Dent Doctor vs Ziebart Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Dent Doctor vs Ziebart including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Dent Doctor Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
Investment	$62,250 - $163,600	$297,800 - $469,100
Franchise Fee	$13,900 - $23,900	$30,000
Royalty Fee	6%	5%-8%
Advertising Fee	-	5%
Year Founded	1986	1954
Year Franchised	1990	1963
Term Of Agreement	10 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	10 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	-	$3.9K
Business Experience Requirements
	Dent Doctor Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
Experience	General business experience No automotive experience required	General business experience
Financing Options
	Dent Doctor Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
	In-House/3rd Party	In-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees	No/Yes	No/No
Start-up Costs	No/Yes	No/Yes
Equipment	No/Yes	Yes/Yes
Inventory	No/Yes	No/Yes
Receivables	No/No	Yes/No
Payroll	No/No	No/No
Training & Support
	Dent Doctor Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
Training	-	On-The-Job Training: 228 hours Classroom Training: 104 hours
Support	Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives	Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing	Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertising	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing
Operations	5% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 3 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (95% of current franchisees are owner/operators)	10% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 4 Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
Expansion Plans
	Dent Doctor Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
US Expansion	-	Yes
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	Yes	Yes

Company Overviews

About Dent Doctor

Thomas Harris founded Dent Doctor in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1986. This mobile and shop-based franchise provides paint-free dent repair to consumers, fleet companies and body shops.

Dent Doctor, which began franchising in 1990, reported repairing over 350,000 vehicles in its first 14 years in business.

Using tools and training exclusive to Dent Doctor, the backside of each dent is accessed and pressure is gently applied, removing the dent without harming the original finish. No dry ice, heat or suction is used. The dent will not "pop" back in later, and is a permanent repair.

About Ziebart

Ziebart International was founded in 1954 by Kurt Ziebart. A German mechanic, Ziebart developed a process to stop corrosion and opened the first Ziebart store in Detroit. The private company began franchising in 1963 and has more than 600 locations in 55 countries. In 1989, Ziebart acquired Tidy Car, a franchise company offering similar services, and sold franchises under the name of Ziebart Tidy Car until 1999, when the name changed to Ziebart.

The company has co-branding relationships with Speedy Auto Glass and Rhino Linings USA.