National Car Buying Service

Broker represents a car buying service and auto service center that is available for acquisition. This company operates similar to a brokerage service, but they have a dealer’s license that enables them to buy and sell vehicles. Rather than focusing on inventory sales, the company has a custom search model to locate and purchase vehicles all around the country. They use a consultative approach to guide customers through the car-buying experience. Their well-trained staff use their expertise, advanced tools, insider knowledge, and databases to provide their customers with vehicles that meet their needs and budget.

To support the car buying service, the company owns an auto service center located in Richmond, Indiana to inspect, recondition, detail, and deliver the vehicles. The 22,000 square-foot building has a showroom, office space, 10 bays, 8 lifts, and a painting booth. The building sits on 2.146 acres with an outside lot that can house more than 125 vehicles.

If you purchase the car buying service, you will have the option, but not the requirement, to purchase the auto service center. Currently, 10 employees work mainly with the online car buying service, and 8 employees work in the service center. The employees for the car buying service work remotely. Since more than 95% of the auto sales are done online, the business can be relocated and run from anywhere.

The company is profitable and growing. In 2023, the Adjusted EBITDA was $666,000 on sales of $11,015,000 and Gross Profit of $1,705,000. In 2021, the Adjusted EBITDA was $466,000, and in 2022, the figure was $573,000.

The company was founded in the late 1970s to primarily provide cars to customers in ministries all around the county. This included staff from mission organizations, churches, humanitarian organizations, private schools, colleges, and universities. In the 2000s, due to referrals and demand, the company began to offer services to customers outside of ministries as well.

The investment thesis we put forth is for you to acquire an established company that has a foundation to build on, including expertise, resources, and a profitable business model to build a national car-buying service. Historically, the company has invested very little in advertising and marketing—90% of their customers are from referrals and repeat purchases, so with a marketing budget, the company will grow. Via an inside sales team, autos and trucks can be sold anywhere in the country. The service center, located strategically in Indiana, can economically ship vehicles to a large part of the US, so to serve the entire country, only select new service center locations would be needed.