SBA 7(a) Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in Indiana

Indiana mechanical repair shops under SBA 7(a)

Indiana's mechanical repair shops used SBA 7(a) for 199 loans in the FY2017 to FY2026 files, $79.2 million gross, and no measure was flagged as distinctive, so the page gives the lender and borrower a baseline. The median of $161,000 is 0.89x the national figure, typical loans run from $50,000 to $459,950, and franchise brands hold 9.0%. Indiana is 18 in the national order, and the class is 5 of 39 within Indiana. Car and truck repair travel together here, since the industry code does not split them, while body, paint, glass and oil change work are outside the class.

Lenders and counties

By loan count the holders in the lender table rank as follows. The Huntington National Bank holds 28 loans worth $5.0 million. Second comes a bank whose name opens with a numeral rather than a letter, with 17 loans worth $4.0 million. Live Oak Banking Company and First Merchants Bank follow at 12 each, worth $11.2 million and $1.6 million, and KeyBank National Association holds 10 worth $5.3 million. Each name is the lender now holding the loans according to SBA, and the table is silent on how the shops operate. By county, Marion has 37 loans and Hamilton 22. Saint Joseph has 11, Allen 10, Hendricks 9, Lake 7, and Clark, Elkhart, Madison and Vanderburgh 6 each. Approvals dipped to 11 in FY2022 and rose to 25 in FY2026, a complete fiscal year.

Losses and cancellations

The cancellation floor is 10.5% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, or 12.5% counting loans not yet disbursed. Within the 98 loans funded from FY2017 to FY2021, 7.1% show as charged off to date, against 4.1% by year five. All of these are floors, and open loans may still fail. The gap between the five-year share and the share to date shows that charge-offs kept accumulating after year five.

Testing an Indiana repair shop plan

Demand follows the vehicle population around the site: registrations, average age, traffic count and the pull of nearby employers. Competing shops, dealer service lanes and chains need counting, and the study should say what the shop does that they do not, whether fleet work, diesel, tires or a specialty. Technicians are the scarce resource, and the plan has to show how bays will be staffed and wages set. Costs against a $161,000 median should cover lifts, scanners, tools, lease improvements and compliance for fluids. Show coverage through a slow season and a slow ramp. If the loan funds a purchase, test the owner's books and the transfer of technician relationships, and be ready for real estate and business to be appraised separately.