Selling an Automotive Dealership or Repair Business With Commercial Property in Alberta

1. Establish ownership, authority and sale perimeter

Map each corporation, shareholder, trade name, AMVIC licence, franchise or banner agreement, property owner, employer, floorplan borrower and contracting party. Identify related-party rent, management, inventory and shared-service arrangements.

With counsel and tax advisors, distinguish a share sale from operating-asset, inventory, real-estate and leasehold transactions. Schedule included and excluded vehicles, parts, equipment, cash, receivables, deposits, contracts, data and liabilities.

• Legal seller
• Licence classes
• Franchise or banner
• Vehicle inventory
• Floorplan debt
• Property or lease

2. Prepare the licence and municipal record

Provide current AMVIC licence classes, location, renewals, salesperson registrations, compliance correspondence and known changes. Organize municipal use, development, business, building, fire and sign approvals for every activity and location.

AMVIC requires the applicant's activity-specific class and written municipal approval. Market the seller's current status as evidence about the seller—not as a transferable buyer approval or guarantee of continued operation.

3. Control manufacturer and contract disclosure

Index franchise, dealer, distribution, warranty, parts, finance, image-program, data, software, advertising and key supplier agreements. Identify change-of-control, assignment, approval, facility, capital, performance and termination provisions for counsel review.

Do not advertise franchise transfer, territory, inventory allocation, incentives or warranty income as assured. Use manufacturer-approved communications and buyer qualification stages where required.

4. Build the VIN-level inventory and floorplan record

Prepare a dated VIN schedule separating new, used, demonstrator, loaner, rental, consigned, customer, wholesale, in-transit and sold-not-delivered units. Include ownership, location, cost, floorplan, lien, age, mileage, condition, deposit and proposed closing treatment.

Reconcile the schedule to physical count, lender statements, accounting and registry evidence. A lot count should never be presented as seller-owned, lien-free inventory or equity without that reconciliation.

5. Reconcile sales and finance-and-insurance evidence

Build unit-level sales bridges from gross selling price through trades, accessories, rebates, incentives, commissions, cancellations, chargebacks and collected cash. Separate new, used, wholesale, fleet, lease and consignment activity.

Explain reported, normalized and forecast results separately. Gross sales volume is not gross profit, and submitted financing or warranty claims are not collected income.

6. Reconcile service, parts and collision evidence

Prepare repair-order, technician-time, parts, sublet, warranty, internal, customer-pay, work-in-progress and receivable schedules. Explain labour-rate changes, technician vacancies, comeback, warranty approval and capacity constraints.

Separate physical bays, staffed bays and productive bays. Do not annualize a temporary technician roster or present opened work orders as completed revenue.

7. Prepare the specialized-property record

For owned real estate, organize title, plans, use approvals, tax, condition, environment, wastewater, building systems and capital records independently from the business financial package. For leased premises, provide every lease, amendment, option, guarantee, default, consent and change-of-control term.

Document display lots, storage, circulation, signs, bays, doors, power, ventilation, exhaust, booth, compressed air, drains, interceptors, charging and security. Identify property work required by permits, landlord, insurer or manufacturer.

8. Disclose environmental, waste and equipment evidence

Index tanks, drains, sumps, interceptors, spills, remediation, environmental reports, wastewater service, waste manifests, chemicals, used oil, coolant, tires, batteries and paint records. Preserve the Environmental Records Viewer search date and limitations.

Create an equipment register for hoists and specialized systems with ownership, serial number, maintenance, defects and certifications. A clear public-record search or working hoist is not environmental or safety assurance.

9. Schedule customer and closing obligations

Reconcile deposits, sold-not-delivered units, trades, repairs in progress, customer vehicles, parts orders, prepaid plans, warranty work, recalls, credits and disputed amounts. Identify the party responsible before and after closing.

Customer vehicles and deposits are obligations, not seller inventory or free working capital. Use a controlled possession and key handover for every vehicle on site.

10. Stage a privacy-controlled data room

Start with anonymized unit, customer-concentration, workforce and complaint schedules. Release deal jackets, credit records, service histories and employee information only when necessary, lawful and secure.

Maintain access, questions, corrections and return-or-destruction records. An NDA does not cure unnecessary or excessive disclosure under Alberta PIPA.

11. Qualify buyers against the actual dependencies

Require buyers to state transaction structure, automotive experience, manufacturer path, AMVIC classes, capital, floorplan plan, property conditions, requested records and timing. Compare certainty, conditions and execution evidence—not price alone.

Coordinate manufacturer, regulator, lender, landlord, employee, customer and data-transition communications with counsel and the relevant counterparties.

12. Close and hand over deliberately

Use one closing schedule for shares or assets, land or lease, vehicles, floorplan payoff, liens, parts, equipment, deposits, customer vehicles, licences, keys, systems, data, staff, insurance, WCB and post-closing adjustments.

This guide is educational and is not legal, tax, accounting, employment, privacy, appraisal, business-valuation, environmental, engineering, AMVIC, manufacturer, safety-code or vehicle-inspection advice. Commercially does not audit earnings, certify inventory, approve licences or promise franchise transfer.