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Fulkerson Advisors

How much of Main Street private equity owns

9.3% of US body shops belong to chains backed by private equity.

We counted the locations of 11 multi-site groups on their own websites and compared them with the government's count of US body shops.

The findings.

  1. Chains backed by private equity run 9.3% of US body shops.
  2. Caliber Collision runs 5.3% of the country's body shops, more than any other owner. Crash Champions runs 1.9% and Classic Collision 1.0%.
  3. Gerber Collision & Glass, owned by a publicly traded company, runs 3.4%. Counting it and the family-owned chains, multi-site groups run 13% of body shops.
  4. In Maryland, chains backed by private equity run 17% of body shops. Texas, Colorado, Virginia and Washington follow, at 14% to 15%.
  5. Caliber Collision has body shops in 44 states.

Who owns the most body shops.

Caliber Collision runs 5.3% of US body shops, Gerber Collision & Glass 3.4% and Crash Champions 1.9%.

  1. Caliber Collision: 5.3%Hellman & Friedman
  2. Gerber Collision & Glass: 3.4%Boyd Group Services, publicly traded
  3. Crash Champions: 1.9%Clearlake Capital
  4. Classic Collision: 1.0%TPG
  5. CollisionRight: 0.3%Summit Partners
  6. Quality Collision Group: 0.3%Private equity
  7. VIVE Collision: 0.2%Greenbriar Equity Group
  8. G&C Auto Body: 0.2%Family-owned
  9. Puget Collision: 0.2%, at the size it statesEagle Merchant Partners
  10. Kaizen Collision Center: 0.1%Kinderhook Industries
  11. OpenRoad Collision: 0.1%Private equity
  12. BrightPoint: 0.1%, at the size it statesPrivate equity
  13. Chilton Auto Body: 0.1%Trive Capital

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Where private equity owns the most body shops.

Maryland leads at 17%, then Texas, Colorado, Virginia and Washington at 14% to 15%.

  1. ALAlabama: 4.8%
  2. AKAlaska: Fewer than 100 body shops
  3. AZArizona: 12%
  4. ARArkansas: 5.4%
  5. CACalifornia: 12%
  6. COColorado: 14%
  7. CTConnecticut: 4.4%
  8. DEDelaware: Fewer than 100 body shops
  9. DCDistrict of Columbia: Fewer than 100 body shops
  10. FLFlorida: 9.2%
  11. GAGeorgia: 10%
  12. HIHawaii: 0.0%
  13. IDIdaho: 12%
  14. ILIllinois: 8.5%
  15. INIndiana: 8.2%
  16. IAIowa: 3.0%
  17. KSKansas: 4.8%
  18. KYKentucky: 9.6%
  19. LALouisiana: 1.8%
  20. MEMaine: 7.7%
  21. MDMaryland: 17%
  22. MAMassachusetts: 0.8%
  23. MIMichigan: 4.6%
  24. MNMinnesota: 9.5%
  25. MSMississippi: 7.7%
  26. MOMissouri: 7.3%
  27. MTMontana: 9.5%
  28. NENebraska: 4.1%
  29. NVNevada: 8.4%
  30. NHNew Hampshire: 9.0%
  31. NJNew Jersey: 5.7%
  32. NMNew Mexico: 12%
  33. NYNew York: 2.8%
  34. NCNorth Carolina: 12%
  35. NDNorth Dakota: 0.0%
  36. OHOhio: 10%
  37. OKOklahoma: 5.7%
  38. OROregon: 10%
  39. PAPennsylvania: 8.5%
  40. RIRhode Island: 2.1%
  41. SCSouth Carolina: 12%
  42. SDSouth Dakota: 0.0%
  43. TNTennessee: 13%
  44. TXTexas: 15%
  45. UTUtah: 12%
  46. VTVermont: Fewer than 100 body shops
  47. VAVirginia: 14%
  48. WAWashington: 14%
  49. WVWest Virginia: 4.6%
  50. WIWisconsin: 9.6%
  51. WYWyoming: Fewer than 100 body shops

fulkersonadvisors.com

The typical auto repair shop for sale in the US asks 2.7 times its yearly cash flow. What auto repair shops for sale ask

Software for a roll-up.

A roll-up runs the same work at every site it buys, from booking and estimates to billing and payroll. We write the software those sites share, one process at a time, and the owner keeps the code. How we work with buyers and operating partners.

The data.

We counted the locations on September 30, 2026.

Questions

How many body shops does private equity own?

Chains backed by private equity run 9.3% of US body shops. Caliber Collision alone runs 5.3%, followed by Crash Champions and Classic Collision.

What is the largest collision repair company in the US?

