How much is a Tommy's Express Car Wash franchise? $5,296,471 – $7,166,726 to open, per its disclosure filings
$5,296,471 – $7,166,726
Opening a Tommy's Express Car Wash franchise takes $5,296,471 – $7,166,726 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is not disclosed in the filings we cover. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 4% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Tommy's Express Car Wash cost table
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $5,296,471 | $7,166,726 | $5,296,471 to $7,166,726 | |
| 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) | $5,296,471 | $7,166,726 | $5,296,471 to $7,166,726 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Tommy's Express Car Wash's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 4% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
What's in that number — and what isn't
The $5,296,471 – $7,166,726 range is derived from Tommy's Express Car Wash's filed initial-investment disclosure (FDD Item 7 class): build-out, equipment, and opening costs as the franchisor stated them. Your market's real estate, labor, and build-out prices can land you outside it.
Not in the opening number: the ongoing royalty of 4% on sales, the ad-fund contribution of up to 1%, and your operating losses while the unit ramps. Every figure marked "Not disclosed" above is a gap in the filings, not a zero.
How Tommy's Express Car Wash's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Tommy's Express Car Wash's disclosed cost sits against the Auto & Travel category:
- Minimum startup cost of $5,296,471 — about 30× the Auto & Travel median of $177,500.
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
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Tommy's Express Car Wash 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 Tommy's Express Car Wash for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What ongoing fees does Tommy's Express Car Wash charge?
A royalty of 4% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%, per disclosure filings as of 2026-05.