Tuffy Auto Service Centers vs Ice Cold Air Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Tuffy Auto Service Centers vs Ice Cold Air including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
| Investment |
$224,000 - $413,500 | $15,000 - $25,000 |
| Franchise Fee |
$30,000 | N/A |
| Royalty Fee |
2.5%-5% | - |
| Advertising Fee |
5% | - |
| Year Founded |
1970 | 1999 |
| Year Franchised |
1971 | 1999 |
| Term Of Agreement |
15 years | - |
| Term Of Agreement |
15 years | - |
| Renewal Fee |
- | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
| Experience |
General business experience | - |
Financing Options |
| |
In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party |
| Franchise Fees |
No/Yes | -/- |
| Start-up Costs |
No/Yes | -/- |
| Equipment |
No/Yes | -/- |
| Inventory |
No/Yes | -/- |
| Receivables |
No/No | -/- |
| Payroll |
No/No | -/- |
Training & Support |
| Training |
On-The-Job Training: 40 hours
Classroom Training: 104 hours
Additional Training: At existing store
| - |
| Support |
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 |
Co-op Advertising
Ad Templates
Social media
SEO
Website development
Email marketing
Loyalty program/app
| - |
| Operations |
30% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 4
- 5
Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (90% of current franchisees are owner/operators) | - |
Expansion Plans |
| US Expansion |
Yes | - |
| Canada Expansion |
No | - |
| International Expansion |
No | - |
Company Overviews
About Tuffy Auto Service Centers
Charles Amy founded Tuffy Auto Service Centers when he opened the first Tuffy Muffler shop in 1970. The private company began franchising one year later and now has shops in several states. It is based in Toledo.
If you purchase an area development franchise you must pay an
additional area development fee that will be negotiated based on the
number of franchises to be developed and the development schedule, but
you will only pay an initial franchise fee of $5,000 for each franchise
developed.
#222 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
About Ice Cold Air
Ice Cold Air Franchises are Full-Service auto repair facilities and are the only auto repair franchises that require little or no investment from the Franchisee at startup.
Ice Cold Air was built on a foundation of a family owned and operated
auto repair business and continues with those same values. Our Company History dates back to 1969 when our founder opened a
shop in Orlando Florida calibrating speedometers. Quickly the
speedometer customers began asking for more services and the business
known as Ice Cold Air was born. Specialty auto air conditioning in
Florida was a great concept waiting to happen. Over the next 30 years,
auto air conditioning came to represent 50% of our total annual service.
Operations moved to Clearwater Florida in 1977, and more locations were
added to the family. This was a turning point for the company and it
was during this time that many of our fun and off-the-wall marketing
campaigns were born.