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Cornwell franchise — is it worth it?

Medium risk Item 19 disclosed

Cornwell is an automotive franchise with a moderate investment range of $174,380 to $320,680.

Everything below is free, read straight off Cornwell's registered filing, with where the numbers land against automotive peers. Weighing Cornwell against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.

Figures above are as disclosed in Cornwell's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640697 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.

How much does a Cornwell franchise make?

Cornwell 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 did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. See every automotive brand that discloses earnings in the Automotive franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.

Cornwell 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 the royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Cornwell franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Cornwell franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure.

Cornwell lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)

Cornwell's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose 18 legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Cornwell itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. 10 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.

Cornwell closures & failure rate

Before you sign, Cornwell 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 Cornwell'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. Cornwell's outlet tables did not machine-read cleanly; Item 20 of the source FDD has them.

Who owns Cornwell?

Cornwell's franchise is offered by The Cornwell Quality Tools Company — 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 Cornwell 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.

Cornwell franchise — frequently asked