South Florida Automotive Salvage & Export, Grandfathered Miami Salvage Yard with Real Estate

$32.0M

Revenue

$1.4M

SDE

11.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a licensed, vertically integrated automotive salvage, resale and export operation based in Miami, one of the busiest ports for vehicle export in the country. Established in 2016, the business acquires vehicles through auction access that spans 48 states, resells and exports them, and runs an in-house paint and body shop to capture repair margin before sale. Roughly 35% of sales flow through export, leaning on Miami's role as an international gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. The deal is offered with 65 employees, $2M of inventory, $200k of FF&E, and $6.5M of owned Miami industrial real estate included in the $16M ask.

The headline asset here is the grandfathered salvage license and permits. New salvage licensing in dense urban markets like Miami-Dade is genuinely hard to obtain, so an intact license plus auction access is a real barrier to entry that a buyer cannot easily replicate by starting from scratch. That combination of regulatory moat, physical real estate, and port location is the reason this is being marketed as a platform rather than a plain yard.

The hard part is the math. On $32M of revenue the business throws off just $1.4M of EBITDA, a sub-5% margin typical of high-velocity, inventory-heavy auto trading. Back out the $6.5M of real estate and $2.2M of inventory and FF&E, and the buyer is paying roughly $7.3M for about $1.4M of operating earnings, which is a far more digestible 5x. The listing hints at a prior run that produced $167.8M of purchasing across 2024-2025, suggesting volume (and likely earnings) have come down materially, and that gap is the whole story a buyer needs to understand before writing a check.

Why we like it

The grandfathered salvage license and permits are the single most defensible thing in this deal. Fresh salvage licensing in Miami-Dade is difficult and slow to secure, so an intact license plus 48-state auction access gives a buyer an operating footprint that is expensive and time-consuming to recreate organically.
Nearly a third of the purchase price is tangible, independently valuable real estate. The $6.5M of owned Miami industrial property plus $2M of inventory and $200k of FF&E means a large chunk of the $16M ask is asset-backed, which materially limits downside versus a pure-goodwill services deal.
Miami is one of the top automotive export gateways in the US, and 35% of sales already move through export channels. That international demand, often paid for in hard currency by Latin American and Caribbean buyers, provides a revenue leg that is somewhat decoupled from the domestic US consumer cycle.
Salvage and used-parts flow is structurally recession-resistant. When new-car affordability tightens, demand for salvage vehicles, repairable units, and exported used inventory tends to hold or grow, which supports the earnings base through a downturn.
The in-house paint and body shop lets the operator capture repair margin rather than wholesaling damaged units. On higher volume this vertical integration is a real margin lever, not just a cost center.

How to improve it

Reconcile the earnings story immediately and build the operating plan around it. The listing references $167.8M of purchasing across 2024-2025 but only $1.4M of current EBITDA, so the first initiative is understanding why volume and margin fell and whether restoring auction purchasing simply brings back the prior earnings level.
Separate the real estate from the operating company at close. Put the $6.5M property into a propco, lease it back to the opco at market rent, and you clarify the true operating multiple while creating a financeable, appreciating asset you can hold independent of the business.
Push export above 35% of sales by adding port-adjacent holding capacity and deepening international buyer relationships. Export units typically carry better margin and faster cash conversion, so growing this mix improves both profitability and working-capital velocity.
Raise utilization of the paint and body shop on every eligible repairable unit. Instead of wholesaling damaged vehicles, route more through in-house repair to lift per-unit gross margin, which flows straight to the thin EBITDA line.
Tighten inventory turns and the buy-side discipline. With $2M of inventory and a sub-5% margin, days-on-lot and acquisition discipline drive the whole return, so instrument turns by vehicle class and kill slow-moving stock faster.
Lock the grandfathered license and key auction credentials to survive the ownership change. Confirm transferability pre-close and document every auction relationship and buyer network during the seller's transition so the moat does not walk out the door with the retiring owner.
Formalize recurring export buyer agreements. Convert the best international buyers into standing purchase commitments or allocations so a portion of volume becomes predictable rather than transactional, smoothing the revenue line.

Diligence notes

The revenue-to-EBITDA gap and the $167.8M purchasing figure demand forensic review. Get three years of financials and auction purchase records to understand whether margins compressed, volume collapsed, or the business is being presented at a trough, because that directly determines whether you are paying 5x real earnings or 11x a declining one.
Confirm the salvage license and permits are legally transferable to a new owner. Grandfathered status often does not survive a change of control or entity, so have counsel verify with the licensing authority that the moat actually conveys before you value it at anything.
Validate the $6.5M real estate valuation with an independent appraisal and environmental review. Salvage yards carry contamination risk, so order a Phase I (and likely Phase II) environmental study, because remediation liability could swamp the property's stated value.
Scrutinize the export operation for regulatory and counterparty risk. Review title and VIN documentation, OFAC and sanctions compliance on international buyers, and payment terms, since cross-border salvage export is a high-scrutiny area for customs and law enforcement.
Inspect and age the $2M of inventory before relying on it as asset value. Confirm each unit's title status, condition, and realistic resale or export value, because stated inventory in a salvage operation can include dead stock, parts cars, and units worth far less than booked.
The listing marks this as Home-Based despite 65 employees and an 18,000 square foot facility, which is an inconsistency worth resolving. Clarify headcount, payroll, and the true operating structure, and confirm the 65 employees are real and will stay through the transition.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →