Should I sell my truck repair shop to one of my fleet customers?

Sometimes a fleet that sends you trucks every week decides it would rather own the shop that fixes them. The buyer already knows your work, but a sale to a customer has trade-offs. It also changes things for everyone else who depends on you. Whether to talk is your decision; this page sets out what to think through first, and what a conversation with that customer should involve.

What happens to your other accounts

Other fleets may not want their trucks serviced in a competitor’s shop, or may worry about their schedules and information. Think about which accounts you could lose, whether the buyer will want to keep taking outside work, and what you would say to the others and when. A lost account affects what the shop earns after the sale.

Confidentiality when the buyer is also a customer

Once the customer sees your books, it learns your margins, your pricing and who else you serve. Get a written confidentiality agreement before sharing anything, and decide in advance what you will not show. Your lawyer can help you draft it.

Staff and outside work

Your technicians may be asked to become employees of the fleet. Ask the buyer how it sees their roles, pay and future, and whether the shop would still take outside jobs. Staff who hear nothing tend to look elsewhere, so decide when and how to tell them.

Questions to ask before you open the books

• Does the buyer want the whole shop or only the fleet’s share of the work?
• How will it finance the purchase, and how soon could it close?
• What would it do about the other accounts?
• Would you stay on, and for how long?