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

Small shops, no charge-offs recorded

Columbus auto repair stands out for how small its loans are. The median is $125,500, a ratio of 0.53x to the national median, ; the quartile edges are $50,000 and $350,000. SBA files record 104 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, $33.5 million gross. The area ranks 21 of 660 nationally and auto repair 6 of 39 across Columbus classes; the location quotient is 0.82x. Franklin County has 50 loans, Delaware 19, Licking 13, Fairfield 10 and Union 7.

The loss figure is the other distinctive feature. Among the 37 loans disbursed in the earlier window, SBA files show no charge-off: the floor prints as 0.00%. That is a printed value on a cohort of modest size, and it says no charge-offs are recorded in SBA files for those loans so far; it makes no promise about later loans. The five-year charge-off rate is withheld, and so is the upper bound on cancellations. Approvals cancelled run no lower than 11.9%.

Program mix and the shared code

Of the 104 loans, 90 are 7(a) and 14 are 504. The franchise share is withheld, so none appears. Truck repair shops are classed with car repair, so the figures blend work on cars and on trucks. A study should say which one the project does, and should not borrow comfort from the zero charge-off floor if it differs from the typical Columbus shop.

Holders

The Huntington National Bank dominates with 42 loans and $7.4 million; a smaller U.S. Bank, National Association book totals $1.4 million over 10 loans. No development company reaches the listing threshold. These entries describe holdings and do not state any lender's requirements.

A floor of 0.00% on 37 disbursed loans is a pleasant fact, but a cohort that small cannot carry weight. Even a single charge-off in the next release would move it. The study should therefore treat the figure as a prompt to ask why Columbus shops fared well, such as stable repeat customers and low rent, and test whether the project shares those traits.

A Columbus shop study needs evidence on technician supply, how busy the bays can be kept, the price of parts and equipment, rent or purchase economics, and Columbus coverage at a loan near $125,500. Franklin, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield and Union shop loans reach the Columbus total only if the project county is named in the July 2023 delineation, and a repair loan failing that test is in no metro, so 104 is a floor.