Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area

A 1.54x concentration of repair lending

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom has a location quotient of 1.54x for automotive repair, so shops form a considerably larger share of its SBA loans than they do nationally. Of 660 areas it is 17th for car and truck mechanical repair, and repair is the area's third-ranked class of 39. Together the 145 approvals carry $86.1 million. At $323,000 the median is 1.37x the national level; the loans in the middle run from $139,500 up to $701,200.

Of the 145 loans, 127 are SBA 7(a) and 18 are SBA 504. Franchise flags are on 8.3% of loans, so most shops here are not franchised. Sacramento County has 87 loans, Placer County 33, Yolo County 16 and El Dorado County 9.

Holders on SBA's tables

For 504, Greater Sacramento Certified Development Corporation is the one holder with enough loans to list, at 5 loans and $2.6 million. The 7(a) table begins with U.S. Bank, National Association (21 loans, $10.5 million) and Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC (11, $8.6 million), followed by Live Oak Banking Company (10, $3.8 million) and, tied at 7 loans, Wells Fargo Bank National Association ($6.8 million) and BayFirst National Bank ($1.5 million). Wells Fargo's seven loans are larger than Live Oak's ten. The table tells us where loans sit, and it tells a borrower nothing about what to expect from a given lender.

For FY2017 to FY2024, cancellations took 10.2% or more of approvals; the ceiling is identical at 10.2%, so adding undisbursed loans changes nothing in this cell. The charge-off figure to date is not printed, because Loan Analytics withholds a rate when the cohort is under 30 loans; blank is not zero. Approvals ranged from 9 in FY2020 to 23 in FY2025, which carried $16.4 million, while the 10 approvals of FY2024 were worth only $2.0 million.

What a Sacramento repair-shop study should test

The study should size repair demand from the vehicles registered in the trade area and their age, and weigh the shop against dealership service departments, national chains and established independents. Revenue depends on bays, technician hours sold and parts margin, so staffing and wages need real evidence. Because 18 of the loans are 504, the analysis should value any building apart from the business and check the parcel for a fuel, oil or solvent past. Equipment, lifts and diagnostic tools are a large cost. One data limit: the classification keeps truck service and car repair together, and leaves out collision, glass and lube operations. Sacramento totals sit on the low side, because a loan only counts when its county is matched to the July 2023 list.