HEAVY VEHICLES

Truck and trailer finance

Prime movers, rigids, tippers, tankers and trailers. Heavy vehicle finance turns on the asset as much as the borrower, and the age of the unit is usually what decides which lenders will look at it.

Start a heavy vehicle enquiry 1300 015 267

Assets
Prime movers to trailers
Age
Older units considered
Sellers
Dealer, private or auction
Lender panel
40+

Is this you?

If any of these are true, we can help.

Talk it through

An owner-driver buying a first prime mover and finding the banks cautious about the age of the unit
A small fleet adding a tipper or a trailer to take on a new contract
A transport operator whose truck has failed and who needs a replacement working this month
An operator buying at auction with a settlement deadline that does not move
A business with trucks owned outright and a cash flow gap it would rather fund from the fleet than the house
A subcontractor who has been offered a rate on a truck and wants to know if it holds up

How it works

Three moves, in plain words.

Send the unit details
Make, model, year, kilometres and engine hours, configuration, and the listing or invoice. Photographs help on an older unit.
Tell us the work
What the truck will be doing, for whom, and under what arrangement. Evidence of the contracted work strengthens the file considerably.
Assemble the borrower file
ABN and GST details, financials or low doc declarations, bank statements, director details and property position.

Give us the truck details, where it is coming from, and what it will be doing.

Send us the numbers 1300 015 267

What we fund

Heavy vehicle finance covers the units that earn and the gear behind them. Lenders assess by category, because resale markets differ sharply between a common prime mover and a specialised body.

Prime movers, single and multi-drive
Rigids, from light rigids up through the classes
Tippers, bins, water trucks and truck and dog combinations
Tankers, curtain siders, flat tops, drop decks and skels
Trailers, dollies and converters
Buses, coaches and specialised bodies

The more specialised the body, the narrower the resale market, and the more carefully a lender looks at what happens if the asset has to be sold. That is not a reason to avoid specialised gear. It is the reason the file needs to be presented properly.

Prime mover: The tractor unit that pulls a trailer. Single drive or multi-drive, and the configuration affects both the work it can take and the resale market behind it.
Rigid: A truck where the body is fixed to the chassis rather than towed. Assessed by class, body type and what the body is worth on its own.
Truck and dog: A tipper truck towing a matching dog trailer. Usually funded as one package where both units come from the same seller.
Skel: A skeletal trailer built to carry containers. A narrow purpose, so lenders look closely at who else would buy it.
Engine hours: The measure that matters more than kilometres on plant and on some vocational units. Read alongside service history rather than on its own.
PPSR search: The register check that shows whether money is still owed on a unit before you buy it privately. Inexpensive, and the cheapest protection in the transaction.

The detail

Asset age is the first question

In heavy vehicles, age does more work than almost any other factor. Most lenders assess the age of the unit at the end of the proposed term rather than at settlement, so a ten-year-old truck on a five-year term is being read as a fifteen-year-old truck.

The general shape of lender appetite by age. It is not a rule, and it differs by lender, by asset and by borrower.
Age of the unit	Lender appetite	Typical effect on the deal
New or near new	Broadest choice on the panel	Longest terms available, widest range of structures
A few years old	Most lenders will consider it	Standard terms, straightforward assessment
Mid-life	Fewer lenders, more questions	Shorter terms, more weight on the borrower and on condition
Older units	Specialist lenders, sometimes private funding	Shorter terms, valuation or inspection often required

Age: Read at end of term
Hours: Weighed with the years
Records: Service history counts
Rebuild: Only if documented
Body type: Sets the resale market

Engine hours, kilometres, service history and whether the unit has a recent rebuild all move the assessment. A well-documented older truck with a complete service history reads very differently from an identical unit with no records.

Owner-drivers, small fleets and start-ups

The borrower side of a heavy vehicle file usually falls into one of three shapes, and each one is assessed differently.

Established operators

Trading history, financials and bank conduct carry the file. The asset still matters, but a strong operator with a track record buying an older unit is a very different proposition from a new entrant doing the same thing.

Owner-drivers and new ABNs

Lenders want to see something to hold onto: industry experience, a contract or a letter of engagement, property ownership, a deposit, or a clean personal credit file. First-truck applications are done regularly. They are done on preparation, not on optimism.

Growing fleets

Once you are adding units repeatedly, a facility with an approved limit usually beats a fresh application every time. It shortens settlement on each unit, which matters when a contract has a start date.

Dealer, private sale and auction

Heavy vehicles change hands through all three channels, and the channel changes the timeline more than it changes the price.

