Financing a truck: what lenders look at, what it really costs to run, and how to structure it

A truck is the most honest piece of equipment a business can buy. It earns when it’s moving and costs money when it isn’t. That’s why lenders look at a truck application differently from, say, a coffee machine: they are less interested in the vehicle’s sticker price than in how many days a month it will be earning, and for whom.

If you’re weighing up a prime mover, a tipper, a rigid or a delivery truck, here is how the finance side actually works.

What do lenders want to see before they approve truck finance?

Truck finance is secured by the truck, which helps. But the lender still wants to know the repayments will be met. They tend to look at four things.

1. Income you can prove. Contracts, regular customers, a letter from a principal contractor, or a history of bank deposits. For a first truck, a signed work commitment can carry more weight than anything else you give them.
2. Trading history. An established business with a couple of years of statements is easiest. Newer operators can still be funded, often with a bigger deposit.
3. The truck itself. Make, model, age, hours or kilometres, and how easily it resells. Mainstream trucks from well-supported brands are easiest to value.
4. Experience. Lenders like operators who have driven or run trucks before. A new owner-driver with ten years behind the wheel looks different from a first-timer.

You’ll normally supply ID, ABN or ACN, bank statements or BAS, the supplier’s quote and, for used trucks, details such as VIN, hours and service history.

What finance structures suit trucks?

Structure	How it works	Why truck owners use it
Chattel mortgage	You own the truck from day one; the lender holds a mortgage over it	Flexible terms and balloons; GST is generally claimable up front if registered
Hire purchase	The financier owns the truck until the last payment	Simple, predictable repayments
Finance lease	The lessor owns the truck; you pay rentals and settle a residual	Can suit larger fleets
Operating lease	Shorter hire, the lessor takes residual risk	Replacement cycles of a few years

Our page on truck finance goes into the product, and how transport businesses fund trucks shows what fleets of different sizes do. For the lease-or-own choice, see leasing vs buying business equipment.

Heavy trucks are normally well outside the instant asset write-off, which tests each asset against a $20,000 limit. They are depreciated instead. Because heavy trucks are not designed to carry under a tonne, the car limit doesn’t apply either.

Why does the new emissions standard matter?

Here is something a generic article won’t mention. Australia has moved to a Euro VI-based emissions standard for heavy vehicles, called ADR 80/04. According to the federal government, it applies to newly approved heavy vehicle models supplied from 1 November 2024 and to all models supplied from 1 November 2025. For you, that means:

• New trucks cost and weigh more. The extra emissions equipment adds weight, and the government raised mass limits from 1 November 2024 to compensate.
• There are mass benefits. The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator allows Euro VI vehicles a mass allowance, up to 0.5 tonnes of the single steer axle limit shifted onto the drive axle group, subject to conditions. The NHVR also notes changes from 1 August 2026, including the removal of the tri-axle mass transfer allowance, so operators should check which rules apply to their configuration.
• Used-market values can diverge over time. Trucks built to earlier standards sit on the used market alongside Euro VI models. How lenders and buyers value the difference will evolve, so ask your financier how it treats age and emissions standard when setting terms and balloons.

None of this means a pre-Euro VI used truck is a poor buy. Plenty are excellent. It means you should ask about the standard, check mass entitlements for your actual freight, and get the residual value assumption in writing.

New or used: how do lenders treat them differently?

New trucks:

• longest terms and most flexibility, including balloons
• manufacturer warranty reduces repair risk
• higher purchase price, faster early depreciation

Used trucks:

• lower purchase price and often slower depreciation
• lenders commonly cap the truck’s age at the end of the loan, so older trucks mean shorter terms and higher repayments
• may need an independent inspection or valuation
• repair risk sits with you

We cover the details in our guide to finance for used equipment, which applies to trucks as well as machinery. If you buy privately, make sure the seller has clear title. A search of the Personal Property Securities Register will show if another lender has security over the truck, and a truck with finance still owing can be repossessed from the new owner.

What does a truck really cost to run?

Repayments are only one line. Before you decide how much to borrow, build a monthly picture:

Cost	Notes
Finance repayments	Include any balloon you’ll need to meet
Registration and heavy vehicle charges	Varies by state, mass and axle configuration
Insurance	Comprehensive cover is usually required by the lender
Fuel and AdBlue	Often the largest variable cost
Tyres, servicing and repairs	Budget for it even on a new truck
Tolls and road user charges	Depends on routes
Driver wages, or your own drawings	Often forgotten when the owner drives
Downtime	Days not earning when the truck is in the workshop

A common mistake is to size the loan by what repayments seem affordable, without testing a bad month. Our cash flow forecast guide helps you build that view. A good rule: could the truck still cover its repayments if it worked 20% fewer days than you planned?

An illustrative example

A Toowoomba livestock carrier has a three-year contract to move cattle for a regional agent, worth enough to keep one rigid truck busy about four days a week. The owner wants a late-model rigid priced at $185,000 ex-GST.

• The business is GST-registered and has traded for three years.
• A chattel mortgage covers 90% of the price, over five years, with a balloon of 25%.
• The lender asks for the contract, twelve months of statements and the truck’s service records.
• The owner checks the balloon against likely used values and arranges to refinance or trade up in year five.

The contract, not the truck, did most of the persuading. If the carrier had no contract, the lender would probably have asked for a larger deposit or a shorter term.

What about trailers, bodies and refrigeration?

These are separate assets with their own values and lives. Some financiers fold them into one facility, while others prefer to fund the chassis and the body as separate lines. Tailgate lifts, refrigeration units and tippers can add tens of thousands of dollars, so ask whether they are included in the asset value or treated as extras. Where the body is bespoke, its resale value is lower, and a lender may lend less against it.

If a bank says no

Banks are often the lowest-cost source of money, and if your bank offers truck finance on terms that suit, take it seriously. But banks can be cautious on new operators, older trucks and specialised bodies. If you’ve been declined, specialist transport financiers, who look closely at the asset and the work behind it, are worth trying. Our guide on equipment finance with bad credit and the profiles of owner-driver finance and trucking company lending outline other paths.

From a shortlist of trucks to a workable loan

Picking the truck is the fun part; fitting the finance around your freight is where a bit of experience pays off. If you have a truck in mind, or even two to compare, tell us the price, the age, the work it will do and how long you’ve been trading. Our short form takes around a minute and leaves your credit file alone. Your details are read by us and not fanned out to a list of financiers, so there’s no avalanche of calls. A specialist looks at the freight, the structure and the numbers, then phones you. Please be exact with prices and contracts, so we can suggest the right structure on the first call.

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