Buying an auto, RV or boat dealership in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

• Service and parts income that covers much of the fixed costs, so a slow sales month doesn't sink the store.
• Inventory that sells steadily, with few units past the lender's paydown deadlines.
• Finance and service managers who would stay.
• For franchised stores: a manufacturer happy with sales and the facility, with no pending demands for costly renovations.
• For independent lots: buying skill that doesn't live only in the owner's head.
• Clean paperwork: titles handled promptly, deals funded quickly, few customer complaints.
• For RVs and boats: service, storage and parts customers who keep coming back between purchases.
• A visible location on a busy road, with room to show inventory and service bays that stay booked.

Get the floor plan statements and a report of how long each unit has been in stock. Units that have sat for months often carry losses the books don't show yet. The price usually splits into goodwill (the franchise and the name) plus inventory, parts and equipment at cost, so agree how inventory will be counted and valued on closing day.

Read a sample of deal files: titles, odometer statements, how quickly lenders funded, and chargebacks (finance and service contract commissions taken back when a loan pays off early or a contract is canceled). Check the dealer's history with FLHSMV and the Office of Financial Regulation.

For franchised stores, read the franchise agreement and the manufacturer's recent performance and facility reports, and talk to the manufacturer early. For RV and boat dealers, look at the seasonal cash swings and whether manufacturers help with floor plan interest. And ask how inventory is insured and moved before a storm: a full lot is a lot to lose.

• How much of your gross profit comes from service, parts and finance rather than selling vehicles?
• How old is the oldest unit on the lot, and what's it costing you each month?
• Who are your floor plan lenders, and would they finance a new owner on similar terms?
• Has the manufacturer asked you to upgrade the building, or raised concerns about sales?
• Who buys your used vehicles, and how do they go about it?
• What do you do with the inventory when a hurricane is coming?
• Have you had any customer complaints or title problems in the past few years?

This region covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Putnam counties: Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Macclenny and Palatka. Jacksonville merged with most of Duval County in 1968, which makes it the largest city by land area in the lower 48 states.

The economy leans on logistics, the Navy and financial services. Logistics runs through JAXPORT, major rail lines and the meeting of Interstates 95 and 10. The Navy has Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Insurance and health care matter too. St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, and Amelia Island draw steady tourism. Trucking and logistics firms, the building trades, medical practices and home services all fit this market.

Northeast Florida is less seasonal than South or Southwest Florida, with fewer winter residents and more year-round employers. Direct hurricane landfalls have been less common here than on other parts of the coast, but storms still bring flooding along the St. Johns River and the beaches, so check insurance costs and flood zones.

Military families bring skilled workers and working spouses into the labor pool, though they also move on when orders change. St. Johns, Clay and Nassau have added the most new homes, and companies serving those suburbs have grown with them. Georgia is close, and some companies here serve customers across the state line. Work in Georgia may need Georgia licenses, so ask how much revenue comes from there and who holds those licenses.