Franchised Auto Care Center, Single-Unit Missouri Operator

$1.1M

SDE

4.6x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a single-unit franchised automotive service center in Missouri, established in 2016 and operating within one of the auto aftermarket's larger national franchise systems. The unit reports over $1,000,000 in Seller's Discretionary Earnings for 2025, which the seller positions as top-percentile performance among single-unit franchisees. The shop runs out of a modern multi-bay facility with late-model lifts, alignment racks, diagnostic gear, and specialized tooling, staffed by a trained team with experienced key personnel in place.

The business serves retail vehicle owners plus established fleet account networks, with brand equity, national marketing support, and field-level franchisor support underpinning demand. It sits along what the listing describes as a high-density retail corridor, and the seller is retiring while pursuing other interests. The buyer inherits a going concern but not the building: real estate is leased at $8,000 per month on a term running through January 2037, and is available separately for long-term lease rather than included in the price.

The asking price is $5,095,000 against $1.1M cash flow, roughly a 4.63x multiple. That is a full price for a single-unit auto shop, and the entire thesis rests on whether the $1M+ SDE is durable, verifiable, and transferable to a new owner who must also clear franchisor net worth and liquidity hurdles.

Why we like it

Earnings quality looks strong on paper, with $1.1M cash flow claimed and margins described as top-percentile for the franchise system. Auto service SDE is generally cash-based and less lumpy than project-driven trades, but the entire deal hinges on verifying the 2025 number against tax returns and the franchisor's own unit-level benchmarking data.
Auto repair and maintenance is genuinely recession-resistant because people repair the cars they already own instead of buying new ones when money is tight. This shop also carries fleet account relationships, which smooth demand and reduce reliance on walk-in retail traffic during slower cycles.
The franchise wrapper provides real operator advantages: national brand equity, established marketing backstops, field support, and onboarding for a new owner. For a buyer without a repair background, that infrastructure lowers execution risk versus taking over an independent shop with no playbook.
The facility is turnkey with late-model lifts, alignment racks, and diagnostic equipment, and a trained team with key personnel is already in place. That means a buyer is acquiring an operating system rather than rebuilding one, which supports a semi-passive or multi-unit operator thesis if the numbers hold.

How to improve it

Verify and then defend the fleet account book in the first 90 days by meeting each major account, formalizing pricing and service agreements, and adding scheduled-maintenance contracts. Turning ad hoc fleet work into recurring service agreements is the single fastest way to add durable, non-walk-in revenue.
Launch a paid maintenance membership or service-plan program (oil changes, inspections, tire rotations bundled) to convert one-time customers into repeat visits. This lifts customer lifetime value and gives the buyer the recurring economics the business currently lacks.
Audit labor productivity and bay utilization to confirm the top-percentile margins are structural, not the result of the departing owner working the counter for free. If the seller was effectively a full-time technician or manager, you must budget for a replacement salary and re-underwrite the true SDE.
Push online reputation and local SEO aggressively, since a high-density retail corridor location lives or dies on Google reviews and Maps ranking. Systematic review generation and response can meaningfully increase car count without additional ad spend.
Negotiate the real estate. With a lease running to 2037 at $8,000 per month, model both a renegotiated rent and an outright purchase of the building from the seller to control your largest fixed cost and capture the property appreciation the seller is otherwise keeping.
Standardize a service-writer upsell process for tickets (brakes, fluids, alignment add-ons flagged during inspection) with clear scripts and incentive comp. Modest increases in average repair order flow straight to the bottom line given the fixed overhead base.
Evaluate a second unit under the same franchise once the first is stabilized. The listing pitches a multi-unit operator thesis, and if the model truly produces $1M SDE per box, a disciplined roll-up inside this system is the clearest path to a real return on this price.

Diligence notes

Confirm the $1M+ 2025 SDE line by line against tax returns, franchisor royalty reports, and merchant processing statements. Note the listing shows EBITDA of exactly $1,100,001 alongside SDE of $1,100,000, which is a red flag that the two figures are being used interchangeably rather than properly calculated, so insist on a clean add-back schedule.
Pull gross revenue, which is conspicuously not disclosed. You cannot assess the claimed exceptionally high margin or judge sustainability without knowing the top line, the car count, and average ticket, so treat the deal as un-underwritable until these are provided in the CIM.
Scrutinize the franchise agreement: remaining term, transfer fees, renewal rights, royalty and marketing fund percentages, territory protection, and required capex or remodel obligations. A near-term mandatory refresh or royalty step-up can quietly erode the margins that justify this multiple.
Examine owner dependency and the true cost of replacing the seller. The listing says the owner is retiring and will assist temporarily, so quantify whether current SDE already reflects a market-rate manager, or whether a $80k to $120k salary needs to come out of your go-forward earnings.
Analyze fleet account concentration and contract terms. If a handful of fleet relationships drive an outsized share of profit and are personal to the departing owner, transfer risk is high and warrants a holdback or earnout tied to account retention.
Assess the lease economics and landlord relationship, since the seller owns the real estate and is leasing it back rather than selling it. Confirm the $8,000 rent is at market, understand escalation clauses through 2037, and secure assignability so the lease does not become a chokepoint at renewal.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →