Buying your first new truck?

Buying a brand-new truck can be a major step for an owner-operator or growing business. You may be moving from employed driving into your own operation, upgrading from a smaller commercial vehicle or buying your first truck after years of experience in the industry.

Lenders can look at more than the age of the business. Relevant industry experience, credit history, expected work, contracts, purchase price and any contribution towards the truck can all help shape the application.

Growth can also create the need for a vehicle before a business has years of financial history behind it. In those situations lenders may look at current turnover, recent growth, industry experience, existing customer relationships, contracts or work pipeline, current vehicle utilisation and available cash flow.

The fact that the truck is new can also give lenders clearer information about the asset, supplier and expected working life. TAFS can present the wider business position rather than relying only on the age of the ABN.

Adding a new truck to the fleet?

A new truck may also be purchased to create additional capacity.

That can happen when a business takes on new contracts, additional delivery routes, higher freight volumes, new construction projects, additional customers, regional expansion, or work previously handled by subcontractors.

The lender can consider how the new truck fits into the existing operation and whether the additional finance is supported by the business's financial position.

TAFS reviews the current fleet, existing commitments and reason for expansion as part of the application.

Buying more than one at a time?

Businesses can apply to finance multiple new trucks as part of a fleet expansion or replacement program. The lender will assess the combined transaction alongside the business's existing commitments.

Truck fleet finance →

Dealer and manufacturer purchases

Buying through an authorised dealer or manufacturer can help simplify the documentation, because the supplier can provide a formal quote or invoice showing the vehicle details and purchase price.

Depending on the truck, the purchase may involve a factory-built completed vehicle, a cab chassis, a truck with a separately supplied body, dealer-fitted accessories, or specialist equipment installed before delivery.

Where several suppliers are involved, we look at the complete transaction rather than only the base truck.

Cab chassis and body build

Businesses often purchase a cab chassis and then have the working body or equipment built separately. That can include tipper bodies, pantech bodies, refrigerated bodies, crane installations, tanker bodies, tilt trays, service bodies or custom commercial fit-outs.

These purchases can involve several quotes, deposits and completion dates.

Depending on the lender and transaction, the cab chassis and fit-out may be able to form part of the overall finance structure. TAFS can review the full build and determine how it can be presented to suitable lenders.