Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service franchise takes $88,500 – $162,500 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $12,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 6%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $12,000 | $12,000 | $12,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $88,500 | $162,500 | $88,500 to $162,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $88,500 | $162,500 | $88,500 to $162,500 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 6% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 15 years |
How Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service's disclosed cost sits against the Auto & Travel category:
- Minimum startup cost of $88,500 — about 50% below the Auto & Travel median of $177,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $12,000 — about 64% below 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 Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2019: began the window at 15 units; 0 units opened, 4 closed, ending at 7 units. (partial records: 2016, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service 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 Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service 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 Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service 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 Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service 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 Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service 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 Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service franchise
Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service is an auto & travel franchisor with 7 units at the end of 2019 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2019, it began the window at 15 units; its filings record 0 unit openings and 4 closures, ending at 7 units (partial records: 2016, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only).
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 franchisee will own and operate a Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service automotive transmission repair store which offers transmission and driveline repairs, rebuilding, replacement, and maintenance services for domestic and import automobiles and light trucks.
Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service franchise cost?
- $88,500 – $162,500 all-in to open, per Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Kennedy Transmission Brake & Auto Service units are there?
- 7 units at the end of 2019 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).