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Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cottman Transmission Systems vs AAMCO Transmissions including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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Investment | $192,000 - $230,000 | $223,600 - $330,500 |
Franchise Fee | $37,500 | $39,500 |
Royalty Fee | 7.5% | 7.5% |
Advertising Fee | $765 Weekly | $150/mo. |
Year Founded | 1962 | 1957 |
Year Franchised | 1964 | 1963 |
Term Of Agreement | 15 years | 15 years |
Term Of Agreement | 15 years | 15 years |
Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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Experience | *Total net worth requirement: $100,000+ *Cash Liquidity requirement: $50,000 - $75,000 *Industry experience *General Business experience *Marketing Skills | To own an AAMCO franchise today, you don't necessarily need a background in automotive repair. We want to partner with good business people who are passionate and committed to taking care of customers. Once the decision is made to become an AAMCO franchise owner, we provide a tremendous amount of coaching and training to prepare our owners to be successful in their new business. We are seeking candidates who have a minimum of $65,000 in liquid capital and a net worth of at least $250,000 |
Financing Options |
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In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
Franchise Fees | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Start-up Costs | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Equipment | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Inventory | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Receivables | No/No | No/Yes |
Payroll | No/Yes | No/Yes |
Training & Support |
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Training | Training class room at Corporate Office - Horsham, PA (2 weeks) -Security/safety procedures | AAMCO center owners receive more than 250 hours of training at AAMCO University, as well as more than 200 hours of online coursework. Here's a basic overview of what you'll learn: Customer care: From first contact to vehicle delivery, franchisees become experts at ensuring lasting and positive experiences for customers, leading to a positive reputation you can leverage for word-of-mouth and future sales. Key performance indicators: It's important to be able to analyze your business and identify areas where you can grow and improve. We will help you understand the key metrics that drive your business, and how to interpret the data. Center growth strategies: We'll explore short-term and long-term plans for expanding your customer base and offering additional services to drive repeat business. Special attention is given to pooled promotional advertising opportunities and marketing to existing customers to serve their scheduled maintenance needs. Quality control: We will teach you how to work with key team members to solve challenges related to parts, production and workflow. This isn't a theoretical exercise: We'll play out common scenarios you can expect as a business owner. Utilizing business networks: We'll discuss opportunities for building and maintaining community ties, and the effect these relationships can have on the top and bottom line. Leadership: We'll study ways to build and enhance leadership skills, which will help you build a more cohesive team, create attractive career paths for your employees, and retain valuable team members. On-The-Job Training: 240 hours Classroom Training: 145 hours Additional Training: On-site business coaching |
Support | Opening Support: - Training class room at Corporate Office - Horsham, PA (2 weeks) - In-field training - Real Estate - Assistance finding a suitable location (if needed) - Operations Team assigned to assist in the transition - Grand Opening - Sales Development Plan - Marketing Plan Ongoing Training and Support: - Technical Hotline available - Cottman Business Management System - POS - Financial Assistance provided - Franchisee intranet portal - National PR Firm - Technical Training (in house and on site) - Localized commercial accounts - Advertising Program o Traditional and Internet Advertising o Franchisee Website o Pay Per Click o Award-winning Cottman Man Blog o Cottman Webinar Series Award winning National website (Cottman.com) o Award-winning Cottman Man Educational Video Series o Social Media -Security/safety procedures -Field operations/evaluations -Purchasing cooperatives | Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform |
Marketing | *Ad slicks *National media *Regional advertising | Our "Trust" advertising campaign is designed to build upon our reputation as transmission experts and win more Total Car Care business. The ads make the point that if our customers trust us to fix the most complicated part of their car, we can surely fix their brakes, change their oil, and do all of the routine maintenance work that our customers require on their vehicles. In addition to national and regional marketing campaigns that are rolled out by the corporate office, we help our franchise owners to develop strategic marketing campaigns that make sense in their local areas. Our owners also form marketing pools to develop targeted marketing campaigns on their own. We also help our owners measure their return on investment, and assist in refining their local campaigns. That's not all. We have a strong strategy for winning business online, which has become key to gaining customers. We believe there are four key moments of truth for customers, and that by performing well during these moments, AAMCO will continue to win new customers. Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app |
Operations |
Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 3 Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators) |
25% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 4 Absentee ownership allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
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Expansion Plans |
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US Expansion | Yes | - |
Canada Expansion | No | No |
International Expansion | No | Yes |
With areas over the U.S., Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care is a transmission and auto repair mark that administrations any make or model vehicle, remote or local. Cottman Transmission and Total Auto Care focuses have some expertise in entire transmission benefit, brakes, suspension, cooling administration and a great deal more. Cottman's base camp is situated in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
Cottman Transmission Systems, LLC gives a markdown on starting establishment charges to veterans of U.S. Military who generally meet the prerequisites of the Cottman Vet Program. For qualified veterans partaking in this program, Cottman Transmission Systems, LLC will diminish the measure of the Initial License charge by $8,000. In this manner the Initial License under the Cottman Vet Program is decreased to $29,500 (for franchisees outside of New Jersey). To Qualify, veterans must give us satisfactory documentation of respectable release, and the franchisee for the Center to be worked must be no less than 51% possessed by the veteran taking an interest in the Cottman Vet Program. Veterans taking an interest in the Cottman Vet Program who wish to exchange the establishment before opening the Center must pay us the bit of the Initial License Fee that is postponed under the program ($8,000) as a condition to the exchange.
There are as of now more than 53 Cottman Transmission Centers in 21 states and Canada.
AAMCO has spent the past half century as the worldwide leader in transmission repairs. Since Anthony A. Martino opened the first AAMCO in Philadelphia in 1957, we have serviced more than 45 million vehicles, and we have more than 700 franchised locations in North America starting in 1962 with Newark, New Jersey. Our legacy brand continues to thrive. Entrepreneur magazine has consistently ranked us as a top choice in its annual Franchise 500 rankings of franchise opportunities. We are also an iconic brand that customers know. We recently hired a marketing firm to measure how well the public knows our brand, and 92% of people surveyed recognized us as the leading brand for transmission repair. This is no accident: we've spent five decades building customer trust through our "Double-A-BEEP-BEEP-M-C-O" marketing campaigns.