Selling Your Driving School to Coastline

You’ve built a great driving school, and have served your community well. If you’re thinking about where your business can go from here, consider Coastline as a buyer. We have over 90,000 five star reviews, cutting-edge technology, and some of the highest quality instructors around. Let us leverage our resources as the largest driving school in the nation to help take your legacy to the next level. Read on for some common questions from owners like you considering a sale to Coastline, or if you'd prefer, tap here to fill out our contact form and we'll be in touch.

Testimonials

Here's what past sellers have to say about their experience with our acquisition process.

"Overall I was very pleased with the process and Coastline's attention to detail and the transition teams hard work behind the scenes."

-Bob Gillmer, former owner of Driver Training Services in Lansdale, PA

"Every issue was quickly resolved. You have plenty of time to decide and the process is very smooth."

-William Golden, former owner of Five-O Driving School in Arlington Heights, IL

"They were very fast and efficient willing to address the concerns and questions from our students and employees. I was impressed at how the team worked with us to make it a smooth transition and were open to our needs. I’m confident our location will continue to be a great addition to the Coastline family."

-Sam Hamman, former owner of Sam's Driving School in Richmond, TX

What is Coastline Academy?

Coastline Academy started in California in 2017 with a simple mission: eradicate car crashes by teaching safe and confident drivers for life. We aspire to be a coast-to-coast driving school, and currently operate in 8 US states and educate hundreds of thousands of new drivers.

I’m too young to retire, but I’m reading this FAQ page. What are my options?

Many owners are not yet ready to give up their day jobs, but they are growing tired of the burden of business ownership. We like to think there is an opportunity where you can have your cake and eat it too by selling your school to Coastline, getting paid for your years of hard work, and continuing on as an employee without the responsibilities of making payroll each month.

Do I need a broker to sell my school to Coastline?

Nope! A broker is not necessary to sell your business, and usually takes 10-15% of the sale proceeds for their services. A broker can be worth the expense if they provide you peace of mind or you want backup in financial or legal matters. The driving industry is a small world built on reputation and Coastline works to make every deal a fair one, whether you have a broker or not.

I know my school can be bigger and better, but I’m struggling to make it happen on my own. What are my options?

Coastline is not an investor; we own and operate all our schools. However, we will occasionally partner with an existing owner who sells their business to Coastline and continues to manage it for some period of time in exchange for a salary plus a portion of the growth achieved. This can be a very lucrative option for ambitious owners who still want to put in the time and effort to grow their businesses, with the resources of a national driving school.

In general, what is the process to acquire my driving school?

1. After an initial screening call with the Coastline Team, we will sign a mutual confidentiality agreement so we can share more detailed information.
2. You will prepare and share documents on our Due Diligence Documentation list.
3. Coastline will review the due diligence documents, probably ask some clarifying questions, and prepare an offer that will be presented in a term sheet.
4. After a few more steps like visiting your operations, inspecting your fleet, and interviewing your staff we will sign the definitive sale agreements. This is the detailed fine-print version of the key elements already agreed upon in the signed term sheet. We pay you a portion of the sale price at this point.
5. Drivers’ education is a heavily regulated industry. Owning and operating your school may require us to get various licenses and permissions from the state regulator. While we work on making the regulator happy, you continue to operate your school normally.
6. Once the regulator approves Coastline to take over, your staff and students move to Coastline and you get paid the remainder of the cash payment. Time to sit on a beach!

What is my driving school worth?

We know this is really why you got this far, and we’re sorry to burst your bubble. We need time to visit you in person and review documentation to be able to properly value your school. Determining the value of your business is part art and part science. While there is no one-size-fits-all rule, here are some factors that help drive value:

• The more the merrier when it comes to revenue. Annual revenues that are stable or growing are worth more.
• Your reputation is key. Positive online reviews, long-standing relationships with local schools and businesses and generations of happy customers makes a difference.
• Your largest asset is your staff. Coastline places a lot of value on experienced, tenured, and capable driving and classroom instructors. You don’t need to have a large staff to sell to Coastline, but a business that is bigger than the owner(s) is worth more.
• Your cars matter. Newer, lower-mileage, well-maintained fleets are worth more than older, high-mileage, well-used fleets.
• Profits play a part. We know that small business owners run a lot of expenses through their companies, and part of our due diligence process is seeing what your net profit looks like when those expenses are removed. Higher profits generally indicate a well run business and a well-run business is worth more.

How long does it take to acquire a driving school?

This depends on how long it takes Coastline to receive approvals from state regulators. In states where Coastline already operates, this entire process from start to finish could happen in less than 14 days. In new states where we must transfer your licenses to Coastline, it takes as long as the regulator wants it to take, but generally no more than 90 days.

Where is Coastline licensed to operate?

Coastline is licensed to operate in CA, CO, IL, IN, MO, NV, PA, and TX. If your school is in a state we don't currently serve, reach out! We're open to exploring licensing options in new states to accommodate your school's needs.

What happens to my current employees?

In general, Coastline will provide offers to your current staff to join Coastline so long as they pass customary background checks and drug screening.

I'd like to talk more, what are next steps?

Tap here to fill out our contact form, and we'll be in touch!