Sell your car dealership business.

The factory letter is the deal

A franchised dealership does not sell like a Main Street garage. The manufacturer’s transfer process, right of first refusal, and buyer-approval standards usually decide whether there is a deal at all. Dualed points, exclusive-territory language, and any open facility or image requirements belong in the first conversation. Independent used-car lots are a different animal—dealer license, bonding, and the used-vehicle book—without a factory veto, but also without a protected brand.

Buyers separate new, used, F&I, and fixed ops. A store that lives on new-car gross and a thin service department is a different risk than a service-heavy point with a quiet showroom.

Floorplan, used inventory, and the operating company

Floorplan lines, holdback, and aged used inventory move proceeds more than a headline asking price. Liens on the vehicles, the real estate if it is in the deal, and any captive-finance or aftermarket chargebacks have to be mapped early. Parts inventory gets counted at something a successor will actually use, not at last year’s order habit. Working capital on a dealership is a negotiation, not a rounding error.

Manufacturer consent and the calendar you cannot rush

OEM consent, background checks, and capitalization requirements often take longer than the purchase agreement. A seller who wants to keep a used lot or a collision center across town needs that perimeter in writing before anyone talks to the zone manager. Competing with your own buyer after close is how lawsuits start. If you own the dirt, treat that as a parallel track so an operator who cannot buy real estate is not asked to. Prepare the last factory image and CSI reports, a clean used-aging file, and a one-page note on who runs fixed ops. That is enough to have a serious conversation before the zone manager is in the loop.