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

Size and standing of the Montana automotive mechanical repair record

The Montana automotive mechanical repair cell holds 43 loans under SBA 7(a), $13.7 million in all, from FY2017 through FY2026. Montana is 40 among states by automotive mechanical repair loan count, while Montana holds automotive mechanical repair at 5 of 39 among its classes. Montana borrowers took a median of $150,000, which is 0.83x of the figure that automotive mechanical repair borrowers elsewhere receive, in Montana, below the SBA 7(a) norm for automotive mechanical repair. The central half of Montana loans starts at $50,000 and, for automotive mechanical repair, tops out near $505,500; 0.00% of Montana automotive mechanical repair loans carry a franchise flag.

Montana holders and counties

By automotive mechanical repair loans approved in Montana, Glacier Bank (10; $2.5 million); The Yellowstone Bank (8; $2.3 million); U.S. Bank, National Association (6; $3.5 million) come first. SBA lists each Montana automotive mechanical repair holder as current. Geographically, Yellowstone (14), Missoula (9), Lewis And Clark (6), Flathead (4) and Lake (3) lead Montana automotive mechanical repair lending.

How the automotive mechanical repair pipeline moved

Montana automotive mechanical repair approvals per year: FY2017 5 ($746,700), FY2018 4, FY2019 7, FY2020 1, FY2021 6 ($1.8 million); then for automotive mechanical repair in Montana FY2022 3, FY2023 3, FY2024 2, FY2025 8, FY2026 4. The top Montana dollar year, $2.5 million, was FY2025.

How Montana loans ended up

Montana automotive mechanical repair cancellations run at a floor of 6.5% for FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, or 6.5% if undisbursed automotive mechanical repair lending is counted in. Charge-offs of Montana automotive mechanical repair loans are withheld: Montana funded too few automotive mechanical repair loans in Montana, so no rate is printed in Montana for FY2017 to FY2021, and the automotive mechanical repair gap is not a zero.

Montana garages: the feasibility questions

Distance shapes a Montana repair shop. A study should define how far customers will drive, count rival garages and dealer departments within that reach, and test whether the service area supports the number of bays proposed through a winter-weather swing in demand. Technician hiring in a thin labour market is a binding constraint, and equipment and lift cost should be compared with loans centred near $150,000. Show coverage through a slow first year, and note what the appraiser would make of a single-purpose building in a small town.

Montana garages: class boundaries

Truck service cannot be told from car repair, and shops for body, paint, glass or oil changes are coded elsewhere; a Montana operation in those lines would not appear in these counts.