Diesel Repair Company

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Executive Summary

Upstate Diesel Repair provides diesel engine and commercial vehicle repair for trucks, buses and heavy equipment in Greenville, South Carolina and the surrounding county. It serves small fleets and owner-operators who need fast, reliable repairs and scheduled maintenance. The shop has four service bays at first and a mobile service truck for roadside repairs. Year 1 revenue is projected at about $375,200, growing to about $862,400 by Year 3. Startup costs are about $198,200.

Company Description

Upstate Diesel Repair is an LLC owned by James Kim, a master diesel technician with ten years of experience at a regional truck dealership. The shop leases a building with four bays and a small parts room, with room to add bays. Services: preventive maintenance and inspections, engine and transmission repair, brake and air system work, electrical and diagnostics, DOT annual inspections where certified and mobile roadside repair with a service truck.

How we make money. The plan has these income lines: repair and diagnostic labor (hours billed) at about $115 each, about 2,000 in Year 1; parts sales (net margin on parts) at about $1.00 each, about 85,000 in Year 1; maintenance plans and inspections at about $320 each, about 188 in Year 1. Pricing is set so each line covers its direct cost and a share of overhead.

Unit economics. In Year 1 direct costs are about $89,160, a gross margin of about 76% of sales. Pay and overhead take most of what is left, so the plan first shows a profit in Year 2. Prices and volumes are set from the assumptions in the appendix and should be replaced with your own quotes.

Problem & Opportunity

Fleet operators and owner-operators lose money every hour a truck sits. Dealership service is booked weeks out and charges high shop rates, while small shops often lack the diagnostic equipment and parts access to fix modern diesel engines quickly. Drivers and fleet managers want a repair shop that diagnoses correctly the first time and stays on schedule.

Products & Services

A shop built around uptime. Customers book a repair slot, get a written estimate before work starts and a text when the truck is ready. Maintenance plans for small fleets schedule inspections before problems start. A mobile service truck handles minor repairs at the yard so a truck does not have to be towed.

Market Analysis

Greenville sits on major freight corridors with trucking companies, school and transit buses, construction contractors and farms that rely on diesel equipment. Demand for repair is steady and rises when trucks age. Fleets of five to fifty vehicles are the target, since they are too large for a driver to fix themselves and too small to have their own mechanics.

Who we serve first. Small trucking fleets, owner-operators, school and transit bus operators, construction contractors and farms that rely on diesel equipment.

Competitive Landscape

Dealership service centers and a few established diesel shops serve the area. They compete on brand and capacity. Upstate Diesel Repair competes on fast diagnosis, clear estimates, flexible hours and a mobile truck. We do not try to match dealer warranty work or take heavy equipment we cannot service safely.

Our strengths and weak points. Strengths: Master technician with ten years of diesel repair and diagnostic experience; A mobile truck and maintenance plans that keep fleets running and bring steady work. Weak points we plan for: Diagnostic tools and lifts are expensive and the shop depends on a few skilled technicians; A single shop location limits how many vehicles can be repaired at once.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

Visits to local fleet managers, school transportation offices and construction yards, a free first inspection for new fleet customers, a Google Business Profile and a short referral credit to customers. The plan is to sign eight small fleets by month six on monthly maintenance plans and fill the rest of the day with walk-in repair.

The first 90 days. Days 1 to 30: sign the shop lease, order lifts and diagnostic tools and set up insurance and permits. Days 31 to 60: hire the second technician, visit 20 fleet managers and offer a free inspection. Days 61 to 90: open the shop, sign the first maintenance plans and start collecting reviews.

Operations Plan

The shop opens at 6 a.m. to catch drivers before a route. Every repair starts with a written estimate, a diagnostic report and a call to the customer. Parts are ordered from two suppliers, and warranty parts are tracked. Technicians follow written safety rules for lifts, jacks, air systems and hot work, and the shop follows state and federal rules for waste oil, coolant and refrigerant. The mobile truck carries common parts and tools and is dispatched by the shop manager.

Key resources and partners. Resources: A leased shop with four bays, lifts and diagnostic equipment, certified technicians, a mobile service truck and supplier accounts. Partners: Parts suppliers, a tow company, licensed waste recyclers, an equipment dealer and fleet managers who refer work.

What we measure. Billed hours per technician, average repair turnaround time, maintenance plan customers, parts margin and cash in the bank.

Risks and how we plan for them:
- Losing a skilled technician hurts output. We pay fairly, invest in training and keep a cross-trained second technician.
- A misdiagnosis wastes time and money. We use a written diagnostic process, give written estimates and have a second technician review hard cases.
- Environmental and safety rules. We use licensed recyclers for oil, coolant and batteries, keep spill kits and train staff.
- Parts delays can keep a truck in the bay. We use two suppliers and tell customers the real timeline.
- Freight slowdowns reduce repair spending. We build maintenance plans and work with school buses and farms that are less tied to freight cycles.

Quality control. Every repair is checked by a second technician before the truck leaves, and the customer receives a copy of the repair order and photos of the work. Warranty. The shop gives a written warranty on labor and passes along the supplier's parts warranty. Waste and safety. Used oil, filters, coolant and batteries go to licensed recyclers, spill kits are kept at each bay and technicians complete required safety training.