Dealer: cleanest path. A licensed entity, a tax invoice, and funds paid to a known account.
Private sale: needs a PPSR search, seller verification and often an inspection or valuation. Build in extra days.
Auction: tight settlement windows, limited inspection, and some lenders will not fund auction purchases. Get finance sorted before you bid, not after.

Buying from a dealer

A licensed entity, a tax invoice and funds paid to a known account
Warranty or statutory cover may apply to the unit
Inspection before purchase is normally straightforward
The widest part of the panel will look at it

Buying at auction

Settlement deadlines are short and they are enforced
Inspection is limited and the unit is usually sold as it stands
Some lenders on the panel will not fund auction purchases at all
Approval needs to be organised before the hammer falls, not after

The auction clock, from bid to settlement

Before you register to bid
Approval organised, and the lender confirmed as one that will fund an auction purchase at all. Not every lender on a panel will.
The hammer falls
The purchase is binding. The auction house’s clock starts running, and it is not the lender’s clock.
Usually the same day
A deposit is payable to the auction house under its conditions of sale.
Commonly inside a week
Full settlement is due. A file still being assembled at this point is already behind, and the deposit is what is at risk.
After settlement
Collection, transport, inspection and registration, on your timetable rather than the auction house’s.

Every step after the hammer is on someone else’s timetable. The only part you control is the one before it, which is why approval organised first turns a tight settlement into an administrative task rather than a scramble.

Auction conditions differ by house and by sale. Read the conditions of sale for the specific auction before you bid.

View as a table

When	What happens
Before you register to bid	Approval organised, and the lender confirmed as one that will fund an auction purchase at all. Not every lender on a panel will.
The hammer falls	The purchase is binding. The auction house’s clock starts running, and it is not the lender’s clock.
Usually the same day	A deposit is payable to the auction house under its conditions of sale.
Commonly inside a week	Full settlement is due. A file still being assembled at this point is already behind, and the deposit is what is at risk.
After settlement	Collection, transport, inspection and registration, on your timetable rather than the auction house’s.

The settlement window that starts running the moment a bid succeeds — Auction houses set the clock, not the lender. Arranging the approval first turns a tight settlement into an administrative step rather than a race with your deposit on it.

Running the application

01
Send the unit details
Make, model, year, kilometres and engine hours, configuration, and the listing or invoice. Photographs help on an older unit.
02
Tell us the work
What the truck will be doing, for whom, and under what arrangement. Evidence of the contracted work strengthens the file considerably.
03
Assemble the borrower file
ABN and GST details, financials or low doc declarations, bank statements, director details and property position.
04
Match to appetite
Heavy vehicle appetite varies widely, especially by age and body type. We place the file where the policy fits rather than testing the whole panel.
05
Verification
PPSR search, seller confirmation, inspection or valuation where required, and insurance arranged before settlement.
06
Settlement
The financier pays the seller, the security is registered, and the unit can be put to work.

Refinancing the trucks you already own

A fleet owned outright is capital sitting in a yard. Sale and leaseback, or an asset refinance, releases that value back into the business while the units keep working. For a transport business with a tax debt or a run of unsecured facilities, this is often a better answer than another second mortgage over the house.

Units owned outright, with clear title and a clean PPSR position
Age and hours within the lender’s appetite, which is the usual constraint
A documented business purpose for the funds
Enough margin in the business to carry the new repayment comfortably

Worked example · illustrative

Capital sitting in the yard

The situation: A transport operator owns two older prime movers outright, is meeting an ATO payment arrangement, and has picked up a contract that needs working capital before the first invoice is paid.
The move: Instead of a second mortgage over the family home, the units go to a financier for a sale and leaseback. Values are established, title and the PPSR position are confirmed, and the purpose of the funds is documented.
Where it lands: Capital comes back into the business while the trucks keep working. The trade-off is a new repayment against assets that were previously unencumbered, which only stacks up if the contract genuinely covers it.

A composite example, not a specific client. Any figures are indicative and outcomes depend entirely on individual circumstances and lender assessment.

It is not free money and it is not always the right move. Refinancing gear to cover a structural loss delays the problem rather than solving it. Where the underlying issue is solvency rather than timing, the right call is an insolvency practitioner, and we will say that rather than write a loan.

Run the numbers

See it with your own figures.

Indicative only. Change anything — the defaults are starting points, not quotes.

Monthly · indicative$4,280.90$891,124 interest over 30 years

The loan

Loan amount

The amount you are borrowing, after any deposit and before fees. The slider covers the common range — type a larger figure straight into the box.

Interest rate

A starting assumption for you to change, not a rate we are quoting and not a lender product. What you are offered depends on the security, the lender and a full credit assessment.

Loan term

Principal and interest across the whole term, with no interest-only period.

