Quillbank Business Loans passes the shop's request to funding partners, who decide on it and set their own terms.
Repair shops in Elk River, MN can ask about equipment financing for lifts, alignment racks, tire machines and frame machines, working capital for technician payroll and parts, and a term loan to buy an existing shop. County Business Patterns for 2023 puts the employer side of the trade in Sherburne County, MN at 55 establishments under Automotive Repair and Maintenance (NAICS 8111).
At a glance
- Repair shops with paid staff, Sherburne County, MN
55 establishments under Automotive Repair and Maintenance (NAICS 8111), CBP 2023
- General repair shops, Sherburne County, MN
26 establishments under General Automotive Repair (NAICS 811111), CBP 2023
- Repair shop payroll, Sherburne County, MN
$21,581,000 annual payroll under NAICS 8111, CBP 2023
Auto shop equipment financing in Elk River, MN: alignment racks, tire machines and parts shelving
A shop's equipment list decides what it can fix in a day. Alignment racks, tire machines, two-post and four-post lifts and a wall of parts shelving are each priced from a vendor quote, and equipment financing uses the machine as collateral.
| Item | What the quote can show | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Alignment rack | Rack, camera heads, software, installation | Equipment financing |
| Two-post or four-post lift | Capacity, model, installation | Equipment financing |
| Tire changer and wheel balancer | Models, accessories, shipping | Equipment financing |
| Parts shelving and bins | Units, layout, labor | Equipment financing or working capital |
| Opening parts stock | Supplier order | Working capital or a line of credit |
Concrete work or any change to the floor slab for a lift is property work outside this site; the lift itself is equipment.
Mechanic shop business loan in Elk River, MN: scan tools, ADAS targets and technician hiring
Newer vehicles need newer tools. A scan tool with a software subscription, ADAS calibration targets and a calibration frame let a mechanic shop finish work it would otherwise send to a dealer. The tools are equipment; the subscription is an operating cost.
Hiring a technician is the larger cost. The technician is paid every two weeks from the first day, while the added work takes time to fill the schedule. Illustration only, invented figures: at $1,850 of biweekly gross pay and a 60-day ramp, 4 or 5 paydays land inside the ramp depending on the first one, or $7,400 to $9,250 of working capital before payroll taxes.
Collision repair financing in Elk River, MN: frame machines, measuring systems and body work
Collision repair runs on a frame machine, a measuring system and welders, plus the paint and materials used on each job. The machines are equipment purchases. Paint and materials are stock, which working capital or a line of credit can carry while an insurer's payment is pending.
A paint booth with its exhaust and electrical service is work on the building. That building work is property work outside this site, and the landlord has a say in it.
Tire shop equipment financing in Elk River, MN: tire changers, wheel balancers and a lift
A tire shop's core purchase is a tire changer, a wheel balancer and a lift, which one vendor can sell as a package. A single quote keeps the deal simple and the collateral clear.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $16,800 package of a tire changer, a road-force balancer and a lift at an 11.5% annual rate over 48 months. Each payment is $438.30; all 48 together total $21,038.40.
General Automotive Repair (NAICS 811111), the six-digit code for all-around mechanic shops, held 26 establishments in Sherburne County, MN in 2023 County Business Patterns.
Auto shop financing for Sherburne County, MN: diagnostic software, parts stock and technician hiring
Diagnostic software, a parts stock on the shelf and a new technician are three running costs that can land in the same month. Software and parts are paid up front; the technician is paid from the start.
Sherburne County, MN's 55 establishments under Automotive Repair and Maintenance (NAICS 8111) reported $21,581,000 of annual payroll and 344 employees in 2023 County Business Patterns, about $392,382 of payroll per establishment by our arithmetic. Thirty of those 55 shops ran with a staff of fewer than five, a little over half.
Mechanics working on their own appear in a different program. In 2024 Nonemployer Statistics, 138 automotive repair and maintenance businesses in the county had no paid employees.
Auto repair business loans in Elk River, MN: transmission jacks, brake lathes and shop software
Transmission jacks, brake lathes and shop management software round out a full-service shop, and they are the items a buyer looks over when buying a shop that already runs. What is bought is the business: the equipment, the name, the customer list and phone number, and the lease if the landlord agrees to assign it. If the building is for sale too, that is a property purchase outside this site.
| Piece of the price | Amount | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer's cash | $39,000 | - |
| Seller note, 6.5% annual rate, 60 months | $45,000 | $880.48 |
| Term loan, 10.75% annual rate, 120 months | $176,000 | $2,399.56 |
| Total | $260,000 | $3,280.04 |
In that example the shop has to earn $39,360.48 a year for the two payments before the buyer is paid. The industries page sets auto repair beside retail and restaurants, and the Elk River, MN page carries the ZIP 55330 counts.
By Quillbank Business Loans · Updated