Boston: car and truck repair shop

277 car and truck repair shop loans, worth $84.9 million, were approved in Boston, FY2017 to FY2026. Among metro areas Boston stands 5 of 660 on 277 loans, and in Boston the class stands 5 of 39. Boston's quotient of 1.06x makes the class somewhat more common. $144,000 tracks Boston's parents; ranks and the 1.06x quotient do the distinguishing.

$144,000 in Boston runs well below the national median (0.61x) across 277 loans. Half the loans in Boston fall between $50,000 and $352,000. The split is 214 under 7(a) and 63 under 504, the routes Boston peers took. Franchisees hold 3.2% of Boston's 277 loans.

Boston's 7(a) table, 75 loans with Eastern Bank, $10.5 million; 35 with TD Bank, National Association, $3.8 million; 15 with Rockland Trust Company, $3.4 million; 9 with Live Oak Banking Company, $6.9 million; 8 with Citizens Bank, National Association, $2.0 million. Boston's 504 table, 30 loans with Granite State Economic Development Corporation, $14.9 million; 25 with Bay Colony Development Corporation, $11.4 million; 8 with New England Certified Development Corporation, $4.2 million. Boston: holders under 5 loans stay unnamed. Boston by county, 277 loans: Middlesex County, MA 82; Essex County, MA 54; Plymouth County, MA 38; Norfolk County, MA 36; Rockingham County, NH 32; Suffolk County, MA 26; Strafford County, NH 9.

How Boston loans fared

Of Boston's FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, at least 12.1% were cancelled after approval. Boston withholds the ceiling that counts undisbursed loans. Of 131 loans disbursed from FY2017 to FY2021, 3.8% or more are charged off. In Boston, five-year charge-offs: withheld, not zero. Boston open loans can still raise floors. Boston's yearly count peaked at 39 loans and $4.4 million in FY2017; its low was 19 in FY2023; FY2026 shows 27 loans and $11.8 million. By year, Boston counts: FY2017 39, FY2018 25, FY2019 31, FY2020 30, FY2021 29, FY2022 24, FY2023 19, FY2024 27, FY2025 26, FY2026 27. Gross dollars by year: FY2017 $4.4 million, FY2018 $3.9 million, FY2019 $5.6 million, FY2020 $9.4 million, FY2021 $16.7 million, FY2022 $6.1 million, FY2023 $6.9 million, FY2024 $9.4 million, FY2025 $10.7 million, FY2026 $11.8 million.

Boston: what a study must test

Boston saw approvals run from 19 in FY2023 to 39 in FY2017; for Boston, plan for slow seasons. Boston's quotient, 1.06x: count rivals by turnaround. Across 277 loans, bay hours in Boston carries $144,000. Boston: facing slow seasons, debt service holds with $84.9 million approved. For 277 loans in Boston, lift costs outside $50,000 to $352,000 need cases. For 277 approvals in Boston, appraisers ask about contamination.

Boston's 277 loans exclude body and glass shops. Boston placed 277 loans by project county. Boston uses the July 2023 delineation by name. Boston omits loans from unmatched counties. These 277 loans guide a view of Boston; they are no census.

SBA automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) loans in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	277
Gross dollars approved	$84.9 million
Median loan	$144,000
Middle half of loans, from	$50,000
Middle half of loans, to	$352,000
SBA 7(a) loans	214
SBA 504 loans	63
Franchise share of loans	3.2%
Rank among metro and micro areas for automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) loans	5 of 660
Rank of automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) among the classes in this area	5 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	1.06x
Median loan against the national median for the class	0.61x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	12.1%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	withheld
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	3.8%
Charged off within five years of approval	withheld
Loans in that cohort	131

Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.

SBA automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) loans approved in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	39	$4.4 million
FY2018	25	$3.9 million
FY2019	31	$5.6 million
FY2020	30	$9.4 million
FY2021	29	$16.7 million
FY2022	24	$6.1 million
FY2023	19	$6.9 million
FY2024	27	$9.4 million
FY2025	26	$10.7 million
FY2026	27	$11.8 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Granite State Economic Development Corporation	30	$14.9 million
Bay Colony Development Corporation	25	$11.4 million
New England Certified Development Corporation	8	$4.2 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Eastern Bank	75	$10.5 million
TD Bank, National Association	35	$3.8 million
Rockland Trust Company	15	$3.4 million
Live Oak Banking Company	9	$6.9 million
Citizens Bank, National Association	8	$2.0 million

Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.

Where the loans are, by county

County	Loans
Middlesex County, MA	82
Essex County, MA	54
Plymouth County, MA	38
Norfolk County, MA	36
Rockingham County, NH	32
Suffolk County, MA	26
Strafford County, NH	9

Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.

Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.

Truck service cannot be separated from car repair. Not in this class: body, paint and interior 811121, glass 811122, oil change 811191 and all other automotive repair 811198.

Shared code: Truck repair shops are indexed to 811111 with car repair.

A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-14460-C28.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) project in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area