Franchise Facts Report → brands → CAR-X
CAR-X franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Item 19 disclosed
CAR-X is an automotive franchise with an initial investment ranging from $396,200 to $582,000.
Everything below is free, read straight off CAR-X's registered filing, with where the numbers land against automotive peers. Weighing CAR-X against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in CAR-X's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641832 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering CAR-X? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. CAR-X will be on it if it fits.
How much does a CAR-X franchise make?
CAR-X is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $1,170,635 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every automotive brand that discloses earnings in the Automotive franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
CAR-X franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come CAR-X's 2.5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a CAR-X franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "CAR-X franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,170,635 of revenue, a 2.5% royalty alone is about $29,266 a year before any other cost.
CAR-X lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
We do not publish a litigation answer for CAR-X. Item 3 could not be read reliably from this particular filing, and a claim that a company has no legal history is not one to make on a failed parse — so we say we do not know instead. Item 3 of the FDD itself is the place to check; the methodology page explains what we do and do not machine-read.
CAR-X closures & failure rate
Before you sign, CAR-X will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what CAR-X's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a automotive of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. CAR-X's outlet tables did not machine-read cleanly; Item 20 of the source FDD has them.
Who owns CAR-X?
CAR-X's franchise is offered by CAR-X, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Automotive franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing CAR-X is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
CAR-X franchise — frequently asked
Who owns CAR-X — who is the franchisor?
CAR-X's most recently filed FDD (2026) names CAR-X, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a CAR-X franchise cost?
CAR-X's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $396,200 – $582,000, with an initial franchise fee of $35,000 and a 2.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against automotive peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $432,600).
How much profit does a CAR-X franchise make?
CAR-X discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (2.5% of gross for CAR-X), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any CAR-X franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure CAR-X discloses is $1,170,635 in average unit revenue.
Does CAR-X disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — CAR-X reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,170,635 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against CAR-X?
We do not publish a litigation answer for CAR-X: Item 3 could not be read reliably from this filing, and we would rather say so than assert a clean record we have not verified. Item 3 of the FDD itself is the place to check.
Is CAR-X a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from CAR-X's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against automotive peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on CAR-X or automotive: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.