Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in Washington

A wide spread of loan sizes

Washington's mechanical repair loans cover a wide range. Washington's middle half spans $50,000 to $681,000 around a $250,000 median, so the same state file holds small working capital loans and full shop acquisitions. Across FY2017 to FY2026, 325 loans were approved for $150.7 million. Washington stands 12 of 51 states for the class, and the class stands 6 of 39 among Washington classes; its location quotient, 1.09x, puts it close to national weight.

The headline measures do not single the state out. The Washington median is 1.06x the class's national median, and the cancellation and charge-off floors also stay inside the margin we require before calling a cell distinct from both its state and its class. What the file shows instead is momentum: approvals stood at 26 in FY2017, worth $9.1 million, and reached 49 in both FY2025 and FY2026, when dollars came to $17.6 million and $25.6 million.

Mostly 7(a), led by Columbia Bank

SBA 7(a) carried 291 of the loans and SBA 504 only 34, so the 504 structure that pairs a bank with a certified development company on owner-occupied real estate is the exception in this state. Columbia Bank is the current holder of 62 loans for $15.2 million, U.S. Bank, National Association holds 46 for $19.5 million, and KeyBank National Association holds 21. Evergreen Business Capital holds 13 Washington shop loans under 504, Northwest Business Development Association 11 and Ameritrust CDC 9. Franchise loans make up 2.5% of the total: almost every Washington borrower in this class is an independent operator.

For a lender, the outcome record is steady. Washington's cancellation floor for FY2017 to FY2024 shop approvals is 8.8%, and its ceiling, with undisbursed loans treated as cancelled, is 10.1%. Washington's 118 shop loans funded in FY2017 through FY2021 carry a 1.7% charge-off floor to date, with the same 1.7% inside five years of approval: every Washington shop loss recorded so far came early. Both are floors on a cohort still paying down.

What a Washington study should test

With loans spread from small to large, a feasibility study first has to place the project inside that range and explain why it belongs there. Demand work should focus on King and Pierce counties, which hold 85 and 60 of the approvals, then Snohomish, Clark and Spokane at 33, 25 and 24. Cost has to cover the bays, lifts and diagnostic tools the plan assumes. Coverage should be tested on labor rates and on technician capacity the borrower can actually staff. If Washington real estate is part of the loan, its appraisal must stand without help from business value. The class itself is a limit: truck service is coded with car repair, while body, glass, oil change and all other automotive repair are left out.