New Jersey Association at Odds with Governor Over Safety Inspections

Auto-repair group angered by Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to eliminate vehicle safety inspections in New Jersey.

Sal Risalvato is filled with anger and despair, the kind that come from betrayal by someone you thought was your friend.

Risalvato represents the owners of the state’s gas stations and auto repair shops as executive director of the N.J. Gasoline, C-Store and Automotive Association.

The friend of such small businesses who he feels let him down? Gov. Chris Christie.

“I support him on everything else,” Risalvato said Wednesday. “This is one I think the governor got wrong.”

“This” is the state’s decision to save $12 million by eliminating safety inspections of vehicles.

Risalvato pushed for another plan that would have kept safety inspections and saved the state $13 million.

“I’m absolutely furious about it because my proposal made so much sense,” he said. “I’m very, very frustrated they did not give my method the nod.”

The association’s proposal was simple: Require all re-inspections for failed vehicles to be done at private licensed re-inspection facilities – repair shops with the state-mandated equipment and training to do the job. He said legislative leaders backed the plan, but the Governor’s Office did not.

Re-inspections by repair shops are free, under state law, if the required repair has been done by the shop, so Risalvato’s plan would cost most vehicle owners nothing.

To read the entire article, visit the Press of Atlantic City website.

When Your Shop Is Worth Much More Than You Thought

Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.

Case Study: Owner of San Francisco-based Import Service Shop Delighted to Discover Just How Valuable His Business is to Qualified Buyers
I sometimes share case studies of the clients I have been able to assist in my role as an aftermarket business broker and provider of intermediary and advisory services. I do that when I think the story will provide a reader in similar circumstances with new insights or helpful information.
In the case of Cowden Automotive, Inc., I acted in a consulting capacity assisting the owner and his broker in valuing the business, creating a marketing plan, finding a qualified buyer, and arranging financing for the sale.
Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.
Needless to say, delivering that kind of good news to a shop owner is a rewarding experience. Discovering that the sale of his business would result in his retirement nest-egg being substantially larger than he had ever thought was a fitting tribute to someone who had spent his entire working career as a busy automotive service shop owner.

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