Automotive
Funding for shops that repair, service and detail vehicles
Repair shops have steady work and a parts bill that arrives first. A hoist, a scan tool or a tire machine costs more than a few good weeks. Here is how an advance can fit a shop, where it does not, and what it costs in dollars.
merchant cash advance for automotive
Approval is never guaranteed. A funding partner makes the final decision.
What owners use funding for
- A hoist or lift, an extra bay or an alignment machine
- Scan tools and diagnostic software for the vehicles you are turning away
- A tire changer and balancer ahead of the spring or fall changeover
- Parts stock for the jobs you can already see coming
- Detailing equipment and supplies, or a second van for mobile work
- A technician hired before their billed hours cover their wages
How money moves
Most revenue is collected at the counter, by card, when the customer picks up the vehicle. Parts are bought on supplier terms or up front, often before the job is finished, so the shop carries the cost of each repair until pickup.Daily deposits from repair work can carry a fixed payment, as long as your slowest week still covers it. How a merchant cash advance works
Does an advance fit?
It may fit when
- Customers pay by card at pickup, so deposits arrive most days
- New equipment would let you take on work you turn away today, and you can estimate how much
- Your busy and quiet periods are predictable enough to plan the payment around them
- Warranty, fleet or insurance work is a small share of what you bill
It may not fit when
- A large share of your work is warranty or fleet work paid weeks after the repair
- The equipment replaces a machine that still works, and the gain is convenience rather than new work
- You already repay an advance out of the same daily deposits
- The need is a building, a paint booth or another large asset, where equipment financing or a lease may fit better
A worked example
A second hoist and a diagnostic scanner
An independent repair shop adds a second hoist and a diagnostic scanner so it can take on more work. The advance is repaid with a fixed daily payment. The slow day below is a quiet midweek day between the spring and fall changeover rushes.
That is a modest share of a slow day, but it is still fixed whatever the day brings.
Sales here are card and cash deposits at pickup. Warranty and insurance payments land weeks after the work, so a quiet day can look quieter in the account. The new bay only earns if the extra work shows up, and the payment starts either way.
The factor rate and term are assumptions for the example, not a price for this kind of business. It assumes a fixed daily payment and no funding partner fee. A real offer may include fees. Illustrative only. Real offers, fees and payment terms vary by funding partner.
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General information only, not financial or legal advice. Approval is never guaranteed. A funding partner makes the final decision. Terms and eligibility vary by funding partner.
Know the cost. Then grow.
Tell us about your business in about two minutes. We will tell you whether an advance looks like a fit, and show the cost in dollars before you decide.
Approval is never guaranteed. A funding partner makes the final decision.