The smash repairs business is worthless to people who don't know smash repairs. If I was looking for a business to invest in, I certainly wouldn't buy something like that.

My wife's uncle will be retiring soon. He's been trying to sell his business, which is a good earner, for a couple of years. The problem is, HE is the business. Yes he has a few staff etc but at the end of the day it's his very particular skills which means there's any form of ongoing income. One of two companies in Melbourne, if not eastern Australia, that does this kind of stuff.

Without him, it's a lease on a small factory and some staff that follow instructions. Ie; it's not a business that can be sold.

Smash repairs would be more or less the same. If you're the main guy there, you can't sell the business to anyone other than another "main guy" who knows how to do everything and guide some apprentices or basic engineering staff. The little smash repairs shops are disappearing because most of the large insurers do their own now, in massive factories on the outskirts of the city. It's not profitable to compete unless you're doing boutique work. The small ones are all disappearing everywhere; just like most other "small guy" businesses. It's not the influx of teachers and foreigners into an area. ALL businesses which require unique skills are dying.