Listing Details:

• Business Category:      Automotive
• Price:                                       $800,000 ($750k Real Estate, $50k Business)
• Gross Revenue:            $900,000
• SDE:                               $192,000
  
• FF&E:                             $30,000
• Location:                       Minnesota
  
• Reason for Selling:       Retirement
• Non Compete:               20 Miles for 2 Years
  

Business Description

An independently owned, single-location used vehicle dealership for sale. The dealership operates from a street-level lot and showroom, located in a high traffic area. The business is being listed for $50,000 for license rights and business name. The real estate is listed for $750,000 and contains two address lots for a total sale price of $800,000. The inventory is also for sale, but not included in the sale price as inventory turns over quickly. The inventory can be audited and negotiated 2 weeks prior to closing. Current inventory is about 150 vehicles. Inventory consists of cars, trucks, and SUVs, generally priced between roughly $3,000 and $9,000 — an economy segment that serves cost-conscious, credit-challenged, and first-time buyers.

The business markets itself on approachability, transparency, and “guaranteed credit approval.” Current online materials emphasize a low-pressure buying experience, detailed vehicle listings with photos, a trade-in valuation tool, and a vehicle-finder/locator service for customers seeking a specific make or model.

Operations are supported by a small on-site sales team; standard hours run 10:00 am–7:00 pm Monday–Friday and 9:00 am–6:00 pm Saturday, with the business closed Sundays.

Business History

A long-standing business founded in 1988, it has had continuous operation at this location — a notable tenure in a highly fragmented, low-barrier-to-entry industry. Operating for about 40 years and showing that this operation can continue long into the future. Being in a high-traffic area brings in foot traffic to see new inventory.

There have been recent facility upgrades to the entire facility, including roof, paint, interior, electrical, HVAC, and more.

Growth Potential

• Digital merchandising upgrade: Inventory is listed through a legacy dealer-website platform. Modern photography, video walk-arounds, and syndication to Facebook Marketplace, CarGurus, and Cars.com could materially improve lead volume without added cost.
• This site can also be used for mechanical issues, oil changes and the like, as the property is licensed to also be a mechanic repair shop.
• Ancillary revenue: Increase service/repair, extended warranty (VSC), or GAP product attachment. Peer BHPH operators in the Twin Cities market commonly monetize these; adding them could increase per-unit revenue without added inventory spend.
• Site and real estate: A long-held, high-visibility corner lot on a major arterial in a dense corridor is a scarce, defensible asset in a business where lot visibility drives walk-up traffic.

Competitive Analysis

Key competitive takeaways:

• Longevity as a moat: At ~37 years, The company has outlasted most independent competitors in a segment with notoriously high dealer churn; this operating history and neighborhood name recognition is difficult for new entrants to replicate quickly.
• Price-band crowding: The sub-$10K economy segment is the most contested tier in the Twin Cities market — it includes not just other independents but multi-location chains with larger marketing budgets, making pure price competition a weak long-term strategy.
• Reputation is the primary differentiator, not price: Reviews across nearly every competitor in this tier surface complaints — undisclosed mechanical issues, aggressive markups on donated/low-cost source vehicles, and disputes over financing terms. A buyer who tightens inspection, disclosure, and financing-transparency practices has a realistic path to differentiate on trust within an otherwise commoditized field.
• Financing as the real battleground: Because the target customer is often credit-constrained, the dealer that offers the most transparent and fairly priced in-house or referred financing — rather than simply the lowest sticker price — tends to win repeat and referral business in this segment.