Collin County Auto Repair - 4-Bay Service Shop

$1.5M

Revenue

$671K

SDE

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an established four-bay auto repair shop in Collin County, Texas, operating since 1995 and generating roughly $1.5 million in annual revenue with $670,858 in reported EBITDA. The shop runs a diversified service menu including oil changes, general repairs, state inspections, and wheel alignments, which spreads revenue across recurring maintenance work and higher-ticket repair jobs. The facility is a well-maintained 3,300 square foot building with four fully equipped bays, lifts, an inspection machine, and an alignment machine.

The listing emphasizes an absentee ownership model with an experienced management team already running daily operations, which makes the business adaptable to either a hands-on owner-operator looking to build equity or a passive investor adding to an automotive portfolio. The strategic high-traffic location is positioned as the primary demand driver, reducing reliance on paid marketing. The shop owns its building, though the listing does not disclose whether real estate is included in the sale.

The reported margin profile is the standout feature here. A 45 percent EBITDA margin on $1.5 million in revenue is exceptionally high for a four-bay independent auto shop, well above typical Texas benchmarks, which makes margin verification the single most important diligence priority before any offer.

Why we like it

Auto repair is genuinely recession-resistant because people delay buying new cars in downturns and keep older vehicles on the road longer, which actually increases repair demand. State inspections and oil changes are non-discretionary and recurring, giving the shop a baseline of sticky maintenance traffic.
The reported $670,858 EBITDA on $1.5 million revenue implies a 45 percent margin, which if verifiable is extraordinary for a four-bay independent shop and far above typical industry comps. Diversified revenue across inspections, alignments, oil changes, and general repairs reduces dependence on any single service line.
The business has operated since 1995, giving it nearly three decades of established customer relationships and local reputation in a fast-growing Collin County market. Long tenure and a steady location-driven customer base mean revenue is not dependent on expensive marketing or a charismatic owner.
An experienced manager is already in place and the model is described as absentee, which means an owner-operator can immediately add value by simply showing up, tightening operations, and capturing the margin currently left on the table by passive ownership. The combination of working systems plus owner upside is the ideal acquisition setup.

How to improve it

Add ticket-level pricing discipline and a structured upsell process at the service writer level. Auto shops routinely lift gross profit several points by training staff to recommend brake, fluid, and tire services during inspection and oil change visits, capturing more wallet per car already in the bay.
Implement a digital vehicle inspection and CRM-driven recall and reminder system to re-book customers for scheduled maintenance. With four bays and an existing customer base, increasing repeat visit frequency is the cheapest revenue growth lever available.
Evaluate bay utilization and consider extending hours or adding a Saturday shift if the four bays are not running at capacity. Fixed costs like rent and lifts are already paid, so incremental bay-hours flow at very high contribution margins.
Negotiate parts supplier pricing and rebate programs aggressively, since parts are typically 30 to 40 percent of an auto shop's cost base. Even a few points of parts margin improvement on $1.5 million in revenue meaningfully expands EBITDA.
Add or expand fleet maintenance contracts with local commercial accounts, delivery companies, and municipal vehicles. Fleet work smooths revenue, fills slower weekday hours, and creates predictable recurring billing versus walk-in retail.
Build a simple online booking and review-generation engine to convert the high-traffic location into measurable digital demand. Strong Google review counts and ratings compound over time and reduce reliance solely on drive-by visibility.
Standardize technician compensation around flat-rate productivity and certifications to retain skilled labor, the single biggest operational risk in this business. A documented training and ASE certification pathway protects against turnover and keeps quality consistent.

Diligence notes

Verify the 45 percent EBITDA margin against tax returns and bank statements line by line, because a $670,858 EBITDA on $1.5 million revenue is far above auto repair benchmarks and demands explanation. Confirm whether owner add-backs, real estate-related expenses, or non-recurring items are inflating the reported figure.
Clarify the real estate situation since the building is owned and the listing marks real estate as Not Disclosed. Determine whether the asking price includes the property or whether rent will be charged post-sale, as this dramatically changes both the multiple and the true normalized cash flow.
Stress-test the absentee claim by confirming the manager's tenure, compensation, and willingness to stay post-close. If the entire operation depends on one key manager, the business is far riskier than a passive-income pitch implies and you need an employment and retention agreement.
Audit the revenue mix between state inspections, alignments, oil changes, and repairs, and confirm none of it depends on a soon-to-expire inspection license or a single large account. Understand how much revenue is recurring maintenance versus one-time repair work.
Review the lease or property terms, equipment condition, and remaining useful life of the lifts, alignment machine, and inspection equipment. Deferred capex on key machines could require immediate reinvestment that erodes year-one returns.
Investigate the stated reason for selling, listed only as other interest, and look for customer concentration, pending warranty liabilities, or local competitive threats. An unusually profitable absentee shop being sold for a vague reason warrants extra scrutiny.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →