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With the second quarter of 2026 less than a week away, we decided to connect with three familiar mergers and acquisitions sources about what dealers can expect in the buy-sell market for the rest of the year.
The consensus: More buyers than ever are chasing a fragmented market, a widening brand divide is pushing deals at both ends of the spectrum, and it’s a great time to think of buying or selling.
Knowledge equals power, so here are three things to know for dealers planning to buy or sell.
Thousands of buyers are chasing available stores.
Buy-sell activity surged in the second half of last year.
The 2025 fourth-quarter Haig Report, published on March 17, estimates more than 600 dealerships traded hands last year, down 6.5% from 2024, and about 50% above pre-pandemic norms.
The Presidio Group’s most-recent quarterly report, also released March 17, puts the figure at 395 transactions involving around 540 stores.
Both firms expect 2026 to match or exceed that pace.
One thing helping fuel activity? The market is smaller than one may expect.
George Karolis, president of Presidio, said most people think there’s hundreds of buyers out there.
But, of the approximately 3,000 dealerships that changed hands over the past five years, more than 1,000 different buyers were involved, according to data presented by Karolis at NADA in Las Vegas.
“There are literally thousands of buyers looking to grow,” Karolis said. “That’s just fueling this heightened pace of activity.”
And those buyers have money…
Public dealership groups ended 2025 with a combined adjusted EBITDA more than double what it was in 2019, according to the Presidio report, with available liquidity nearly double pre-pandemic levels.
Private groups are flush, too.
“Our pipeline of deals is the largest we’ve seen, and with buyer appetite and resources still strong, we’re poised for both a robust year ahead and continued consolidation well into the future,” Karolis said.
George Karolis
President
The Presidio Group
“Sellers who had been on the sidelines are returning to the market, motivated by a desire to realize value while dealership earnings and buyer demand is strong.”
Not to mention: The vast majority of U.S. dealers own ten stores or fewer, according to data by Presidio.
That’s 95% of the roughly 6,654 dealers in the country, to be exact.
Just 24 groups own more than 50, according to their data.
And with the average dealer age sitting in the 70s, succession-driven exits aren't slowing down anytime soon, either.
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Stores at both ends of the spectrum, from Toyota to Nissan, are selling.
Toyota and Lexus dealerships remain tops when it comes to attracting buyer interest.
Alan Haig, president of Haig Partners, said those stores are easily trading at 8–10x blue sky in most markets and over 10x in Florida and Texas.
Large consolidators have internalized that and they pay accordingly.
Mike Sims, president of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, echoed that sentiment.
“With Toyota and Lexus, that's the flight to quality,” Sims said. “...When dealers have multiple brands they all say the same thing: ‘Toyota and Lexus spoil us...’”
And while many buyers do want to spend for quality brands, he said, deals are getting done at the other end of the spectrum, too.
Nissan and Stellantis’ combined share of total national transaction volume climbed from 17.8% in 2021 to 26% by 2025, according to the Haig Report.
That’s a 45.7% increase.
As values decline on brands like those, larger groups often cut their losses, freeing up stores for a different kind of buyer, Haig told CDG News.
“The buyer is somebody who’s maybe a little bit scrappier,” Haig said. “And has real strength in used cars and is comfortable and able to make money at low new car volumes.”
Alan Haig
President
Haig Partners
Deliberate portfolio management also feeds into the market frenzy.
The best-run groups aren’t just buying, they’re actively trimming stores that don’t fit their long-term strategy to free up capital and bandwidth for ones that do.
Karolis said every deal his firm has closed so far in 2026 has been a portfolio management transaction.
“Sometimes it makes sense to take one step back to go two steps forward,” Karolis said. “That’s what we’re seeing from the best and brightest out there.”
Geography remains a factor, too.
Haig told us that for the first time in his career, some buyers are factoring state politics directly into acquisition decisions.
Case in point: Eliminating the CARB rules made the states that had adopted them more attractive to buyers because a major risk was eliminated.
But, Haig said some buyers still prefer “red states,” since they perceive them as lower tax and more business-friendly venues.
The market isn’t going to be more favorable anytime soon.
For sellers, Sims said conditions are about as favorable as they're going to get in the foreseeable future:
Inventories have returned to pre-COVID levels for most brands, and inflation and geopolitical uncertainty don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Interest rates are still workable, but higher than what dealers got used to.
He said all that makes it a nice time to sell.
“I don't think a dealer could say, 'It's going to be better in 6-12 months, so I'm just going to hang on,’” Sims said.
Mike Sims
President
Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions
And for those thinking of selling, Haig offered a practical checklist to help increase a store’s value:
Maximize profitability in the one to two years before going to market.
Understand the factory’s capital requirements and whether completing upgrades now adds more value than it costs.
Avoid long-term contracts, especially for DMS, because having a locked-in platform that the buyer doesn’t use can cost a seller at the negotiating table.
For buyers, Karolis had one overriding message: stop fixating on multiples.
“Everyone is focusing too much on multiples,” he said. “Earnings is the biggest component. Really understanding what the long-term earning stream of the business drives everything.”
Karolis said accurate financials are a must for buyers and sellers, and he stressed the importance of care when hiring professionals to help.
“These are very sophisticated businesses,” Karolis said. “Valuation is very sophisticated, and we see a lot of folks fall into traps.”
Bottom line: We’re watching the dealership buy-sell market enter the last three quarters of 2026 at full speed, filled with capital-rich buyers, motivated sellers, and a brand landscape creating opportunity whether you’re chasing Toyota stores or turnaround plays.
