Arrange it in October
The winter trough is short and predictable. Line up a revolving facility while nothing is urgent.
- Open a lineAhead of winter
- Show autumn depositsStrongest trailing months
- Hold the cashCover February payroll
Industriesrepair shops
Business Funding for Auto Repair & Body Shops
An empty bay costs the same as a full one.
One place for repair and collision shop owners to work out what a bay actually costs them, size a lift against the throughput it unlocks, and see which financing structure fits the move they are planning.
No hard credit pull to start. No applicant fees. Independent business capital advisors.
Capital Scan · Step 1 of 2
Let's get you funded
Takes 60 seconds. No hard credit pull.
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Start with the move
What auto repair shops use business funding for
Pick one and the calculator below changes to the question that move actually asks.
Run the numbers first
Bay cost calculator
Your rent, your lift payments, your service advisers and your technicians are paid whether a bay is working or standing empty. This works out what one hour of bay time costs you, what you actually collect for an hour of labour, and what the hours you never sold cost you last month.
5
Count every bay you could sell hours out of, including any standing idle.
50
30
Flat-rate hours sold, not hours a car sat in the bay.
$175
The rate on the wall.
$91,000
Labour only. Parts, tyres, sublet and shop fees are not in this number.
$82,000
Technician payroll and every other running cost. Parts bought for a job are not in it.
Projection
Empty bay cost
At these figures, empty bay cost comes out at $32,800.
Empty bay cost
$32,800
Base, example figures- Bay hour cost
- $76
- Bay utilisation
- 60%
Full breakdown
- Effective labour rate
- $140
- Rate gap
- $35
- Annual rate gap
- $273,000
- Revenue per bay
- $18,200
Key insights
- Empty bay cost runs from $57,400 to $8,200 as billed hours/bay/week moves from 15 to 45.
- Empty bay cost falls as billed hours/bay/week rises.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser
Every figure is worked out on this page. No input is sent anywhere, stored, or attached to you.
Every figure here is yours to check
It runs on the numbers you entered and nothing else, so you can rebuild any line of it by hand.
Talk to a funding specialist
A real conversation about what these numbers mean before you apply to anything.
What this model leaves out An estimate from your own inputs, not an offer or a projection.Read the full note
It treats every bay as equally sellable, which no shop is, and it leaves parts out on both sides: no parts cost, no parts profit. Read the empty bay figure as the size of the opportunity rather than as money you would bank.
Typical auto repair shop funding requests
- $15K-$250KTypical request range
What we actually structure for this industry. Your amount depends on the file.
- 8Structures we place
Equipment, line of credit, term, SBA, asset-based, receivables, revenue-based, and a business HELOC.
- $0Cost to ask
No applicant fees and no hard credit pull to start. Funding partners set final terms.
The numbers
What this industry runs on.
Unless noted: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS 811111 ·
- 134,341Auto repair and maintenance businessesUS Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS 811111, 811121, 811191 and 811198 ·
- 84,859General repair shops
- 98%Share of general repair shops with fewer than 20 employees
- $50,620Median technician payBLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics ·
- 35,029Collision and body shopsUS Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS 811121 ·
The cash year
Auto repair seasonality and cash-flow gaps
Auto Repair Seasonality Timeline
Repair demand follows miles driven, so plan capital against the winter trough, not the summer peak.
Seasonal pattern
- Lower
- Building
- Stronger
Winter troughFewest miles, deferred work piles up
Refund thawBacklog converts as refunds land
Driving seasonBest cash, tapering after October
- JAN
- FEB
- MAR
- APR
- MAY
- JUN
- JUL
- AUG
- SEP
- OCT
- NOV
- DEC
Payment lands in January
A July approval reads your best deposits. The schedule still runs through the two months that cannot carry it.
- Model a JanuaryNot a July
- Match the structureRevolving, not fixed
- Stage the spendBay by bay
Buy the bay early
A lift installed in March sells hours all season. The same lift in September carries its weakest quarter first.
- Add bay capacityBefore May
- Fund refrigerant toolingRegulated, not optional
- Sell the hoursFull season ahead
This is the typical shape for a repair shop, drawn from national travel patterns. Your own bays and mix will differ.
Funding products
What actually gets placed for repair shops.
Monthly
The Repair Shop Capital Brief
Once a month: what equipment categories actually cost, what structures are being written for shops, and the compliance changes worth knowing about. No pitch, unsubscribe in one click.
Reading
Auto repair funding guides and comparisons
Everything we have published for repair shops, newest first. 6 pieces in total. Narrow it to the shelf you need, or read straight down the list.
- MCA vs. Equipment Financing: Which Fits?Compare MCA and equipment financing by cost, speed, collateral, payment size, and qualification to see which structure fits an equipment purchase.Updated Sep 11, 2026
- Equipment Financing Without Draining CashHow equipment financing works, illustrative rates and terms, how to qualify, and when it beats leasing, a term loan, or paying cash.Jul 9, 2026
- Business Line of Credit: How It WorksHow a business line of credit works, what it costs, who qualifies, and when a revolving line beats a term loan or an advance.Jul 1, 2026
- MCA vs. Invoice Factoring, Which Is Right for B2B?Merchant cash advance vs invoice factoring: cost, speed, qualification. For B2B businesses with invoiced customers, factoring may cost less.Jun 9, 2026
- How to Finance an Auto Repair Shop: Owner's GuideThe five capital sources auto repair shops actually use, supplier credit, equipment financing, business cards, SBA, and MCAs. When each one fits.May 26, 2026
- How to Prepare Your Business for Fast FundingThe document checklist, revenue benchmarks, and what underwriters actually look at, so you can prepare before you apply for fast funding.Apr 5, 2026
Disclosure
Figures on this page are illustrative estimates only and are not an offer of financing. All amounts, rates, factor rates, terms, payment amounts, timelines, and qualification criteria vary by lender, depend on funder underwriting and your business's bank statement history, and are subject to change without notice. Nothing here is guaranteed until a funder issues terms and you sign them. Factor rates do not represent APR. Commera is a broker, not a lender, and does not set rates.
Local market guides
repair shops funding by location
Compare local demand, operating costs, cash timing, and funding considerations in the markets where we have dedicated guidance.
Common questions
Auto repair funding questions, answered straight.
The questions owners ask before they apply, answered for repair shops.
Equipment financing spreads the purchase over its useful life with the equipment itself as collateral. Adding a bay usually pays for itself in throughput, so the financing is sized against the revenue the bay unlocks rather than against the sticker.
Yes. A line of credit covers parts bought ahead of the work, particularly for shops carrying fleet or commercial accounts that bill net 30 while suppliers want faster payment.
Most independents see $25K-$350K against deposit volume. Multi-bay and multi-location operators with stronger deposits reach higher.
Yes. Receivables financing advances against billed fleet and commercial invoices, which suits shops where a large share of revenue is billed rather than collected at the counter.
Not automatically. Position count matters: many funders will look at a second position, fewer at a third, and pricing worsens with each. Stacking beyond that is where files get declined.
Auto body shop working capital needs center on parts, labor, and the insurance payment cycle. You buy parts and pay technicians before the insurer or customer pays the completed repair, and that gap runs weeks on many jobs. Specialty and OEM parts carry the biggest upfront cost, sometimes half the estimate. Equipment like lifts, spray booths, and frame racks is a separate, larger need. Shops fund the parts-and-labor gap with a line of credit or revenue-based funding, and equipment with equipment financing, which keeps the machine as collateral. The structure that fits depends on whether the gap is recurring, tied to the repair cycle, or a one-time equipment purchase.
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