Hi Mike,
There are many things to take into account before making such a decision.

1. Is your present employer making a profit? Is that profit good enough to sustain a loan to pay off borrowings to purchase the business?

2. Have you discussed a purchase price of the goodwill and tools & equipment? How good is the equipment? Is it worn out or appropriate to today’s modern vehicles.

3. Are you purchasing the freehold? Or are you going for a lease and rent? Are there any liabilities with the business i.e. has the present boss got any out standing tax/ loan issues you don’t know about; especially important if you are buying the shares of a Ltd company. You would need a moratorium signed by him covering such an event for the next seven years. Have you sat down with a good accountant and poured over the books for the last 3 trading years?

4. Have you worked out a business plan? Is there room for expansion i.e. extra bays for techs or will the premises cope with extra work if you are successful with expanding the business? How many days a week does the present business trade are you happy working weekends? if a family man I don’t recommend this. Are there staff who run the administration side of the business, Techs don’t make good paper work people.

5. Is the site in a good catchment area for passing trade? Does the business have a good reputation in the locality? Is there a good up to date data base of customer’s names & addresses? Especially important for marketing purposes and proof of goodwill.

6. Having worked for him you at least know the ropes, if there are other employees would they be happy with the changes. Often major changes worry employees and they get up and leave. Once you are an employer staff changes can be the most stressful of experiences trying to find some who is competent and will fit into a team.

These are just some of the questions you need to ask and a few of the pit falls of running your own business. I for one love the Motor Trade and have seen the march of technology as a challenge and don’t regret one moment of it. I have always been meticulously honest over tax/finances and always say to cash customers if the tax man cant trust me would you trust me to repair your car? And it has paid off. We trade only on a five day a week basis admittedly long hours I for one start around 9:00am and don’t leave until 7:00pm and still on many occasions burn the midnight oil. Yes there have been worrying moments but I charge a fair rate for our work and pay fair wages to my employees the longest being with me over 20 years.

My customers don’t come to me for convenience or because we are the cheapest garage in town, we are situated on a road known as Motor Trade alley in a large seaside town. They come because yes we do save something from the dealer’s prices but the big but is they get an honest and good job done and can speak to the tech who did the job. We have enough work for 5 techs to sift out the work we don’t want to do Vans, Taxis, and any customer whose face or car looks dodgy. I have lived very comfortably from my business and my wife does not have to work as I believe bringing up two children to be a full time job.

Having said all of that I’ve just turned 50 and want to enjoy life and am soon looking for my exit strategy and go and do something useful like voluntary work. Mike sorry about my ramblings this could be the Best or the worst decisions you make, all I say is weigh it up very carefully.The answer to your question is a resounding YES.

John Kennard.