Value of Buying vs. Benefit of Selling Dealerships Today

Pete Thiel, Managing Director at Haig Partners, has been involved in the purchase or sale of more than 150 dealerships and has evaluated more than 1,000 acquisition opportunities. His background includes more than 20 years at AutoNation, where he served as vice president of corporate development, leading all acquisitions and divestitures.

In the Automotive News buy-sell expert Q&A article, "Value of Buying vs. Benefit of Selling Dealerships Today," he provided perspective from his dealership buy-sell experience answering the following questions:

• What is driving the vibrant buy-sell market we are currently experiencing?
• Are there any headwinds in the industry that could slow buy-sell activity?
• Why are buyers still so actively looking for dealerships in a declining market?
• What are some of the reasons sellers are motivated right now and driving transaction volume?
• Why would it be more beneficial for a dealer to sell today vs. tomorrow?
• Would you recommend selling now if a dealer was considering retiring in a few years?
• You were responsible for buying and selling stores for one of the largest auto retailers in the industry. What advice do you have for dealers who are talking directly to a consolidator or larger retailer about selling?

The buy-sell market is still very active. We expect this to continue for the next several years, so it still is a great time to both buy and sell a store. My favorite part of my job on the sell side is using my experience to truly help clients generate a favorable outcome. It is not easy! Don’t be afraid to leverage the experience of a trusted advisor; values are too high today to risk selling a dealership yourself. It is an enormous amount of work to buy or sell a store, and it is extremely important not to get distracted and to keep your operations running strong. We would be pleased to discuss current market conditions and help you navigate the intricacies of buying or selling a dealership. Reach out to us today for expert guidance and unmatched service.

Read Pete's answers to these questions in the entire dealership buy-sell expert Q&A here.