Wildbend Funding Group, a small-business funding service in Newark, Ohio, helps Licking County, OH repair shops compare equipment financing for lifts and diagnostic tools, inventory financing for parts, and working capital for slow-paying fleet accounts. Each bay is an investment that earns back over years. Funding partners review each request and make their own decision.
| Repair shops (8111) | 79 employers in Licking County, OH (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Under 5 employees | 62.0% of those shops |
| In ZIP 43055 | 25 shops (ZBP 2023) |
| Common fits | Equipment, inventory, working capital |
Where the money goes in a Licking County, OH repair shop
A shop's revenue is labor plus parts markup, collected when the customer picks up the car. Retail customers may pay on the spot, while fleet, dealer and insurance work can pay on terms of 30 days or more. Meanwhile the shop buys parts daily, pays technicians weekly, and faces large one-off purchases: a two-post lift, an alignment rack, a tire machine, a scan tool subscription, an air compressor.
An auto repair shop loan can therefore cover one of three things: equipment, parts stock, or carrying fleet receivables.
Equipment: lifts, alignment, diagnostics
Shop equipment is financed through equipment financing or a lease. Lifts and alignment racks are long-lived and can be bought; scan tools and diagnostic software may be leased or paid by subscription. Partners will want the quote, including installation, which matters for lifts that need concrete work.
Illustration only, with invented figures: a shop adds a lift and tire changer totalling $18,500 installed, puts $1,500 down, and finances the rest over 48 months at an assumed annual rate of 11. That is about $439 a month, about $22,600 in total cost. If the new bay adds even two billable jobs a week, the partner sees a clear repayment source. Not an offer.
Parts inventory and the parts room
Carrying common filters, brakes, fluids and tires shortens jobs and avoids waiting on deliveries. Inventory financing or a line of credit can fund a larger stock, especially when a supplier offers better pricing on volume. Track turnover: parts that sit for months tie up cash the shop could use elsewhere.
Small business loans for an auto repair shop's fleet accounts
Fleet and commercial accounts are good business, but slow paying. When a large fleet contract starts, technician hours and parts are spent weeks before the first payment arrives. Working capital sized to the first billing cycle, repaid from the fleet's payments, matches that timing. Partners will ask for the fleet agreement and payment terms.
An auto repair shop financial plan partners can follow
Partners do not need a forty-page plan. They need a page that answers four questions with your own numbers:
- Car count and average repair order: how many vehicles a week, and the average ticket.
- Bay utilization: how many hours each bay is billed versus available.
- Parts and labor margin: roughly what share of revenue is gross profit.
- What the new money changes: for example, one more bay at a stated number of jobs a week.
Attach recent bank statements and a profit and loss, and the plan reads as evidence rather than hope.
Auto repair shop loans in Licking County, OH: the local count
Licking County, OH had 79 auto repair and maintenance employer establishments in 2023 (NAICS 8111), with about 426 paid employees, roughly five per shop by our arithmetic (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; employee counts are noise-infused). 62.0% had fewer than five employees. ZIP 43055, the main Newark, OH postal ZIP, held 25 of them (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). Nonemployer Statistics 2024 counted another 190 repair and maintenance businesses with no payroll in the county (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024), a separate program and year.
With 62.0% of the county's auto repair employers under five employees (County Business Patterns 2023), a clear, short plan matters more than size. More data is on the Newark, OH business page; neighboring sectors such as gas stations are on the industries page.
Buying an existing shop
Buying a shop from a retiring owner brings an existing customer list, equipment and often a trained crew. Ask for two or more years of sales by month, an equipment list with ages, the lease and any environmental records for the property. Purchases are commonly funded with a term loan and buyer cash, sometimes with a seller note.
Repair shop files: what partners usually check
- Recent bank statements and a profit and loss
- Equipment quotes with installation
- Fleet or commercial account agreements, if the request supports them
- Current equipment notes and any card-sales advances
- The lease, since a short remaining term limits what partners will fund
No partner publishes fixed requirements.
By Wildbend Funding Group · Updated