A Watertown, SD auto repair shop can put lifts on equipment financing over their working years, put small diagnostic tools on a short term, and carry parts stock for a commercial account on 30-day terms on a credit line. The invented figures below show what each costs and what stays outside a request.
Two low-rise frame lifts fit a four-year equipment term; anchoring and wiring stay outside. A borescope, thermal imager and charging-system analyzer fit two years. Parts stock for a commercial account that pays 30 days after month-end fits a short credit line draw.
Low-rise frame lifts on equipment financing, and the floor work left out
Automotive repair and maintenance (NAICS 8111) counted 33 employer establishments in Codington County, SD in 2023, and 14 of them had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns). For a shop that size, one more lift can mean one more car on the go at a time, so the payment has to fit the bays it adds to.
Illustration only, invented figures: a shop prices two low-rise frame lifts for tire, brake and body work at an invented $14,527. Equipment financing over 48 months at an 11.47% annual rate puts the invented payment at $378.78, and by the 48th payment the shop has sent $18,181.44, $3,654.44 of it interest.
Some low-rise lifts roll from bay to bay; others are bolted down. Anchoring a lift into the slab, checking the concrete under it and running a new circuit to its power unit are property work, outside what this site arranges. The lifts themselves are equipment.
Belts, hoses and wheel bearings on the shelf: parts stock in Watertown, SD
Parts a shop keeps on hand let a job finish the same day instead of waiting on a delivery. The cost is that the shop pays its supplier before the customer pays the shop, and for commercial accounts that bill monthly the wait can be weeks.
Illustration only, invented figures: a shop stocks an invented $6,893 of belts, hoses and wheel bearings for a commercial customer that runs a set of service vans and pays 30 days after each month-end invoice. The supplier wants payment on its own statement date, so the invented stock money is out for 39 days. Carried on a credit line at a 13.67% annual rate, the 39 days add $100.68 of invented simple interest to the parts bill.
A larger, planned stock order that will take months to sell through is a different request: inventory financing on a set term can carry it, so the line stays open for the next statement. The auto repair industry page works a tire changer, shop software and a technician hire with other invented figures.
A borescope, a thermal imager and a charging-system analyzer on a short term
Diagnostic tools cost less than a lift and are replaced sooner. Illustration only, invented figures: a shop adds an invented borescope at $2,887 and a thermal imager with a charging-system analyzer at $3,671, an invented $6,558 together. Two years at an 11.97% annual rate make the invented monthly cost $308.62; interest across all 24 months is $848.88, so the tools cost $7,406.88 in the end.
A two-year term ends before tools like these are likely to be replaced by the next model, which is the reason not to stretch them as long as a lift. Paying for a small set of tools from cash is the other option; the request makes sense when that cash is already promised to payroll or parts.
A tool that runs on a yearly software subscription carries two costs. The hardware can sit on an equipment term; the subscription is a bill that comes back every year, and a request can show it as a running cost rather than part of the price, so the term is set by the tool, not by the software.
Shop records a funding partner may review
Each funding partner sets its own requirements. An auto repair shop can have these ready before it calls:
- Recent business bank statements, showing deposits from both retail customers and commercial accounts.
- Repair orders or a monthly sales report from the shop software, split between labor and parts.
- The quote for the lifts or tools, with model numbers and any delivery charge.
- For a commercial account: the parts its vehicles use in a month and the day it pays, so the draw size has a reason.
- A list of commercial accounts that pay on terms, with their balances and how long each is open.
- Current loans and equipment agreements, with their payments and months left.
Call (605) 546-6066 with the lift or tool quote, or fill in the request form; a funding partner decides whether an offer follows. Other trades get the same treatment in the posts on the blog.
By Whitespring Funding Group · Updated
