Franchise Facts Report → brands → Ziebart
Ziebart franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network Item 19 disclosed
Ziebart is an automotive category franchisor with an investment range of $450,100 to $924,000.
Everything below is free, read straight off Ziebart's registered filing, with where the numbers land against automotive peers. Weighing Ziebart against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Ziebart's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641330 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Ziebart? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Ziebart will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Ziebart franchise make?
Ziebart is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. See every automotive brand that discloses earnings in the Automotive franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Ziebart franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Ziebart's 8% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Ziebart franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Ziebart franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure.
Ziebart lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
We do not publish a litigation answer for Ziebart. Item 3 could not be read reliably from this particular filing, and a claim that a company has no legal history is not one to make on a failed parse — so we say we do not know instead. Item 3 of the FDD itself is the place to check; the methodology page explains what we do and do not machine-read.
Ziebart closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Ziebart will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Ziebart's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a automotive of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Ziebart's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 9.4%, against a automotive median of 2.5% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved -5 to 80 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Ziebart?
Ziebart's franchise is offered by Ziebart Corporation — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Automotive franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Ziebart is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Ziebart franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Ziebart — who is the franchisor?
Ziebart's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Ziebart Corporation as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Ziebart franchise cost?
Ziebart's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $450,100 – $924,000 and a 8% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against automotive peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $432,600).
How much profit does a Ziebart franchise make?
Ziebart discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (8% of gross for Ziebart), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Ziebart franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate.
Does Ziebart disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Ziebart reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly, so check Item 19 of the source FDD for the numbers.
Are there lawsuits against Ziebart?
We do not publish a litigation answer for Ziebart: Item 3 could not be read reliably from this filing, and we would rather say so than assert a clean record we have not verified. Item 3 of the FDD itself is the place to check.
Is Ziebart a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Ziebart's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against automotive peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Ziebart or automotive: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.