Selling your auto repair shop?
Your DRP relationships are worth more than you think.

The honest version

What auto repair shops actually sell for

Most auto repair shops trade in the range of 3–4.5x adjusted EBITDA, with multi-location and collision operations reaching 4–6x. The difference between the bottom and the top of that range is rarely about revenue — it is about how predictable that revenue is.

The range is wide because the same business is worth different amounts to different buyers. In this sector you are usually looking at three:

• MSOs (multi-shop operators) — the most active and acquisitive buyers, usually paying the most for shops with strong DRP relationships and a deep technician bench.
• Platform and strategic buyers — regional groups expanding their footprint. They know your market and often move fastest.
• Individual operators — typically for smaller, single-bay shops, usually with more financing contingency and a slower path to close.

Which of those is at your table changes your number far more than anything on your equipment list.

What moves the number

The four things buyers actually underwrite

• DRP relationships. Direct Repair Program agreements with insurers deliver steady, referred volume, and shops with several strong DRPs are priced well above walk-in-dependent competitors.
• Bay utilization. How consistently your bays are booked says more about the business than square footage or bay count alone.
• Technician bench. Buyers are acquiring capacity. A shop that cannot hold its technicians, especially certified ones, is buying the acquirer a problem.
• Equipment and ADAS calibration capability. Late-model vehicles increasingly require advanced driver-assistance system calibration; shops equipped and certified for it capture work others must sublet.

A note on timing that costs owners real money: buyers normalize earnings across seasons and look for two to three years of clean, consistent financials. Cleaning up the books the year you decide to sell is far too late — the work needs to be done before the numbers you are selling on are created.

The process

Why a quiet, competitive process beats the first offer

Most owners in this sector are approached directly, unsolicited, by a consolidator or a platform buyer. That approach is flattering and it is also the single most expensive letter you can accept, because a buyer negotiating against nobody has no reason to move on price or on terms.

We run the opposite process. Buyers are qualified and under confidentiality agreement before they learn whose business it is. Nothing is listed, advertised, or published. Your staff, your customers, and your competitors learn nothing until you decide they should — and several credible buyers are considering the same opportunity at the same time.

The result is not only a better number. It is better terms: what happens to your team, how long you stay, how the earn-out is structured, and what happens to any real estate.

Common questions

Auto repair shop owners ask us these first

What is my auto repair shop worth?

Most auto repair shops sell for between 3 and 4.5 times adjusted EBITDA, with multi-location and collision operations reaching 4 to 6 times amid active MSO consolidation. The highest multiples go to shops with strong DRP relationships, high bay utilization, and a technician bench that intends to stay. A confidential valuation will give you a confidential range in writing, based on what buyers are paying now — not an appraisal.

Who buys auto repair shops?

Three groups: multi-shop operators (MSOs) actively consolidating the sector, regional platform and strategic buyers expanding their footprint, and individual operators for smaller, single-bay shops. Each values DRP relationships and technician depth differently, which is exactly why competition among them matters.

How do I sell my auto repair shop without my technicians finding out?

By never listing it. We run a confidential process in which qualified buyers sign confidentiality agreements before they learn which shop is for sale. Nothing is advertised, and you decide when and how your team is told.