50% for the first 6 months for qualifying veterans under the VetFran Program. Under a Development Agreement signed on or after the FDD's issuance date, it is 1% of Gross Revenues in each of a Center's first 2 years and the greater of 3% or $11,345 in the third; if Gross Revenues exceed $650,000 in the first or second year, the reduction ends, on Meineke's notice, at the end of that year. Reductions of the same fee cannot be combined, and Meineke may also waive or reduce fees under other incentive programs (FDD Items 5 and 6).

You must propose a site for Meineke's approval no later than 180 days after signing the Franchise Agreement; if no location is agreed within that time, either party may terminate the agreement, and Meineke may also terminate it if you do not lease or buy the Premises within 1 year. The Center must be open within 18 months after signing; Meineke will grant a reasonable extension for delays beyond your control, such as unavoidable delays in obtaining zoning permits or in construction, and failure to open is a default that cannot be cured. In fiscal 2024, new franchisees took about 12 months on average from signing to opening. The initial franchise fee is not refundable under any circumstances, and the Initial Advertising Contribution, the M.Key software license fee, and the AutoNet TV set-up fee are not refundable either (FDD Items 5, 8, 11, and 17).
Updated: October 21, 2026111 views

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