Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area

Sizing up 82 Charlotte, NC loans

Charlotte records 82 approved automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) loans over FY2017 to FY2026, worth $49.4 million gross. A middle-of-the-road loan is $434,250; the middle half runs $121,250 to $798,250. Against the class nationally, Charlotte's median is 1.85x of the national median, above it.

Charlotte, NC ranks 31 of 660 for automotive mechanical repair (car and truck)

7(a) is the larger program here: 74 loans in 7(a), 8 in 504. An applicant here who weighs the 74 loans under 7(a) against the 8 under 504 is weighing breadth against a fixed-asset focus. Branded units account for 22.0% of Charlotte, NC loans in this class. Position in the national table: 31 of 660. Place among Charlotte classes: 7 of 39. A location quotient of 1.02x puts automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) taking a slightly bigger share of Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia lending than it does nationally. The top counties stand out: Mecklenburg County, NC (23), Union County, NC (15) and Iredell County, NC (14) loans. NC, SC meet inside Charlotte, so a single study may touch more than one regime of rules.

Lenders and floors behind 82 Charlotte loans

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia approvals were highest in FY2026 (13 loans, $7.1 million) and lowest in FY2025 (5 loans, $5.3 million). A missing Charlotte year is a disclosure limit for automotive mechanical repair (car and truck), and never an absence of lending. Among 7(a) holders of automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) loans, Live Oak Banking Company, 13 loans, $13.6 million; Wells Fargo Bank National Association, 9 loans, $736,000; Pinnacle Bank (TN), 7 loans, $5.8 million. Treat Live Oak Banking Company's $13.6 million as a ledger of holdings in Charlotte, NC, not a profile of how Live Oak Banking Company lends. For 504, Business Expansion Funding Corporation, 8 loans, $4.5 million lead the Charlotte list. A floor of 9.4% of Charlotte approvals ended in cancellation in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, and the ceiling is withheld, not zero. Charge-off rates are withheld in Charlotte: the cohort behind 82 loans is too small, which is not a claim that none occurred.

The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia study: demand, cost, coverage, appraisal at $798,250

Before debt is sized in Charlotte, the study weighs technician availability, the age of the local vehicle fleet and the density of competing shops, because those bear on Charlotte revenue. Cost comes next: a Charlotte, NC budget must carry the tools technicians expect, diagnostic equipment and parts inventory, each priced against Charlotte quotes. Stress Charlotte earnings with a $121,250 loan and a $798,250 loan, then check where coverage weakens. Charlotte appraisers will value the shop building, the land and lifts and equipment separately, and the Charlotte, NC study should do likewise. A $49.4 million record cannot approve a Charlotte project, and the figures are no promise of an outcome.

Limits behind 82 Charlotte loans

Each of the 82 loans in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is assigned by project county. County names, Mecklenburg County, NC among them, are paired to Charlotte, NC using the July 2023 delineation. The SBA code blends truck and car service in Charlotte, NC, so the 82 loans around Charlotte, NC omit body, paint and glass work but cannot separate fleets. Rates in Charlotte name their own cohort years across Charlotte, so the cancellation and charge-off rates cover different spans.