Free Consultation
Round Lake, Lake County

Round Lake Auto Repair Shop for Sale

A auto repair shop in Round Lake is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Gurnee — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide auto repair shops playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Round Lake file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

Get a Free Business Valuation How It Works

Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide

Round Lake market

Selling a auto repair shop in Round Lake

A auto repair shop in Round Lake is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Gurnee — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide auto repair shops playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Round Lake file.

Round Lake is a far-north Lake County village in the Chain O’Lakes orbit — rooftops, Route 134, and Metra, not a Gurnee interchange and not a North Shore downtown.

Buyer density drops as you leave I-94. Household services and small retail are the typical businesses. Seasonal lake recreation is a side story unless the P&L shows it. Neighboring Round Lake Beach and Grayslake are separate clerks — do not blur the village limits on the CIM.

Round Lake has about 18,289 residents in Lake County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Gurnee, Waukegan, Libertyville, Mundelein. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Gurnee is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Planning facts

Typical multiple
2x–3.5x SDE
Typical timeline
5–10 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Lake County
Population
18,289
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Gurnee, Waukegan, Libertyville, Mundelein
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Schedule Free Consultation
Lake County demand

Collar-county demand

DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.

There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.

Round Lake demand for auto repair shops is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 18,289 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Auto Repair Shop in Round Lake

What a Round Lake buyer will underwrite on this auto repair shop

A auto repair shop in Round Lake is bays or site plus environmental accounts. Dealer service departments and neighboring shops in Gurnee, Waukegan, Libertyville are the competition. Waste-oil, tanks, or refrigerant rules do not silently follow a stock sale.

Auto Repair Shops statewide typically plan around 2x–3.5x SDE and a 5–10 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Round Lake shop. Buyers here usually argue ase-certified technician count, equipment condition, lease terms, customer repeat rate, bay count.

Closing clock for this Round Lake file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Illinois does not issue a statewide mechanic license. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Round Lake application of it.

In a suburb like Round Lake, master mechanics, owner-operators, small pe groups are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Gurnee is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Buyer pool

Who buys a auto repair shop in Round Lake

Split buyer pool: North Shore and Libertyville businesses attract SBA and strategics who want household income; Waukegan and industrial I-94 businesses attract operator and logistics buyers. Great Lakes Naval Station and tourism along the lake change seasonality for some retail and hospitality books.

Illustration: a six-bay independent shop in Berwyn with two ASE techs, a seller still taking the hard drivability jobs, and a neighborhood car-base that knows the owner by first name. Not a closed sale.

A auto repair shop whose customers already sit in Gurnee, Waukegan, Libertyville, Mundelein is a larger business than one that stops at the Round Lake city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this Round Lake auto repair shop

Independent repair recasts around bay throughput and parts margin, not a one-time wholesale-fleet job. Add back owner-technician W-2, then subtract a market-rate tech if the seller still turns wrenches 40 hours. Warranty and sublet spikes come out. A 2x–3.5x SDE band assumes the bays stay full without the seller’s personal following walking out.

Illustration only — not a quote for any Round Lake shop. A auto repair shop whose tax return shows $78,000 of net profit is not worth $78,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $46,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $20,000 of discretionary benefits, $16,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $15,500 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 $155,000. At the planning range 2.0x–3.5x, enterprise value is $310,000 to $542,500. Mid-range 2.75x is $426,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Round Lake buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 2.75 times $155,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $426,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.

SDE line items

  1. Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
  2. + Interest expense
  3. + Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
  4. + Depreciation and amortization
  5. + Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
  6. + Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
  7. + Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
  8. − Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
  9. = Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Round Lake auto repair shop — not a quote
Net profit$78,000
Owner W-2$46,000
Benefits$20,000
One-time$16,000
Personal$15,500
Replacement labor (subtract)−$20,000
Recast SDE$155,000
Planning EV at 2.75x$426,250

Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for auto repair 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.

$
1x 3.0x 8x
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.

Get a Professional Valuation
Lake County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a Round Lake sale

Lake County closings use state CBS-1 plus municipal licenses (Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and North Shore villages each differ). No Chicago 45-day notice unless you also have a Chicago location. Lake County health and contractor registrations are common diligence items for food and trades.

Illinois does not issue a statewide mechanic license. ASE is voluntary. The shop needs a municipal business license, EPA discipline for waste oil, filters, and refrigerant, and Secretary of State paperwork if it issues temp tags or does emissions-adjacent work. Those accounts and the EPA generator status do not silently follow the stock sale.

Labor and lease

What has to keep working on Monday after close in Round Lake

For a auto repair shop in Round Lake, the first labor question is: Technician bench that survives the seller leaving the pit.

I-94 is the spine. Route density is real between Buffalo Grove and Gurnee and thinner toward the Wisconsin line. Leases in outlet and tourism corridors can be franchise- or landlord-controlled. Winter lake-effect operations matter for home services.

Lake mixes Fortune-campus remnants, naval payroll, and bedroom suburbs. Do not price a Waukegan industrial book like a Libertyville professional practice.

Diligence

What a serious auto repair shop buyer will open

Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Technician bench that survives the seller leaving the pit; Fleet accounts on paper, not a handshake; Lift and scan-tool age; Lease term versus a landlord who wants the bays for storage; Customer-pay mix versus warranty or sublet dependency.

Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Round Lake business: Bay count, lift age, and alignment or scan-tool capability; ASE or OEM training on the remaining technicians — not the seller; Customer-pay vs fleet vs warranty mix and parts-return rates; Lease, environmental waste contracts, and used-oil storage; Mitchell / AllData / shop-management software ownership; Repeat-customer rate and whether the book is seller-named.

Buyer tool

SBA payment sketch for a Round Lake auto repair 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 Round Lake auto repair shop for sale

  1. Recast this Round Lake auto repair shop. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Round Lake buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
  2. Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this auto repair shop pull a permit or see a patient in Round Lake, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the Round Lake 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 Round Lake limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Lake County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois auto repair shops hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Round Lake file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Continue

Related Round Lake and auto repair shops pages

Questions

Questions about auto repair shops in Round Lake

Answers for owners and buyers in Lake County, including local closing steps.

Service Area

Auto Repair Shop Brokerage Near Round Lake

We serve auto repair shops owners and buyers across Lake County and the surrounding region.

GurneeAuto Repair Shops→WaukeganAuto Repair Shops→LibertyvilleAuto Repair Shops→MundeleinAuto Repair Shops→
View All Illinois Auto Repair Shops Listings →

Talk through your Round Lake auto repair shop

Confidential consult. We will walk the books, Lake County closing notices, licenses, and the lease — then give you a planning range, not a slogan.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation Learn How It Works

No upfront fees • Completely confidential • Free valuation