What do I need to know to buy an auto repair shop in Ontario?

This page covers Ontario only; if the shop is somewhere else, check the rules where it operates. A repair shop that looks tidy on paper can still carry habits that break Ontario law, and a buyer who keeps the same forms and practices keeps those problems. Three sets of rules are specific to this business: how the shop quotes and bills customers, who is allowed to do the work, and how the shop handles its waste. This page keeps to those three. For the general buyer questions, such as equipment, lease and customer base, start with buying an independent auto repair shop in Canada.

Estimates, authorization and the invoice

Part VI of Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002 defines a repairer as a supplier who works on or repairs vehicles. Under section 56(1), a repairer may not charge a consumer for work or repairs unless it first gives an estimate that meets the prescribed requirements. Section 56(2) lets a repairer charge without one only where all three of its conditions are met: the repairer offers an estimate and the consumer declines it, the consumer specifically authorizes the maximum amount they will pay, and the cost charged does not exceed that maximum. Section 58 adds that a repairer may not charge unless the consumer authorizes the work, and, under section 58(2), may not charge an amount that exceeds an estimate it gave by more than the margin that subsection sets. Ontario Regulation 17/05 sets what a vehicle estimate must contain. It must be in writing, and it must set out, among other things, the odometer reading at the time of the estimate, the date it was given and the date after which it ceases to apply, and a statement that the repairer will not exceed the estimated total by more than the margin the regulation sets. A buyer who inherits the shop’s forms inherits any gaps in them, so ask to see the templates in use and a sample of completed estimates before you rely on the shop’s billing history.

Parts, warranty and signs

Section 61 requires a repairer to offer to return the parts removed from a vehicle, and to return them unless the consumer says when authorizing the work that they are not wanted. Section 62 requires an invoice with the prescribed information, and section 60 requires the prescribed signs to be posted. Section 63(1) deems a repairer to warrant new or reconditioned parts it installs, and the labour to install them, for the minimum time or distance set in that subsection, whichever comes first, or a greater prescribed minimum. Section 63(2) adds that this warranty is in addition to the conditions and warranties in section 9. Because these duties apply to every repairer, they will apply to you as the new operator, so ask to see how the shop records estimates, customer authorizations, returned parts and warranty claims.

Who may do the work

Skilled Trades Ontario states that Automotive Service Technician is a compulsory trade. To practise it legally in Ontario, a person must hold a Registered Training Agreement, a Provisional Certificate of Qualification or a Certificate of Qualification, and appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register. The page describes a requirement on each person who practises the trade. If you will not work on vehicles yourself, ask which of the current technicians hold which credential, and whether any of them plan to leave. Confirm each name on the Public Register rather than relying on a staff list. If the shop’s work depends on one or two credentialed people, ask what happens if they leave; the Skilled Trades Ontario page does not tell you how many the shop has, so the answer has to come from the seller’s payroll and the register together.

Waste, and vehicle sales if the shop has them

Under section 18(1) of Reg. 347, a generator that operates a waste generation facility producing, collecting, handling or storing subject waste, which the regulation defines to include hazardous waste and liquid industrial waste, must submit a Generator Registration Report through the Registry before the first of two events: 90 days passing since subject waste was first produced, collected or stored there, or its transfer from the facility. A change in the reported information needs a supplementary report within 15 days. Section 41 provides that section 18 does not apply to mobile refrigerant waste, which the regulation defines as refrigerant removed from the air-conditioning, heat pump, refrigeration or freezer unit of anything used for transportation. The definition of liquid industrial waste also excludes waste below a small monthly or accumulated amount, so do not assume what the shop produces is covered; ask the seller for its generator registration number and its waste records, and confirm with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Do not assume that used oil or other shop waste is or is not subject waste; the regulation’s definitions decide that, and the question to put to the seller is what the shop produced, how long it was stored and who removed it. Also ask for the manifests that show where it went.

If the shop also sells vehicles, OMVIC states that anyone working as a motor vehicle dealer or salesperson in Ontario must be registered with OMVIC before conducting any kind of business. The seller-side view, including how a sale is run, is in selling an auto repair business in Ontario.

• Ask for sample customer estimates and invoices and compare them with Part VI and Ontario Regulation 17/05
• Ask for the posted signs and the parts-return and warranty practice the shop actually follows
• Check each technician’s credential on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register
• Ask for the generator registration number, any supplementary reports and the waste records
• If vehicles are sold, ask for the OMVIC registration and confirm who holds it