Caliber Collision, with 5.3% of US body shops. Gerber Collision & Glass is second at 3.4% and Crash Champions third at 1.9%.

Which states have the most private equity body shops?

Maryland, where chains backed by private equity run 17% of body shops, then Texas, Colorado, Virginia and Washington at 14% to 15%.

How does this compare with other estimates?

Focus Advisors' 2025 counts of the largest collision repair groups are within 2% of ours. It puts the five largest at 13.3% of US body shops, measured against a smaller total than the government's count used here. By revenue, the largest consolidators hold about a third of the market, because their shops are bigger than average.

Do CARSTAR, Fix Auto and ABRA shops count?

Not as chains. Most of their shops are franchised and owned locally, so they count as independent here unless a counted group owns them.

Who owns Caliber Collision?

Hellman & Friedman owns Caliber Collision. It runs 5.3% of US body shops.

Who owns Gerber Collision & Glass?

Gerber Collision & Glass belongs to Boyd Group Services, a publicly traded company. It runs 3.4% of US body shops.

Who owns Crash Champions?

Clearlake Capital owns Crash Champions. It runs 1.9% of US body shops.

Who owns Classic Collision?

TPG owns Classic Collision. It runs 1.0% of US body shops.

Who owns CollisionRight?

Summit Partners owns CollisionRight. It runs 0.3% of US body shops.

Every group
GroupBrandsOwnerLocationsShare
Caliber CollisionCaliberHellman & Friedman1,8875.3%
Gerber Collision & GlassGerber; ex-Joe Hudson'sBoyd Group Services, publicly traded1,2053.4%
Crash ChampionsCrash Champions; ex-Service KingClearlake Capital6611.9%
Classic CollisionClassic CollisionTPG3481.0%
CollisionRightlocal namesSummit Partners1180.3%
Quality Collision GroupPrivate equity950.3%
VIVE Collisionlocal + Powered by VIVEGreenbriar Equity Group820.2%
G&C Auto BodyG&CFamily-owned650.2%
Puget CollisionCARSTAR / Fix Auto bannersEagle Merchant Partners64 stated0.2%
Kaizen Collision CenterKaizenKinderhook Industries460.1%
OpenRoad Collisionfamily of brandsPrivate equity410.1%
BrightPointPrivate equity36 stated0.1%
Chilton Auto BodyTrive Capital260.1%
Every state
StateEstablishmentsPrivate equityShare
Alabama640314.8%
Alaska5310Fewer than 100 body shops
Arizona5827012%
Arkansas350195.4%
California4,20549812%
Colorado83912114%
Connecticut385174.4%
Delaware7412Fewer than 100 body shops
District of Columbia131Fewer than 100 body shops
Florida2,1121959.2%
Georgia1,10211010%
Hawaii15400.0%
Idaho2493012%
Illinois1,5341318.5%
Indiana793658.2%
Iowa469143.0%
Kansas377184.8%
Kentucky450439.6%
Louisiana554101.8%
Maine155127.7%
Maryland5339017%
Massachusetts1,00780.8%
Michigan1,111514.6%
Minnesota768739.5%
Mississippi392307.7%
Missouri898667.3%
Montana179179.5%
Nebraska342144.1%
Nevada286248.4%
New Hampshire189179.0%
New Jersey964555.7%
New Mexico2092512%
New York2,004572.8%
North Carolina1,09512612%
North Dakota16800.0%
Ohio1,15411710%
Oklahoma494285.7%
Oregon4624810%
Pennsylvania1,5351318.5%
Rhode Island19042.1%
South Carolina5396512%
South Dakota20900.0%
Tennessee6689013%
Texas2,82942815%
Utah3474212%
Vermont868Fewer than 100 body shops
Virginia78711114%
Washington6248714%
West Virginia15374.6%
Wisconsin732709.6%
Wyoming985Fewer than 100 body shops
How we did it

We counted the US locations of the largest collision repair groups on September 30, 2026, from each group's own website. Groups that don't list their locations in one place count at the size each one states and are shown apart.

The number of body shops is the Bureau of Labor Statistics count of private establishments with employees for the first quarter of 2026, 35,392 body shops (NAICS 811121). A state's count of businesses is the larger of the Bureau of Labor Statistics count for the first quarter of 2026 and the Census Bureau's 2023 County Business Patterns count. The first can fold a chain's sites in a state into one report, and the second misses sites opened since 2023, so the larger count keeps a state's share from running high. Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming use the first count only.

These shares are floors. Groups we didn't count aren't in them. The full method

Cite this page

Fulkerson Advisors (2026). Who Owns US Body shops: Private Equity's Share, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/private-equity-ownership/collision-repair

Use any of these numbers or charts. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.