Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care franchise takes $192,199 – $230,499 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $37,500. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 8% on sales. To qualify, Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care asks for $50,000 in liquid cash and a $100,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $37,500 | $37,500 | $37,500 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $192,199 | $230,499 | $192,199 to $230,499 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $192,199 | $230,499 | $192,199 to $230,499 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 8% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 15 years |
How Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care's disclosed cost sits against the Auto & Travel category:
- Minimum startup cost of $192,199 — about in line with the Auto & Travel median of $177,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $37,500 — about in line with the Auto & Travel median of $33,740.
Category medians are computed from the Auto & Travel brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Auto & Travel franchises
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How Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2016: began the window at 74 units; 6 units opened, 23 closed, ending at 53 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care franchise
Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care is an auto & travel franchisor with 53 units at the end of 2016 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2016, it began the window at 74 units; its filings record 6 unit openings and 23 closures, ending at 53 units. Its parent company is American Driveline Systems.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
The franchise offered is for an automotive shop that repairs, remanufactures and services transmissions and other driveline related component parts (including batteries, electrical, cooling and radiator) under the trade name Cottman Transmission. The franchisor offers Cottman Center franchises only to: (1) existing Cottman franchisees who are renewing an existing Cottman License Agreement; (2) purchasers of an operating Cottman Center from an existing Cottman franchisee and who meet their qualifications; and (3) purchasers of a recently closed Cottman Center who will re-open and operate a Cottman Center at the same premises or another location within the same geographic market area and who meet their qualifications.
Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care franchise cost?
- $192,199 – $230,499 all-in to open, per Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care units are there?
- 53 units at the end of 2016 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care's units held up?
- 77.9% of units at risk between 2014 and 2016 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).