Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area

Under-indexed in a big three-state metro

Cincinnati's mechanical repair record is a case of a large metro with a light footprint for the class. Behind it sit 66 approvals worth $17.6 million, dated FY2017 through FY2026. Nationally the area is 37 of 660 for car and truck repair, the class is eighth by rank within the metro (8 of 39), and a quotient of 0.66x says repair shops form a smaller part of Cincinnati's lending than of lending nationally. In other words the loans exist, but other asset classes take up more of the metro's portfolio.

A middle-sized loan

The midpoint of $215,000 is 0.91x the national figure for the class, close to parity, with the typical range stretching from $59,850 up to $431,625. That spread is wide, from a small independent shop to a purchase that includes the building. Of the 66 loans, 56 sit under 7(a) and 10 under 504. The franchise share is left unprinted by Loan Analytics for want of enough loans, so no statement about branded versus independent shops can be made.

Hamilton County and its neighbours

Hamilton County, Ohio, has 20 loans, Butler and Clermont counties 10 each, Warren County 8, and Campbell County in Kentucky 7. The area spans Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, so a site on the Kentucky riverfront counts in the same record. The class covers mechanical work on cars and trucks together; collision, glass and quick-lube businesses are separate industries and are not here.

Who is listed

The Huntington National Bank is named for 17 loans totalling $3.5 million, U.S. Bank, National Association for 7 totalling $401,000, and Heritage Bank Inc for 5 totalling $1.5 million. Those figures follow the holder SBA lists today. They show which institutions hold shop loans here, and say nothing about any lender's current preferences. Heritage Bank Inc's five loans average more than U.S. Bank's seven, which hints at larger tickets, though this page does not push that further.

Years and floors

The annual counts SBA can show are FY2018 with 8 loans and $2.7 million, FY2021 with 9 and $2.2 million, FY2022 with 8 and $2.8 million, FY2023 with 9 and $2.1 million, and FY2024 with 7 and $1.3 million. Cancellation of FY2017 through FY2024 approvals was 12.2% at minimum, and the ceiling variant matches it. The charge-off rate has too few loans behind it to publish, and that gap is not a claim of zero losses.

The questions a Cincinnati repair study answers

Because the metro under-indexes for the class, a study cannot assume unmet demand; it has to count vehicles in the trade area and the shops already serving them. It should price the lifts, scan tools and alignment equipment a plan needs, test technician availability and wages, and check whether the site is zoned and equipped for repair use. Payment coverage should hold through a slow quarter, and an appraiser must settle whether value rests on the business, the real estate or both.