Repayment frequency

Worked out on the real period rate and the real number of repayments, so a fortnightly figure is not simply half a monthly one.

Paying it down faster

Extra repayment each month

Optional. Leave it at zero to see the plain schedule. Anything above zero shortens the term and cuts the interest. The slider covers the common range — type a larger figure straight into the box.

Other debts to roll in

Add the cards, loans or tax debt you would fold into this loan and the repayment covers all of it.

Add a debt

Pick the closest type. It only sets the name — you fill in the numbers.

Monthly repayment

$4,280.90

$650,000 over 30 years at 6.90%, principal and interest.

Total repaid

$1,541,124

Of that, interest

$891,124

Where the money goes

Amount borrowed$650,000

Interest over the full term$891,124

A repayment figure is the easy part. Whether a lender will lend it, on what security and at what cost, is the part we handle. Bring the number you have landed on and we will tell you what is realistic.

Talk it through with a broker

The detail behind that number

Number of repayments: 360 monthly repayments
Total repaid: $1,541,124
Total interest: $891,124
Interest as a share of the amount borrowed: 137.1%

Assumptions

The interest rate is a figure you typed. It is not a current rate, a comparison rate, or a lender product we are offering.
The rate is assumed to stay the same for the whole term. Variable rates move, and a single change resets every figure on this page.
Repayments are principal and interest, equal in size, made on time, with no interest-only period, no repayment holiday and no redraw.
Weekly and fortnightly figures are calculated on the true period rate — the annual rate divided by 12 — and on 360 repayments. They are not a monthly figure divided down.
Interest is calculated per repayment period. A lender accruing daily and charging monthly will land on a slightly different number.
Extra repayments are assumed to start with the first repayment and continue every period, and to reduce the balance immediately with no fee and no break cost.
Other debts you add are added to the amount borrowed and repaid at this loan's rate over this loan's term. No fees for closing them out or rolling them in are included, and a debt that is not reducing today is not modelled beyond its balance.
No fees are included: no establishment, valuation, legal, settlement, discharge or ongoing fees, no lender's mortgage insurance and no broker fee.

Open the full calculator

FAQ

Questions people actually ask

If yours is not here, ask it. We would rather answer the awkward one early than have you find out later.

1300 015 267

Can I finance a truck as a first-time owner-driver?

Yes, it is done regularly, and it needs preparation. Lenders look for industry experience, evidence of the work the truck will do, a deposit, property ownership or a clean personal credit file. The more of those you have, the wider the panel. A first-truck application with none of them is difficult.

How old a truck will lenders finance?

There is no single answer, because every lender sets its own limits and most assess the age at the end of the term rather than at settlement. Newer units get the widest choice. Older units are still funded, generally over shorter terms, sometimes through specialist lenders, and often with an inspection or valuation.

Can I finance a truck bought at auction?

Some lenders will and some will not, and the settlement window is the real constraint. Arrange finance before you bid so that a successful bid can settle within the auction house deadline. Bidding first and financing afterwards puts your deposit at risk.

Do I need financials to get truck finance?

Not always. Low doc options exist based on ABN and GST registration, the asset, and often a property-ownership test. Full doc files with financials, tax returns and BAS give you the widest choice and generally the best available terms. Which route suits depends on how current your accounts are.

Can I finance a truck and a trailer together?

Yes, and it is common. They may be written as one facility or as separate contracts depending on the lender and whether the units are being bought from the same seller. Tell us the whole purchase up front so it is structured once rather than twice.

Does a rebuilt engine help the application?

It can, if it is documented. A recent rebuild with invoices and records addresses the lender’s main concern about an older unit, which is what it will cost to keep it on the road. Undocumented work carries far less weight, so keep the paperwork.

Can I get truck finance with tax debt on the books?

Sometimes, and it depends on the size of the balance, whether it is disclosed and whether an arrangement is in place and being met. Do not hide it. If the tax debt is the bigger issue, financing another unit on top may be the wrong sequence, and there is a whole side of our work that deals with exactly that.

What happens if the truck is off the road for repairs?

The finance repayment continues regardless. That is the practical argument for keeping the repayment inside what the business can carry through a quiet month or a breakdown, rather than at the maximum the lender will approve.

Credentials

Credit Representative 554029
ABN 20 672 801 651
FBAA member
AFCA external dispute resolution

Other ways we can help

Reading

Worth understanding first

All of car & asset finance

Where we work

Send us the unit and the work

Give us the truck details, where it is coming from, and what it will be doing. We will tell you which part of the panel will look at it and what the file needs before we lodge anything.

Or call us

1300 015 267

Monday – Friday, 09:00 to 17:30

Head Broker

Speak to Dave Pham

Call 1300 015 267 Info@WeLnd.com.au