This Is Why You're Here
Why Auto Detailings Come to Us Instead of Their Bank
You want to add ceramic coating services. The setup — clean room, IR curing lamps, coating inventory — costs $12K. Ceramic coating jobs run $800-$2,500 each.
You're transitioning from mobile to a fixed location. Lease, water reclamation, equipment, and build-out total $45K. A fixed shop lets you offer paint correction and coatings you can't do mobile.
A dealership wants you to detail their inventory — 30 cars/month at $150 each. You need $8K in supplies, an extractor, and a part-time detailer.
Your Rupes polishers and Scangrip lighting are 4 years old and showing it. A full paint correction tool upgrade is $6K. You're losing $2K/month in rework time because your pads wobble and your lights miss swirl marks.
You just landed a contract with a luxury apartment complex — 40 resident vehicles per month. You need a $22K van wrap, pressure washer upgrade, and water reclamation system to go mobile at their location.
Went from mobile to a fixed shop — $48K for the build-out, water reclamation, and ceramic coating setup. Basecamp connected me with an SBA lender who got it done. Revenue tripled in 6 months because I could finally offer coatings and paint correction.
Andre J., Detailing Business Owner, Charlotte, NC
Auto Detailing Financing
Get Your Auto Detailing Business Funded in 60 Seconds
Slide the calculator to see your estimated approval range. Then answer 3 quick questions to lock it in. No documents needed. Soft-pull pre-qual.
See What You Could Qualify For
Slide to your average monthly bank deposits.
Estimated Approval Range
Based on 100-150% of monthly revenue
Soft-pull pre-qual · No obligation · Estimate only
Built for Your Business
Why Auto Detailing Businesses Choose Basecamp
Banks Don't Take Detailing Seriously
You say 'auto detailing' and a loan officer pictures a guy with a garden hose. They don't understand that ceramic coatings run $800-$2,500 per car or that paint correction is a $300/hour skill. Our lenders fund detailing businesses based on your actual revenue, not their assumptions.
Mobile-to-Fixed Is a Major Leap
Going from a van to a fixed shop is $35K-$50K — lease deposit, water reclamation system, clean room for coatings, electrical upgrades. It's the biggest investment of your career. We fund the full build-out so you can offer the services that mobile can't touch.
Ceramic Coating Setup Costs Are Front-Loaded
Clean room, IR curing lamps, coating inventory, training certification — $10K-$15K before your first coating job. But a single coating brings $800-$2,500. We fund the setup so you start booking high-margin work immediately.
Dealership Contracts Need Scale-Up Capital
A dealer wants 30 cars detailed per month at $150 each. Great. But you need a part-time detailer, $8K in supplies, and an extractor. That upfront cost comes before the first invoice. We fund the scale-up so you land the contract.
Bobby's Take
Bobby's Playbook for Auto Detailing
Most auto detailing operators get evaluated like retail businesses by banks — daily cash, inventory turn, walk-in traffic. What banks miss is that a $200-$2,000 ticket range from mobile detail to ceramic coating plus recurring corporate-fleet contracts produces a different cash-flow signature, and the lenders who fund auto detailing know to read it. Service revenue isn't retail revenue. Here's how to position your transaction so the right specialists see it first.
Three things determine whether an auto detailing transaction closes: average ticket, retail-versus-fleet revenue mix, and your booking density during peak season. Not your personal FICO. Not your time in business. Specialist auto detailing lenders care about whether your monthly revenue supports a $1,000-$2,500/month payment — and whether your booking calendar and fleet-contract base give the file enough density to underwrite against.
The biggest mistake auto detailing operators make: applying without showing fleet-contract revenue separately from one-off retail bookings. The lender sees mixed deposits and underwrites to retail variability. The fix: separate fleet-contract revenue from one-off retail bookings. Specialist auto detailing lenders price fleet contracts as recurring contracted revenue. Generalist lenders see retail-only and apply consumer-trade aging.
fleet-detailing contract revenue lost without capacity
Where this gets interesting at scale: an auto detailing operator adding a mobile-detail van, opening a fixed shop, or expanding into ceramic coating doesn't need ONE loan. They need equipment financing for the new van or shop equipment + a working capital line for product inventory and seasonal payroll + sometimes a a revenue-based term loan stacked with working capital for a fixed-shop build-out. Three products, three lenders, one application — that's how single-van auto detailers scale into multi-van or fixed-shop detailing operations.
The auto detailing operators who scale fastest aren't the ones who waited until peak season cash hit before adding capacity. They're the ones who had a second van or extra shop bay ready when a corporate fleet or dealership wholesale contract opened. Turning down a corporate fleet detailing contract because you can't add capacity is $10,000-$25,000 a month in recurring contracted revenue. Run the numbers in 60 seconds — see what 70+ specialist lenders will offer your auto detailing business this week.
Bottom line:
Auto detailers get priced like hobby businesses when corporate fleet and dealership wholesale contracts are recurring revenue. Separate fleet from retail — that's how a specialist sees the contracted base.
Bobby Friel
Founder, Basecamp Funding
What You're Up Against
The Real Challenges Auto Detailings Face
Pricing Transparency
What Auto Detailing Funding Actually Costs
Rates and terms depend on credit, revenue, time in business, and lender. Every business is unique — see what 70+ lenders will offer you in 60 seconds. Soft-pull pre-qual.
These are industry averages. Your actual rate depends on your revenue, credit profile, and time in business — it could be lower. Run your specific numbers in 30 seconds.
Calculate Your Real Cost →Tax Strategy
Section 179 Breakdown for Auto Detailings
Finance the equipment. Keep your cash. Take the deduction. Your mobile detailing van costs $33,000 after taxes and you never touched your reserves.
Bobby Friel
Founder, Basecamp Funding
How It Works
From Application to Funded in 5 Steps
No paperwork avalanche. No bank lobby. No guessing.
60-Second Intake
Tell us about your shop, bay count, and monthly RO volume. No P&L upload yet.
Soft Credit Screen
We pull a soft inquiry only. Your FICO and shop credit stay untouched.
Specialty-Auto Lenders Compete
70+ lenders who fund independent shops, body shops, and tire stores review your file in parallel. You stay on the floor.
One Specialist, Multiple Offers
Your funding specialist walks you through the structures, the trade-offs, and what each costs. No runaround.
Choose Your Offer, Sign, Get Funded
E-signature. Funds hit your shop's account — same day available so the parts truck rolls.
Auto Detailing Capital Uses
What Auto Detailing Businesses Use Funding For
Lifts & Bay Equipment
Two-post lifts, four-post lifts, alignment racks, tire machines, and brake lathes
ADAS Calibration Systems
Static and dynamic calibration tools for forward-facing cameras, radar, and LiDAR
Paint Booths & Body Equipment
Downdraft paint booths, frame machines, mixing systems, and ventilation
Diagnostic & Scan Tools
OEM-level scan tools, ISTA licensing, J2534 pass-thru devices, and subscriptions
Technician Hiring
Signing bonuses, tool allowances, and payroll bridging for new hires
Shop Expansion
Additional bays, second locations, facility upgrades, and lot paving
Full Transparency
What Kills Your Qualification (And What Doesn't)
Most lenders won't tell you this upfront. We will.
✅ These Won't Stop You
These Can Be Deal-Breakers
Need commercial insurance for your auto detailing business?
Garage keepers liability and general liability are required for most shop financing. InsuranceService365.com covers auto repair shops across 29 states.
Don't Wait Until You Need Funding to Get Funded
The shops that get funded fast are the ones that pre-qualified before the lift went down or the RO backlog stacked up. By the time you're scrambling for a $14K transmission rebuild, your underwriting numbers look stressed. Pre-qualify when the bay's busy — that's when lenders are most generous.
Ready?
See What Your Auto Detailing Business Qualifies For
Slide the calculator, answer 3 questions, and a specialist pulls your options within the hour.
See What You Could Qualify For
Slide to your average monthly bank deposits.
Estimated Approval Range
Based on 100-150% of monthly revenue
Soft-pull pre-qual · No obligation · Estimate only
Other Auto Repair Shops Specialties We Fund
Click any specialty for tailored financing options.
Recommended Products
Recommended Funding for Auto Detailing Businesses
Working Capital
Cover parts inventory, payroll, and shop expenses. Funded same day.
Learn More →Equipment Financing
Finance lifts, alignment racks, and diagnostic equipment — asset-backed.
Learn More →Business Line of Credit
Draw for parts and supplies as repair orders come in.
Learn More →Revenue-Based Financing
Payments flex with your daily revenue — lower during slow weeks.
Learn More →FAQs
Auto Detailing Business Loan FAQs
Auto Detailing Business Loans & Detailing Shop Financing — $10K to $500K+
Look — most banks hear 'detailing' and think car wash. They don't understand that a ceramic coating job bills $800-$2,500 or that paint correction is skilled work at $300 an hour. They don't know that the leap from mobile to a fixed shop with a clean room and water reclamation is a $45K investment that triples your revenue. So they say no. Or they laugh. We've heard the stories.
And that's exactly why detailers come to us. A $12K ceramic coating setup pays for itself in 8-10 jobs. A fixed location with a clean room opens up coatings and paint correction you can't do from a van. A dealership contract for 30 cars a month is $4,500 in recurring revenue — but you need supplies and staff upfront. 70+ lenders who fund detailing businesses based on actual revenue. Working capital, equipment financing, and revenue-based capital stacking for fixed-shop transitions. One application, no hard pull.
Stop Sending Customers Down the Street. Get Your Auto Detailing Shop Funded Today.
60 seconds. Soft-pull pre-qual. No obligation.
See What You Qualify For →Soft-pull pre-qual · Free to check · Nationwide