SBA 7(a) Car Wash Feasibility Study in Connecticut

Connecticut's car wash cell is almost exactly at the national scale: the median loan is $761,900, 0.97x the nationwide 7(a) car wash median. What it adds is range. The middle half of the 30 loans runs from $65,000 to $2.2 million, a spread of more than thirty to one that blends small operations with large tunnels. Total approvals are $37.3 million for FY2017 to FY2026. The state ranks 23 on loans counted, and washes are 16 of 39 among its classes. No loan was franchised.

Two lenders at opposite ends

Celtic Bank Corporation shows 8 loans and $14.2 million, while TD Bank, National Association shows 5 and $561,100. The first holds the large projects and the second the smallest. SBA's holder records give these figures and they speak to volume. New Haven County has 9 loans, Naugatuck Valley 4, Fairfield 3, and Greater Bridgeport, Hartford, New London, NW Hills and Southeastern CT 2 each, with Capitol and Lower CT River Valley 1 each.

A peak year and thin years

FY2021 had 7 loans and $12.0 million, by far the most active year, preceded by FY2017 and FY2018 with 3 and 4 loans. FY2019 had a single loan of $25,000. FY2022 to FY2026 ran 2, 4, 3, 3 and 1 loan, with FY2024 totalling only $110,000 and FY2025 $861,300, then $2.8 million in FY2026. Dollars in the later years are low next to FY2021, so the class has not returned to its peak.

Missing rates and the code

Connecticut offers no cancellation or charge-off percentage for these loans; both cohorts are small. Because a single code spans fixed washes, truck washes and mobile units, formats are mixed in this cell.

A Connecticut wash study

A study should name the format, then test traffic count and access on a state road, competing washes, municipal approvals for water discharge, and the effect of New England winters on volume and on equipment. Membership programs smooth seasonal cash flow, so the share of members matters. Where the loan buys land, the appraiser should price the site separately from equipment, and coverage should be tested with two weak winters in a row.