MEINEKE Franchise Complaints
The Meineke franchise has a very high SBA loan default rate of 31%.
With nearly 900 locations, the Meineke Car Care Centers franchise is owned by Driven Brands, Inc. and is sometimes co-branded with fellow Driven Brands Inc. affiliate Econo Lube.
Are you familiar with the Meineke franchise opportunity? Please share a comment below.
The initial Meineke concept of providing quality exhaust service at discount prices has expanded to include complete brake service, oil and lube service, front-end alignment, shock and strut service and Catalytic converters.
According to the US Small Business Administration, Meineke franchisees have received 280 SBA-guaranteed loans since 2001; nearly a third of those loans have been defaulted on by Meineke franchise owners.
The Meineke Franchise has a failure rate of 31% for SBA-backed franchise loans
It’s likely that Meineke franchise owners who received SBA loans may have collateralized their franchise loan with their houses or other personal assets, and nearly one-third were unable to repay those franchise loans… despite serious incentive to do so.
Another area of concern for prospective Meineke franchise owners should be the large number of Meineke consumer complaints posted on the Internet.
MEINEKE Franchise Owners Share Their Complaints
On our post Is MEINEKE a Great Franchise Opportunity?, commenter John Marshall wrote:
I was a Meineke franchisee in Atlanta for 10 years. The Meineke franchise is overpriced and a broken business model. The fees are some of the highest in the franchise world. They have one of the highest SBA failure rates of any franchise.
There are a few shops that are the exception and perform very well. The bulk of the shops are run by owners that work 60-70 hours a week and make less than what they send Meineke each month. The rest of the shops fail with the owners losing their savings and sometimes their homes. Google search “Meineke shops for sale” and you will be amazed how many shops are for sale. Why would a good operator want to sell a very profitable cash flowing business?Google search “Meineke Car Care Center litigation/lawsuits” and see how many lawsuits Meineke brings against franchisees…
Anonymous from San Diego wrote:
The failure rate of this this franchise is staggering! I am a current Meineke franchise owner for many years now and in that time the failure rate of this business model is about 40% this is approximately 700% higher than the national failure rate for franchises. About 40% of the owners of these businesses are out of business in 3-4 years and replaced with the next franchisor.
In my opinion Meineke intentionally sets franchisees up for failure with overpriced leases, 7% royalties and a whopping 8% of gross revenues HAVE to be spent on marketing. 15% off the top and they generally stick the franchisor with a $3,000 to $6,000 padding they add to the real estate lease cost. If the lease is $6k Meineke pays the building owner $6k and bills the franchisor $9.5k-$10.5k to cover the triple net lease. Next Meineke will create phony overinflated revenues and under report the expenses factors so that the opportunity looks good but, not too good to potential investors.WHY? Because it is more profitable to turn over franchisors that pay $50,000 franchise buy in fee and put that franchisor out of business and get the next franchisor in the door with another $50,000 in franchise fees. Average Meineke dealer does about $700,000 year, if they can put that franchisor out of business in 3 years they get 4 year’s worth of revenue from that store in 3 years.
Lastly, the owners of the franchises are honest hardworking people of all persuasions trying to build the American dream for their families but instead are intentionally set up for failure by Meineke with lies and deceit.
I am still in business and want any potential franchise investors to be warned to stay away from Meineke or EconoLube business at all costs.
Meineke Franchise: Add Your Opinion Below
Are you familiar with the Meineke franchise opportunity?
What do you think accounts for the SBA loan failure rate of Meineke franchise owners?
What steps should Meineke and Driven Brands be taking to stop further franchise failures?
Has Meineke taken serious action to address the problems that led to the 31% loan failures?
Does Meineke & Driven Brands intentionally churn franchise locations?
Are Meineke consumer complaints a result of the economic pressure Meineke franchise owners are under?
Please share a comment, opinion or insight below.
ARE YOU A MEINEKE FRANCHISE OWNER OR FORMER MEINEKE FRANCHISEE? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH DRIVEN BRANDS INC & THE MEINEKE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY? PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Tags: Meineke, Meineke franchise, Meineke complaints, car care franchise, muffler franchise, automotive franchise, franchise opportunity, quick lube franchise, franchise failure rate, worst franchise, sba failure rates, SBA franchise loans, franchise information, Driven Brands, franchise churning
