Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area

Smaller shops, higher cancellation

Auto repair in the Tampa Bay area is a smaller-ticket cell. The median loan is $257,000, only 1.09x the national median, with quartiles at $106,000 and $519,000. SBA recorded 113 loans in FY2017 to FY2026, $49.9 million gross, ranking the area 20 of 660 nationally and auto repair 7 of 39 across Tampa Bay classes. The location quotient is 0.92x. Hillsborough County has 51 loans, Pinellas 36, Pasco 21 and Hernando 5.

Of the 113 loans, 94 carry the 7(a) label and 19 the 504 label, and a franchise flag attaches to 15.9%. The class index is shared: truck repair shops are filed together with car repair. A Tampa study should state which kind of shop it describes, since a heavy-duty yard and a neighbourhood garage rest on different customers.

Holders

Few holders reach the listing threshold. For 504 there is one name, Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc., at 5 loans and $2.3 million. TD Bank, National Association: 13 loans, $2.2 million. Newtek Bank, National Association: $1.6 million across 5 loans. A short list means thin repetition among lenders, and it is a reason to read the holder rows lightly: they are records of past holdings.

The cancellation floor stands out

At least 17.4% of approvals were cancelled, a high floor, and the matching upper bound is withheld. The Tampa Bay charge-off rate is withheld too, and neither missing value is zero. A lender will likely ask for a signed lease or deed and proof of equipment quotes before funding, since so many approvals never reach disbursement.

Hillsborough County leads with 51 loans, Pinellas follows with 36 and Pasco adds 21, while Hernando has 5. A shop in Pasco or Hernando works from a thinner local record than one in Hillsborough, and customers there may drive longer distances. The study should therefore define the trade area by drive time and show how many competing shops fall inside it.

A study should test technician supply, bay count against lease cost, customer base within a short drive in Hillsborough or Pinellas County, parts and equipment cost, and Tampa Bay coverage at a loan near $257,000. The 113 shop loans come from Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando, each confirmed by name in the July 2023 delineation; a shop whose county the delineation lacks sits in no metro, so 113 is a lower bound.