Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S1146 since 2017
Milex/ Mr. Transmission
Automotive · independent · est. —
Milex Complete Auto Care and Mr. Transmission are paired automotive repair brands (under Moran Family of Brands), often co-located. They provide transmission repair and rebuilding plus general auto maintenance and repair. A franchisee operates a repair shop offering driveline and full-service car care.
Milex/ Mr. Transmission net unit count declined -1.8% from 2022–2024 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The standout in the record: owner turnover is low.
Exit rate · latest year
2.8%
vs 5.5% across 19 automotive systems
Cost to open
$267K–$341K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
47.1%
vs 14.8% avg across rated brands
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2022–2024
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2024, 3 of 107 franchised outlets left the system — a 2.8% annualized exit rate, vs 5.5% across 19 automotive systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 118 | 113 | 110 |
| Opened | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Transfers | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Outlets at end | 113 | 110 | 111 |
| Net change | -5 | -3 | +1 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 76 SBA-backed loans to Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchisees since 1991. Of the 51 that have resolved, 47.1% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 576 rated brands.
47.1%
24 of 51 resolved defaulted
55.8%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
26.3%
default rate × loss severity
$879,815
what recent franchisees borrowed
76 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
8 vs 4
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO MILEX/ MR. TRANSMISSION BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
Readycap Lending, Llc
14.1% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 31.3% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
74.4%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 76 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $45K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $267K–$341K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$267K–$341K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$45K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
7%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$70K
7% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$700K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for Milex/ Mr. Transmission with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand looks riskier than 89% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
89 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
19.7%
Observed SBA charge-off
47.1%
Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (raises) · System size (log units) (raises) · Single-lender dependence (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (lowers). 15+ resolved loans stand behind this estimate. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Milex/ Mr. Transmission. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Milex/ Mr. Transmission's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchises closed last year?
In Milex/ Mr. Transmission's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2024), 3 of 107 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 2.8% — compared with 5.5% across 19 automotive systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchise cost?
Per Milex/ Mr. Transmission's 2025 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $45K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $267K–$341K (Item 7).
What royalty does Milex/ Mr. Transmission charge?
Milex/ Mr. Transmission charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2025 FDD.
Does Milex/ Mr. Transmission disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Milex/ Mr. Transmission makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2025 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchises default?
Across 76 SBA-backed loans to Milex/ Mr. Transmission franchisees since 1991, 24 of the 51 that have resolved were charged off — a 47.1% default rate, versus about 14.8% across all rated franchise brands. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, drawn from public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data and independent of the franchisor's own disclosures.