MARS vs Ziebart Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	MARS Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
Investment	$49,000	$297,800 - $469,100
Franchise Fee	$15,000	$30,000
Royalty Fee	7%	5%-8%
Advertising Fee	-	5%
Year Founded	1987	1954
Year Franchised	1998	1963
Term Of Agreement	5 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	5 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	1/2 of current franchise fee	$3.9K
Business Experience Requirements
	MARS Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
Experience	-	General business experience
Financing Options
	MARS 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
	MARS Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
Training	-	On-The-Job Training: 228 hours Classroom Training: 104 hours
Support	Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Internet	Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing	Ad slicks, National media	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing
Operations	Franchise can be run from home. 0% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 1 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (90% 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
	MARS Franchise	Ziebart Franchise
US Expansion	-	Yes
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	No	Yes

Company Overviews

About MARS

NO LONGER FRANCHISING

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.