SBA 504 Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in Wisconsin

One development company holds nearly all of it

Wisconsin's SBA 504 record for mechanical repair shops is unusual for how little variety it contains in who finances the loans. WBD, Inc. holds 45 loans worth $22.1 million, which is nearly the entire class, out of 47 approved, which carry $23.0 million in gross approvals for FY2017 through FY2026. This is a record of present holdings as SBA lists them, and it says nothing regarding how WBD, Inc. evaluates a request. For a Wisconsin shop owner, the practical point is that the route to a 504 loan in this trade runs through one dominant certified development company in the data.

Moderate loans in a mid-ranking state

A median loan of $365,000 is 0.89x the 504 level for the class nationally, and the middle half sits between $215,500 and $526,500, which is the range of a modest garage building. Wisconsin is 11 among states on loan count, and mechanical repair stands at 6 of 39 among Wisconsin's classes, higher in the state than the national picture would predict. Franchise affiliation reaches 8.5%. Waukesha County has 6 loans, La Crosse 5, Dane and Winnebago 4 each, and Outagamie and Ozaukee 3 each, with Chippewa, Kenosha, Marathon and Milwaukee at 2.

Annual swings and cancellations

FY2022 stands out at 12 loans and $4.6 million, while FY2023 fell to 2 loans and $475,000. FY2024 recorded only 3 loans, yet $3.4 million, so a few larger buildings lifted the total, and FY2026 shows 1 loan of $336,000. Wisconsin cancellations reach a floor of 9.5%, with a ceiling, once undisbursed loans are added, of 9.5% too, so the 504 shops that were approved mostly funded. For the oldest Wisconsin shop loans, too few funded for a trustworthy loss rate, so it stays out of the page; absence there does not mean no losses.

The study behind a Wisconsin repair shop loan

The coding lumps truck work with car repair, so this class blends light-vehicle shops with garages that work on heavier units; body, paint, glass, oil change and other repair trades fall outside it. A study should state which vehicles the bays serve, because that settles clear heights, lift capacity and the type of site. Demand evidence includes vehicle registrations and age in the trade area, competing shops and dealers, and winter conditions that push work into certain months. Technician labour must be priced and its availability shown. Because 504 finances the building, the study should reconcile project cost with a comparable-sales view of garage property and show the resale value to a different tenant, then test the payment against a slow first year.