A public checklist for dealer principals, family owners and their CPAs who are about to interview a dealership broker. Copy it, tick the boxes, and compare candidates on the same terms.
If you want to see how one sell-side firm answers these points for itself, you can learn more about MD Johnson, Inc. and its approach. Then hold every broker you meet to the same list below.
Section 1: Who the dealership broker works for
- ☐ Does the broker work sell-side only, or do they also represent buyers? ☐ If they work both sides, how are conflicts handled? ☐ Who signs the engagement, and who is their client in writing?
Why it matters: a dealership broker paid by both sides has a reason to close any deal, not your best one.
Section 2: How and when they get paid
- ☐ Is there a retainer or monthly fee? ☐ Is the success fee paid only at closing? ☐ Is the fee charged on one side only? ☐ Are expenses billed back to you?
Reference point: MD Johnson says it charges on one side only, paid at closing, only by its client, with no retainers, and treats its expenses as its own contribution.
Section 3: How they value your store
- ☐ Will they review at least three years of financial statements? ☐ Do they adjust for non-recurring and owner-specific expenses? ☐ Do they weigh real estate value against rent expense? ☐ Do they consider your brand and your market? ☐ Will they walk you through the number line by line?
Red flag: a big blue sky number delivered fast, with no backup. An inflated valuation wins listings. It rarely survives a buyer's diligence.
Section 4: Their process, step by step
- ☐ Do they prepare a confidential Memorandum of Sale? ☐ How do they qualify buyers before sharing it? ☐ Who manages Letters of Intent and the Asset Purchase Agreement? ☐ How do they work with your attorney and CPA? ☐ Do they handle the factory (OEM) submission? ☐ Are they present at closing?
Section 5: Confidentiality
car dealership valuation- ☐ Do buyers sign NDAs before seeing anything? ☐ How do they keep the process quiet from staff and customers? ☐ Who at your store needs to know, and when?
Section 6: Real estate
- ☐ Who handles the real estate side of the deal? ☐ Is there an extra fee for it? ☐ Can the property be sold, leased or retained?
Note: MD Johnson says its subsidiary MDJ Realty handles the real estate portion of a buy-sell at no additional cost.
Section 7: The contract
- ☐ How long is the engagement term? ☐ How long is the tail period after it ends? ☐ Does the tail cover only buyers the broker introduced? ☐ Can you exit if the broker does not perform?
Have your attorney review this section. This checklist is general information, not legal advice.
Section 8: Track record
- ☐ How many franchised buy-sells have they personally led? ☐ Which brands and markets? ☐ Can they explain a deal that did not close, and why?
Ask for specifics, but treat every track-record claim as the broker's own statement unless you can check it. For example, MD Johnson reports "hundreds of successful transactions"; a fair next question for any broker is how they define "successful."
Background reading
For general context on the franchised dealer industry, the National Automobile Dealers Association publishes industry resources. It will not pick a broker for you, but it helps you understand the market they describe.
How to use this page
Duplicate the checklist once per candidate. Ask every question in the same order. Write the answers word for word. Compare side by side with your CPA.Keep the filled-in checklists. If a deal goes ahead, they become a record of what each candidate promised. The best dealership broker is not the one with the highest number. It is the one whose answers stay clear and consistent when you ask the second question.