Auto Repair & Collision Shop, 40-Year Morris County NJ

$3.1M

Revenue

$925K

SDE

5.0x

Multiple

Subscribe Free

Read the full deal writeup

Get Free Access

Already a member? Sign in

Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 40-year-old auto repair and collision shop in Morris County, New Jersey doing $3.1M in annual revenue and throwing off $925k in owner cash flow. That is a 30 percent owner-earnings margin, which is strong for the trade and tells you the shop is either running a high-value collision mix, commanding pricing power in an affluent county, or both. The facility spans 8,500 square feet with a large parking lot and carries a 4.6-star Google rating, which matters because in the auto body business insurance referrals and repeat retail work follow reputation.

The combined mechanical repair plus collision model is a durable one. Mechanical repair produces steady, needs-based demand (people fix the cars they own), while collision work ties into insurance channels that pay reliably and are less price-sensitive. Being located in Morris County, one of the wealthier counties in the state, means a car park skewed toward higher-value vehicles and better ticket sizes.

What makes this notable for a buyer is the operational setup. The owner runs it semi-absentee with a full-time manager who is willing to stay. For an operator or a buyer building a platform, you are inheriting a management layer rather than buying yourself a full-time job, which is rare at this size and margin profile.

Why we like it

The earnings quality is the headline: $925k cash flow on $3.1M revenue is roughly a 30 percent margin, well above typical auto repair comps. Forty years of operating history and a 4.6-star rating suggest the customer base and insurance relationships are entrenched rather than freshly bought with ad spend.
Auto repair and collision is genuinely recession-resistant. When money is tight, people repair and keep the cars they already own rather than buy new, and collision work is driven by accidents and insurance rather than discretionary spending. Demand persists through cycles.
Location is a real asset here. Morris County is affluent, which supports higher ticket sizes and a vehicle mix that justifies premium repair and body work. The 8,500 sq ft shop plus large parking lot provides physical capacity to absorb more volume without moving.
The business is already semi-absentee with a full-time manager willing to stay. You are buying a running machine with a management layer intact, which lowers key-man risk and makes this workable for a buyer who wants oversight rather than a wrench-turning day job.

How to improve it

Lock the manager in before close. Structure a retention package with a stay bonus and performance incentive tied to gross profit, because at 30 percent margins the operation clearly runs well and the manager is a core reason why. Losing that person post-close is the single biggest value risk.
Formalize and expand insurance DRP (direct repair program) relationships. Getting on more insurer preferred lists drives a steady stream of collision jobs without paid marketing, and it smooths revenue between mechanical and body work. Audit which carriers currently refer and target the gaps.
Layer in a recurring maintenance program to convert one-off repair customers into scheduled service. Prepaid oil change and inspection packages, fleet accounts with local businesses, and reminder-driven service intervals build a repeatable revenue base the current model lacks.
Audit and optimize the collision-to-mechanical revenue split and technician utilization. Body work and mechanical carry different labor rates and cycle times; understanding where the margin actually comes from lets you allocate bay space and staffing to the highest-return work.
Pursue commercial and municipal fleet contracts in Morris County. Fleet maintenance is contracted, higher-volume, and more predictable than retail walk-in work, and an 8,500 sq ft shop has the capacity. This is the clearest path to adding recurring revenue to an otherwise transactional model.
Modernize the digital front door. Online booking, review generation to defend the 4.6 rating, and local SEO for both 'collision repair' and 'auto repair near me' keywords will feed the shop new retail customers cheaply and reduce dependence on insurer referrals alone.

Diligence notes

Verify the $925k cash flow with tax returns and add-back schedules. A 30 percent margin is excellent for this trade and must be substantiated line by line, particularly separating true owner discretionary earnings from the cost of the full-time manager who is staying (that salary is a real ongoing expense you inherit).
Nail down the real estate situation. The listing includes FF&E but says nothing about the 8,500 sq ft building. Confirm whether the shop is leased or owned, get the lease terms and renewal options, and understand rent as a percentage of revenue because a below-market related-party lease could distort the cash flow.
Examine revenue concentration by insurance carrier and DRP status. If a large share of collision work flows from one or two insurer relationships, losing a DRP designation post-sale could materially hit revenue. Confirm those relationships transfer and are not personal to the current owner.
Assess the semi-absentee claim and the manager's actual role. Understand exactly what the owner does versus the manager, what happens to those functions after close, and get the manager's compensation, tenure, and willingness to sign an employment agreement in writing.
Review the seller financing structure carefully. The listing shows $3.6M down with $1M financed at 7 percent over 48 months, an aggressive down payment relative to a $4.6M ask. Model the debt service against cash flow and confirm the numbers reconcile with the stated asking price and terms.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →