--- title: "Mechanic and Smash Repair Valuation Melbourne" url: https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/industries/automotive-repair-and-smash-repair/ description: "Independent valuations of Melbourne mechanical workshops and smash repairers: work sources, technicians, equipment, lease and EPA duty. From $1,495 + GST." updated: 2026-11-11 --- # Valuations for Melbourne mechanical workshops and smash repairers, built on work sources, technicians and the site. For selling or buying a workshop, a partner leaving, moving the business into a new entity, or retirement. Fixed fee, set by turnover. [Talk to a valuer (15 min)](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/contact/)[All industries](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/industries/) A Melbourne mechanical workshop or smash repairer is valued on the profit it can keep earning once the owner is paid a market wage for the hours they spend on the tools or at the counter. Our valuers test where the work comes from (repeat retail customers, fleet accounts, insurer arrangements), whether qualified technicians will stay, what the hoists, booth and diagnostic gear are worth and when they need replacing, and whether the lease lets a buyer keep trading from the same site. ## Where the work comes from Two workshops with the same turnover can carry very different risk. A suburban mechanic in Moorabbin or Bayswater with a customer database, service reminders and a steady flow of repeat bookings has income that tends to survive a change of owner. A workshop that leans on one fleet account, or a smash repairer where most jobs arrive through a single insurer arrangement, is exposed to one decision made somewhere else. The valuation breaks revenue down by source over several years: retail customers, fleet and trade accounts, insurer or assessor work, and one-off jobs. It looks at how each account is documented, whether there is a written agreement, how often it is reviewed and how it could end. Concentration does not make a workshop unsaleable, but a buyer prices the chance of losing the biggest account, and the valuation shows that reasoning rather than hiding it inside a single multiple. Our signed reports are a fixed fee of $1,495 + GST for a small business and $2,495 + GST for a medium business, and every one is independently reviewed by a suitably qualified business valuer. A small-business report is delivered in 2 business days and a medium-business report in 3 business days. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. Business Valuations Melbourne is not a registered tax agent. Get a fixed fee[Ask the valuer first](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/contact/) ## The owner on the tools and the people in the bays In many Melbourne workshops the owner is also the main diagnostician, the service adviser and the person the regulars ask for. The valuer sets a market wage for every role the owner fills, so the profit used in the valuation is what a buyer would have left after paying someone to do that work. The same scrutiny goes to the team. Qualified technicians, panel beaters and painters are hard to replace, and a workshop where one senior tradesperson holds the know-how is worth less than one where skills are spread across the floor and apprentices are coming through. WorkCover is part of the cost base too. WorkSafe Victoria sets premiums from an industry rate and, once rateable remuneration passes $200,000, adjusts them for the employer's own claims record against the industry. A run of injury claims can lift that cost, so the valuer reads the premium notices along with the payroll. ## Equipment, technology and the lease Hoists, a wheel aligner, a spray booth, a chassis straightening system and scan tools can be a large share of what a buyer is paying for. The valuation records the condition and age of the main items and asks a practical question: how much will need replacing in the next few years, and is that cost already reflected in the profit? Newer vehicles also need diagnostic software subscriptions and calibration equipment for driver assistance systems, and a workshop that has invested in them can take work others cannot. Then there is the lease. A workshop is hard to move: the booth, the extraction, the hoists and the approvals tied to the site all stay behind. The valuer checks the remaining term, options to renew, rent reviews and make-good obligations, because a short lease on a well-located site in Campbellfield or Port Melbourne can take a large slice off the value of an otherwise strong business. ## EPA Victoria and the general environmental duty Workshops handle used oil, coolant, solvents, paint, filters and wash-down water. Under section 25 of the Environment Protection Act 2017, EPA Victoria says everyone has a duty to reduce risk to human health and the environment from pollution and waste, so far as reasonably practicable, and that there are significant penalties for businesses that do not meet it. For a valuation this is about risk and cost, not a compliance audit. The valuer asks how waste is stored and collected, whether there have been notices or incidents, and whether any clean-up or upgrade is pending, and records what you and your advisers tell us. Whether the business meets its obligations is a question for EPA Victoria and your lawyer or environmental consultant, not the valuer. ## Selling cars as well as fixing them Some workshops buy and sell used cars on the side. Consumer Affairs Victoria says that, generally, anyone who deals in four or more cars a year needs a motor car trader licence, granted by the Business Licensing Authority, and that the licence is not transferable. A buyer cannot simply step into the seller's licence, so car sales income only carries on if the buyer holds its own licence. The valuation shows repair and sales earnings separately, so the price does not depend on income a buyer may not be able to keep. Licensing questions are for the parties, their lawyers and Consumer Affairs Victoria. ## When Melbourne workshops are valued - Sale of a workshop to a competitor, a group or an employee - A partner or shareholder leaving the business - Moving the business from a sole trader or partnership into a company or trust - Separating the workshop from the freehold before a sale - Retirement and handing the business to family - Market value evidence for small business CGT concessions on exit (your accountant applies them) ## Common questions. How much is my mechanic business worth? + It depends on the profit left after paying a market wage for the work you do yourself, how secure the customer base and accounts are, the condition of the equipment and how long you can stay on the site. There is no reliable rule of thumb based on turnover or the number of hoists. A valuation works through each of those factors using your own figures and states the conclusion in a signed report. Is a smash repairer that relies on insurance work worth less? + Not automatically. Insurer work can be steady and well paid. The risk is that the arrangement can be reviewed or ended by the insurer, and a buyer knows that. The valuation looks at how much revenue comes through each arrangement, how long it has run, how it is documented and what notice applies, then reflects that risk in the earnings or the capitalisation rate. Is my equipment added on top of the goodwill? + Usually not. A workshop's earnings depend on its equipment, so in most valuations plant and goodwill are valued together as one business. The equipment list still matters: it shows a buyer what they are getting and what they will need to replace soon. Where items are surplus to the business, or there is significant stock of parts, those can be shown separately. I am the main mechanic. Will a buyer still pay for the business? + Yes, but the valuation allows for the cost of replacing you. Your hours on the tools and at the counter are costed at market wages, and the profit after those wages is what gets valued. Customers who come for you personally are a risk, so a handover period, documented processes and a capable team all help a buyer see value that stays after you leave. My workshop sells a few used cars each year. Does that change the valuation? + It can. Consumer Affairs Victoria says that generally dealing in four or more cars a year requires a motor car trader licence, and the licence cannot be transferred. The valuation separates repair income from car sales income, so a buyer can see what depends on holding their own licence. Your lawyer can advise on the licensing steps. What does a workshop valuation cost? + The fee is fixed before work starts and set by annual turnover: $1,495 + GST under $2 million, $2,495 + GST for $2 million to $3 million, $3,495 + GST for $3 million to $10 million, and a written quote above $10 million. Small reports take 2 business days and medium and large reports 3 business days, counted from when payment and all required information have been received. Related industries - [Trades and Construction Business Valuations in Melbourne](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/industries/trades-and-construction/) - [Manufacturing Business Valuations in Melbourne](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/industries/manufacturing/) - [Transport and Logistics Business Valuations in Melbourne](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/industries/transport-and-logistics/) Sources - [Apply for a motor car trader's licence](https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/licensing-and-registration/motor-car-traders/licensing/apply-for-a-licence), Consumer Affairs Victoria - [General environmental duty](https://epa.vic.gov.au/GED), EPA Victoria - [How do previous claims affect your premium?](https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/previous-claims-your-premium), WorkSafe Victoria Talk to a valuer ## Tell us what you need valued. A fifteen-minute call confirms the package, the fixed fee and the delivery date, before you commit to anything. 03 8375 4177 Mon to Fri, 9am to 5:30pm Melbourne time Send the form and we reply within one business day. No documents needed to start. Small Business Valuation $1,495 + GST For a business with annual turnover under $2 million. Signed report in 2 business days. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. The fee is fixed in writing before we start and never tied to the outcome. Larger business? Tell us in the form and we recommend the right package. [All fees](https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/fees/) Last reviewed 11 November 2026 by Business Valuations Melbourne, Level 7, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne. --- Business Valuations Melbourne · Level 7, 55 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 · 03 8375 4177 · https://businessvaluationsmelbourne.com.au/start/