Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in Delaware

Delaware shops borrow tiny amounts

What marks the Delaware repair file is the size of loans: a median of $87,500 is only 0.37x the national figure, and typical requests start at $30,000 and reach $496,250, a lopsided spread. Delaware logged 36 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $13.3 million, 47 of 51 among states, yet the class holds 4 of 39 inside Delaware and the location quotient is 1.08x. Garages here lean on small SBA checks for equipment and working capital.

One lender and two counties

SBA 7(a) carried 35 loans and SBA 504 carried 1; franchise affiliation is 5.6% of loans. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company dominates, at 18 loans totalling only $965,000: half the file, at an average ticket below the state median, which suggests a small-loan program. New Castle County has 22 loans, Sussex has 13, and Kent has just 1, so the northern and southern ends of the state account for nearly everything.

Blanks and a pattern of bursts

Delaware has no usable rate for approvals that lapsed and none for loans written off; the underlying groups hold fewer than 30 loans each. Treat both blanks as unknown, not as evidence of safety, and ask for the applicant's own record. The calendar shows 5 loans worth $3.0 million in FY2017, a low of 1 loan in each of FY2019 and FY2021, and a high of 10 loans worth $3.6 million in FY2025.

What a Delaware repair shop study must test

Start with local demand: vehicles registered nearby and the age of the fleet, competing shops and dealers' service departments, and the commuter traffic along the main corridors. Cost covers lifts, scan tools and a lease or building, plus a reserve for the slow months before repeat customers build up. Because loans here are small, a plan that needs far more capital than the state median should explain why. Coverage must hold through seasonal dips, and any real estate collateral needs an appraisal that stands up.

Car repair and truck service cannot be told apart in the class definition. Collision and paint shops, glass, lube outlets and miscellaneous automotive repair sit outside it.