A auto body shop in Cicero is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Chicago — not on a statewide rumor multiple. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. The statewide auto body shops playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Cicero file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Cicero market
Selling a auto body shop in Cicero
A auto body shop in Cicero is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Chicago — not on a statewide rumor multiple. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. The statewide auto body shops playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Cicero file.
Cicero is a dense inner-ring Cook town on Cermak and the Stevenson — industrial remnants and a large Latino retail corridor pressed against Chicago’s West Side.
This is a Town of Cicero license file, plus Cook bulk-sale timing if the deal meets the local rule. Hawthorne Works–era industrial and Cermak storefronts are different buyers. Spanish-language operations transfer only if the crew and the books stay; a Chicago PE story that ignores the town’s clerk and landlord reality will stall.
Cicero has about 85,616 residents in Cook County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Chicago, Berwyn, Oak Park. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Chicago is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
2.5x–4x SDE
Typical timeline
5–10 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Cook County
Population
85,616
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Chicago, Berwyn, Oak Park
Closing clock
CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city
Cook County and the City of Chicago add 45-day bulk-sale notices on top of Illinois Form CBS-1 (10 business days). That calendar is longer than most downstate businesses.
Buyer density is the highest in Illinois. Confidential outreach matters more here than a public ad on a recognizable storefront.
Cicero demand for auto body shops is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 85,616 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Auto Body Shop in Cicero
What a Cicero buyer will underwrite on this auto body shop
A auto body shop in Cicero is bays or site plus environmental accounts. Dealer service departments and neighboring shops in Chicago, Berwyn, Oak Park are the competition. Waste-oil, tanks, or refrigerant rules do not silently follow a stock sale.
Auto Body Shops statewide typically plan around 2.5x–4x SDE and a 5–10 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Cicero shop. Buyers here usually argue drp insurance relationships, equipment value, i-car certifications, throughput capacity.
Closing clock for this Cicero file: CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. License path: Illinois does not license body shops statewide the way it licenses roofers, but paint-booth emissions, IEPA waste, and municipal occupancy are live issues. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Cicero application of it.
In a suburb like Cicero, collision technicians, mso groups, pe-backed platforms are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Chicago is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a auto body shop in Cicero
Cook has the deepest Illinois buyer pool: SBA owner-operators, PE home-services and healthcare platforms, and strategics who already have a Chicago route. Density is an asset and a leak risk. Employees and landlords hear rumors faster here than in a downstate county. Confidential outreach is the default, not a listing-site photo of a recognizable storefront.
Illustration: a two-booth collision shop in Rockford with three DRP agreements, an aging downdraft booth, and a seller who still writes every estimate. Not a closed sale.
A auto body shop whose customers already sit in Chicago, Berwyn, Oak Park is a larger business than one that stops at the Cicero city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Cicero auto body shop
Collision recasts on DRP throughput and cycle time, not a custom-paint year. Add back owner compensation, then isolate total-loss admin fees, OEM-certification pass-through, and any painter who is really a 1099. Frame and booth depreciation is real; do not treat a fully depreciated downdraft booth as free cash forever.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Cicero shop. A auto body shop whose tax return shows $166,000 of net profit is not worth $166,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $101,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $22,000 of discretionary benefits, $17,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $14,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $20,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $300,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $750,000 to $1,200,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $975,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Cicero buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $300,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $975,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Cicero auto body shop — not a quote
Net profit
$166,000
Owner W-2
$101,000
Benefits
$22,000
One-time
$17,000
Personal
$14,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$20,000
Recast SDE
$300,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$975,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for auto body shops.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Cook County adds a local bulk-sale notice on top of Illinois Form CBS-1. File the Cook County notice at least 45 days before transfer with the sales contract (revenuecompliance@cookcountyil.gov). City of Chicago businesses also file a Chicago Department of Finance bulk-sales notice at least 45 days out under Municipal Code 3-4-140, covering city taxes and Title 4 licenses. State CBS-1 is still due at least 10 business days before closing. Miss a local clock and the buyer can inherit tax or license debt.
Illinois does not license body shops statewide the way it licenses roofers, but paint-booth emissions, IEPA waste, and municipal occupancy are live issues. I-CAR and OEM certifications sit with people and with the facility. Insurer DRP agreements are contracts with the named shop and often require a buyer application, not a blanket assignment.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Cicero
For a auto body shop in Cicero, the first labor question is: Assignable or re-appliable DRP relationships.
Leases are the deal killer more often than the multiple. Loop, River North, and neighborhood retail have assignment clauses, kick-out rights, and renewal politics that collar-county industrial shops rarely see. CTA-adjacent and parking-constrained sites change buyer type. Labor is union-aware in several trades and hospitality crews turn over faster than downstate.
Cook is not one market. A bungalow-belt repair shop, a South Side contractor, and a Near North concept do not share a “Chicago premium.” O’Hare, the lakefront, and the expressway grid concentrate customers and also concentrate competing buyers. Price the business, not the skyline.
Diligence
What a serious auto body shop buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Assignable or re-appliable DRP relationships; Booth and frame equipment that meets current OEM repair methods; Staying estimators and painters; ADAS and aluminum capability; Cycle time a consolidator will not immediately discount.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Cicero business: DRP roster, cycle time, and severity mix by carrier; Booth age, make-up air, and IEPA or municipal paint-booth file; Frame rack, welder, and ADAS-calibration capability; I-CAR / OEM certifications tied to staying techs; Parts-procurement accounts and rental-car float; Work-in-process and supplemental-aging that inflates the trailing twelve.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Cicero auto body shop buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
$
%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required—
Loan Amount—
Est. Monthly Payment—
This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Cicero auto body shop for sale
Recast this Cicero auto body shop. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Cicero buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this auto body shop pull a permit or see a patient in Cicero, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Cicero trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Cicero limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Cook County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. CBS-1 (10 business days) plus Cook County’s 45-day local notice; Chicago’s 45-day city notice only if this business also operates in the city. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois auto body shops hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Cicero file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Cook County, including local closing steps.
Illinois auto body shops typically sell for 2.5x–4x SDE. Shops with DRP (Direct Repair Program) relationships with major insurers and I-CAR Gold Class certification command the higher end.
Very important. Insurance DRP relationships provide a consistent, predictable flow of work and are a major value driver. Buyers will scrutinize these relationships carefully, so maintaining them leading up to your sale is essential.
Most Illinois auto body shop sales close within 5–10 months. Shops with strong DRP relationships, certified staff, and modern equipment tend to attract qualified buyers quickly.
Buyers include Multi-Shop Operator (MSO) groups, PE-backed collision consolidators, and individual collision technicians ready to own. Illinois is an active collision consolidation market.
No. Most body shop sales are business-only transactions. A long-term, assumable lease is often preferable to buyers who want to minimize upfront capital requirements.
Illinois Form CBS-1 is due at least 10 business days before an asset sale. Cook County and the City of Chicago each add a 45-day local notice when the sale meets their rules. Ask counsel which notices apply to this Cicero company.
Cicero sits in the deepest Illinois buyer pool: owner-operators, neighboring shops, and platforms that already cover Cook County. Density is why a public listing leaks. Start with confidential outreach.
No. The planning multiple for auto body shops is a statewide starting point, not a Cicero appraisal. Buyers in Cook County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Auto Body Shop Brokerage Near Cicero
We serve auto body shops owners and buyers across Cook County and the surrounding region.