Rushcrest Commercial Capital in Kankakee, Illinois explains auto repair shop loans: equipment financing for lifts, compressors and diagnostic tools, credit lines and inventory financing for parts, working capital for payroll, term loans for a bay expansion or shop purchase, with Kankakee County Census figures.
At a glance
- Automotive repair and maintenance, Kankakee County, IL
Auto repair and maintenance shops, Kankakee County, IL: 76 employer establishments, 390 paid employees (CBP 2023)
- Automotive repair and maintenance, ZIP 60901
Auto repair and maintenance shops with a ZIP 60901 address (Kankakee, IL area): 33 employers (ZBP 2023)
- Auto repair without paid employees, Kankakee County, IL
Auto repair businesses without paid employees, Kankakee County, IL: 114 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024)
Kankakee County, IL repair shops in the Census figures
Automotive repair and maintenance had 76 employer establishments in Kankakee County, IL in 2023, with 390 paid employees and $19.6 million in payroll; 45 had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns, 2023). Thirty-five were general automotive repair shops and 21 were body, paint and interior repair shops. Thirty-three of the 76 had a ZIP 60901 address (ZIP Business Patterns, 2023).
Nonemployer Statistics for 2024 list 114 more auto repair businesses run without payroll. Kankakee County also had 20 automobile dealers and 9 commercial and industrial machinery repair shops with paid staff (County Business Patterns, 2023).
Auto Repair Shop Loan When a Kankakee, IL Auto Repair Shop Needs Tire Machines
A tire changer and a wheel balancer are often bought together, and the quote may include a tire storage rack and a bead blaster. Equipment financing covers the set, with the machines as security. A shop adding tire sales also adds tire inventory, which is a separate inventory or credit-line cost.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $9,200 tire changer and balancer at an annual rate of 11% over 36 months is about $301 a month.
Small Business Loans for Auto Repair Shops: Wheel Balancers and Technician Payroll
Technician payroll is weekly or biweekly; customer payments arrive job by job, and fleet accounts may pay on 30-day terms. Working capital or a credit line carries payroll through a slow stretch or while a new technician builds up hours. A partner will read deposits, fleet invoices and the payroll register.
Auto Repair Business Loan: Air Compressors and Tool Upgrades
A rotary screw compressor, air lines, impact tools and a tool upgrade for a new technician are equipment, financed together if they are on one quote. Air systems installed into the building may count as part of the building, so ask how the lender treats installation.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $16,500 compressor and air line installation at an annual rate of 10.5% over 48 months comes to about $422 a month.
Business Loans for Auto Repair Shop: Two-Post Lifts and Parts Inventory
Two-post and four-post lifts are the classic auto shop equipment request, new or used. Parts inventory, from filters and brake parts to fluids and batteries, is used up job by job; it suits a line of credit or inventory financing paid down as the parts go into repair orders.
See inventory financing.
Business Loans for Auto Repair Business: Scan Tools and a Bay Expansion
Scan tools and ADAS calibration equipment change with each model year, and software subscriptions renew annually. Hardware can be financed or leased; a lease may suit gear the shop expects to replace. A bay expansion, with concrete, a door, a lift and electrical work, is a term loan, because it adds earning capacity for years.
See business term loans.
Do Auto Repair Shops Finance? Notes for Repair Shops
Repair shops finance lifts, compressors, alignment racks, tire machines and diagnostic tools, as well as shop purchases. Equipment dealers often offer their own financing; a shop can compare it with an outside offer on the same quote. A shop owner with several small equipment loans can also ask whether one larger loan would cost less in total.
Read whether to lease or finance shop machines.
Fleet accounts, warranty work and the cash between them at a Kankakee, IL shop
A shop that services fleet vehicles or does warranty and extended-service work often waits for payment longer than it does with walk-in customers. Those receivables are real money, and some lenders look at them when sizing working capital or a credit line. Keep an aging list of what each account owes and how long it has been outstanding.
When the slow payers are a large share of the month's work, a line drawn against that gap is usually a better fit than a one-time advance, because the gap returns each month. Price the lift or the scan tool separately so the line stays available for parts and payroll.
Buying a repair shop in Kankakee County, IL
A buyer reads the seller's tax returns, the work order history, the equipment list with ages, the lease and the customer mix. Lifts and compressors near the end of their life add a second request after closing, so price their replacement before agreeing on the purchase price. A term loan usually covers the purchase; the building may be financed separately.
By Rushcrest Commercial Capital · Updated
