Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area

Auto repair across the Columbia: Oregon and Washington

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro crosses the Columbia River, and the record shows both sides: Multnomah County, OR has 32 loans, Clark County, WA 25 and Clackamas County, OR 24. The cell holds 104 automotive repair approvals worth $53.7 million for FY2017 to FY2026, ranks 21 of 660 among all areas, and holds 3 of 39 locally. A location quotient of 0.99x leaves the weight level with the national mix, and franchised units are only 4.8%.

The median is $244,500, 1.04x the national class median, and $38,750 and $688,925 mark the quartile edges. SBA 7(a) supplied 92 loans, SBA 504 just 12. At 18.3% on the floor and 18.3% at the ceiling, cancellation of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals is high and indifferent to undisbursed loans. Both charge-off measures print as 0.00% across the 39 loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021, a small young cohort, so each is only a floor.

Lenders

U.S. Bank, National Association holds 23 SBA 7(a) loans and $5.1 million, and Columbia Bank (OR) 16 loans and $2.0 million. Enterprise Bank & Trust and Banc of California hold 5 loans each, with about $7.1 million and $7.0 million, and KeyBank National Association carries 5 loans and only $192,000. On SBA 504 the only name is Evergreen Business Capital (6 loans, $2.4 million). Those rows are only SBA's holder data, with no view of practice.

The class is limited in two ways. The industry code lumps truck service with car repair; body shops, glass work and oil change businesses sit outside the class. Approvals went from 12 loans and $3.9 million in FY2017 to 6 in FY2020, 12 loans and $12.2 million in FY2023, a low of 5 in FY2024 and 20 loans and $9.2 million in FY2025. Combining the two states works because the 2023 delineation matches each project county.

Testing a Portland-area repair shop

A study should count vehicles in operation near the site, the shops already serving them, and the difference between Oregon and Washington taxes and licensing. Lifts, diagnostic tools and build-out must be priced against $244,500, and bay count, labor hours sold and parts margin must cover the debt payments. With a cancellation rate that high, confirm the lease and equipment orders early. The Portland study is ours; its signatory is Daniel Smith, MAI, yet 104 approvals never promise a yes.