Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Cleveland, OH Metro Area

The smallest auto repair loans in this batch

Cleveland's auto repair record is notable for how small it is. The $100,000 median loan is 0.43x the class's national median, and half of loans lie between $49,450 and $320,050. With a location quotient of 0.76x repair shops count for less here than elsewhere, though the area stands 23 of 660 for the class and repair is 5 of 39 on the local list. SBA approved 103 loans between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $34.8 million.

One bank, mostly 7(a)

Program counts are 98 for 7(a) and 5 for 504. The Huntington National Bank holds 59 of the 7(a) loans, $14.5 million in all and well over half the record. KeyBank National Association holds 6 loans ($2.0 million), and U.S. Bank, National Association 5 with only $430,100. Holders are shown as SBA currently has them, and the table cannot speak to credit standards. Franchised shops are 8.7% of loans.

Counties, years and withheld periods

Cuyahoga County provides 40 loans, Lake 23, Lorain 14 and Medina 13. Yearly counts are printed through FY2024, from 8 loans and $499,700 in FY2020 to 16 in each of FY2018 and FY2022. FY2025 and FY2026 are suppressed for want of loans, so the blank years imply neither silence nor decline.

A high cancellation floor

Cleveland repair shops show a cancellation floor of 19.4% for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, a steep one. For this cell SBA's source offers no ceiling figure and no loss rate of any kind. One industry code spans car and truck repair, which brings heavy-vehicle garages into the totals.

Testing a Cleveland repair shop

A $100,000 median points to a lease and equipment, not a building, so a study should itemize lifts, diagnostic tools and the lease terms, and demonstrate that the shop can reach the technician hours its plan requires. A cancellation floor this high suggests that approvals often fail before closing, so permits, zoning for service use and any environmental questions about the site belong early. Coverage should be shown with the loss of a lead technician and a slow first year. Because tickets are small, lenders will compare this plan with many modest shops, so the study should be specific about what sets the site apart. Placement follows the July 2023 area list.