Management & Organization

James Kim, Owner and Lead Technician, runs the shop floor and does diagnostics. A second certified diesel technician is hired before opening and a service writer who handles parts, estimates and customer calls joins in month 4. More technicians are added as bays fill. A bookkeeper handles monthly reconciliation and quarterly taxes.

Hiring plan. James works as lead technician. A second diesel technician starts before opening and a service writer joins in month 4. A third technician and a fifth bay come in Year 2.

Outside help. We rely on an outside bookkeeper for monthly reconciliation and tax filings, an attorney for contracts and licensing questions and an insurance agent who reviews our coverage every year. We meet with these advisors at least twice a year and keep notes of what they recommend.

Milestones Narrative

Year 1: lease the shop and equip four bays, open in month 3, sign eight small fleets on maintenance plans by month 6, launch the mobile service truck by month 8, revenue about $375,200. Year 2: add a third technician and a fifth bay, revenue about $637,600. Year 3: earn DOT inspection certification for all technicians and add a second mobile truck, revenue about $862,400.

What the plan's numbers say. Year 1: sales about $375,200, loss about $6,400; Year 2: sales about $637,600, profit about $98,800; Year 3: sales about $862,400, profit about $185,100; Year 4: sales about $987,000, profit about $255,500; Year 5: sales about $1.1 million, profit about $250,600. The lowest year-end cash is about $110,300.

How we will keep score. Every month we compare real sales to the plan, check the cash in the bank, review the direct cost of each job or product, and look at what customers say. If sales are behind plan for two months in a row, we slow spending and delay hiring until the numbers catch up.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it. Total needed: $290,500. This number comes from the Funding Need Calculator in this plan. It adds up:
- Startup costs of $198,200, listed item by item in the Startup Costs section (the largest are Four-bay shop equipment $65,000; Mobile service truck and tool kit $38,000; Working capital reserve $30,000).
- A cash cushion of about $92,300. That is the deepest cash dip in the early months plus about three months of bills, so slow weeks do not put the business at risk. Lenders call this "working capital."
- Together that comes to about $290,500 (rounded up to the nearest $500), which is the total we are planning for.
Where the money comes from:
- Owner money: $50,000.
- Equipment financing on shop and service truck: $90,000.
- SBA 7(a) loan: $150,500.
Kind of funding we are looking for: Equipment financing on shop and service truck: $90,000 at 9.0% interest over 7 years, about $1,448 a month; SBA 7(a) loan: $150,500 at 12.75% interest over 10 years, about $2,225 a month. A loan is money we pay back with interest, and the monthly payments are already included in our cash flow.
How we will pay it back. We expect sales of about $375,200 in Year 1, growing to about $1.1 million by Year 5. We expect a loss of about $6,400 in Year 1, a profit of about $98,800 in Year 2, a profit of about $185,100 in Year 3, a profit of about $255,500 in Year 4 and a profit of about $250,600 in Year 5. Year 1 is lower than a full year because the shop opens in month 3 and fleets sign up over several months. The lowest year-end cash balance is about $110,300 (Year 1), so with this funding the business has money in the bank every year of the plan.
What we are offering the lender: the equipment we buy as collateral and a personal guarantee from the owner.
A smaller first step, if needed. If we cannot raise the full amount right away, we can start with two bays, skip the mobile truck at first and rent specialty tools until volume grows. Duplicate this plan and lower the equipment costs to match.
What if sales are slower? We also tested a cautious case where sales come in 20 percent lower every year. In that case the plan shows a loss of about $70,500 in Year 1, a profit of about $80,400 in Year 3 and the lowest year-end cash is about $110,300, so the business still has money in the bank every year.
All numbers in this plan are estimates. We will update them as real results come in.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this plan:

- LLC operating agreement.
- South Carolina business license.
- Shop lease agreement.
- Insurance certificates for garage liability and workers compensation.
- Technician certifications and DOT inspector credentials.
- Equipment purchase and financing agreements.
- Parts supplier accounts.
- Estimate, repair order and warranty forms.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Repair and Diagnostic Labor (hours billed): about 2,000 units in Year 1 at about $115 each, costing about $38.00 each to deliver.
- Parts Sales (net margin on parts): about 85,000 units in Year 1 at about $1.00 each, with no direct cost per unit.
- Maintenance Plans and Inspections: about 188 units in Year 1 at about $320 each, costing about $70.00 each to deliver.
- Pay: owner / lead diesel technician $70,000 a year (the same number all five years); diesel technician $52,000 a year (people in Years 1 to 5: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4); service writer and parts counter $38,000 a year (people in Years 1 to 5: 0.7, 1, 1, 1, 2).
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: shop lease and utilities about $42,000, parts inventory and shop supplies about $14,000, insurance (garage liability, workers compensation) about $16,000, mobile truck fuel and maintenance about $9,000, marketing about $6,000, software, phones and accounting about $7,000.
- Tax rate: 21%.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and research.

Plain words used in this plan:
- Diagnostics: using a scan tool and tests to find a problem.
- Preventive maintenance: scheduled work done before a part fails.
- DOT inspection: a federal annual safety inspection for commercial vehicles.
- Fleet: a group of vehicles owned by one business.
- Service writer: the person who writes estimates and talks with customers.

Startup Costs