Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in Nevada

A bigger repair loan than the trade usually gets

Nevada's repair shops borrow more per loan than the class does nationally. Its 125 SBA approvals for mechanical repair between FY2017 and FY2026 were worth $70.1 million, and the median came to $385,700, which is 1.64x the national median for the class. Our screen flags that median as distinctive: it sits apart, by more than our margin, from Nevada's own median across all asset classes as well as from auto repair nationally. Count alone would not have singled the state out. Nevada ranks 28 of 51 for repair-shop loans, a location quotient of 1.07x is close to the national weight, and by loan count inside Nevada the trade places 4 of 39.

Where the larger tickets come from

The middle half of Nevada approvals lands between $150,000 and $802,000, a range that points to deals carrying a building or a serious equipment package, not working capital alone. SBA 504, the program for owner-occupied real estate and long-lived equipment, carried 31 loans to 94 under 7(a), and Nevada State Development Corporation is its main channel with 20 loans worth $11.0 million; The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation adds 8. On the 7(a) side, 24 loans sit with U.S. Bank, National Association, ahead of Plumas Bank with 9 worth $7.4 million. Franchise brands account for 11.2% of loans. Clark County holds 79 approvals and Washoe County 31. Annual counts hovered in a narrow band for years before jumping to 27 loans and $12.9 million in FY2025.

A loss record to respect

Cancellations sit at a floor of 12.3% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, with the undisbursed ceiling also at 12.3%, which is in line with auto repair nationally. Charge-offs are the heavier signal: of 46 Nevada repair loans whose money went out in FY2017 to FY2021, a floor of 10.9% now sits in charge-off, with 6.5% reaching that point inside five years; that floor is above the national class figure, though not by a gap our screen marks as distinctive. Loans still outstanding can add to both.

Taken together, a bigger ticket and a heavier loss record mean a Nevada repair-shop study cannot lean on the owner's reputation alone. It has to show demand for the bays at this location, from the vehicles based in and commuting through the trade area, and to map the dealer and chain competition nearby. It has to price the full project, real estate included, against a loan near $385,700 or above, and show debt service coverage that survives a slow first year and the departure of a key technician. If the building is collateral, the appraisal must value a garage with lifts, pits and an environmental history at what a real buyer would pay, and the study should give the appraiser a cash-flow case that holds.

Class boundaries shape the data. Truck repair cannot be told apart from car repair because the two share one code, and shops doing body and paint work, auto glass, quick lube or the catch-all other repair category carry different codes and are left out.