If you already know another trailer is likely to be needed for the coming season, there is an advantage in looking at the finance before you are standing in front of the exact trailer you want to buy.
Around Echuca and the wider northern Victorian agricultural region, trailers are used across grain, mixed farming, transport and contracting businesses.
The purchase might be a grain trailer, tipper, side tipper, flat top or machinery trailer.
The finance question is not simply whether a lender will fund it.
It is how the purchase should be structured around the trailer, the business, any existing payout and the cash you want to keep available.
The Trailer You Have Found Changes the Finance Conversation
Once you have identified an actual trailer, the discussion becomes much more useful.
We can look at:
The purchase price
Whether it is new or used
The age of the trailer
Dealer or eligible private sale
Any deposit
A trade-in
Finance still owing on the existing trailer
The amount you want to finance
How the trailer will be used in the business
That is much more valuable than talking generally about how much you might be able to borrow.
With around 30 years of finance experience, Thrive Broking has seen plenty of asset purchases where the finance becomes unnecessarily difficult because the buyer commits to the asset first and works out the funding afterwards.
If you are already looking at a trailer, this is the point to talk to us.
Tell Thrive Broking the purchase price, year of the trailer, whether it is dealer or private sale and whether you have an existing trailer to trade. We can start looking at the trailer finance options before you commit to the purchase.
New Versus Used Trailer Finance
A used trailer can be an excellent commercial purchase.
The business may not need a brand-new asset.
A good used grain trailer or tipper may provide exactly the extra capacity required at a substantially different purchase price.
But age matters in asset finance.
Lenders do not all treat older trailers in the same way.
The age of the asset can affect lender appetite and the finance term available.
That matters because purchase price alone does not determine the repayment.
For example, an older trailer may cost considerably less than a new one but need to be financed over a shorter period.
The repayment difference may therefore be smaller than the buyer initially expects.
This is where choosing the lender around the asset matters.
At Thrive Broking, we would rather know what trailer you are looking at before deciding where the application should go.
Buying the Trailer Privately
Agricultural and transport equipment frequently changes hands directly between businesses.
You may know the seller.
You may know the trailer.
You might even know its history.
That does not mean the finance process is identical to buying from a dealership.
For an eligible private sale, the lender may need additional information to establish ownership and identify the asset correctly.
Existing finance or security interests may also need to be addressed before the transaction settles.
The important point is timing.
If you tell a private seller you will settle in two days before anyone has looked at the finance requirements, you can create unnecessary pressure.
A better approach is to send Thrive Broking the asset and seller details first so we can determine what is likely to be required.
Is There Still Finance Owing on Your Current Trailer?
This is another number worth knowing before you negotiate the replacement.
Your existing trailer may be worth $80,000.
That does not mean you have $80,000 available towards the new one.
If there is $55,000 still owing, the actual equity position is very different.
Likewise, a trailer may be worth less than the current finance payout.
That creates a shortfall.
The shortfall does not automatically stop the next purchase, but it changes the finance conversation.
One of the practical things we look at in asset finance is the complete changeover position:
What is the new trailer costing?
What is the existing trailer worth?
What is the finance payout?
Is there positive equity or a shortfall?
How much additional cash does the business want to contribute?
Those figures tell us far more than the advertised price of the new trailer.
Should You Put $30,000 or $50,000 Into the Purchase?
This is where the business position matters.
Putting down a larger deposit may reduce the amount financed.
But that cash may also be needed elsewhere.
An agricultural or transport business heading into a busy period can still have substantial costs ahead:
Diesel
Wages
Tyres
Servicing
Repairs
Insurance
Contractors
Supplier payments
ATO commitments
Keeping $50,000 in the bank may therefore have genuine value.
That does not mean everyone should finance as much as possible.
It means the deposit should be considered alongside the working-capital needs of the business.
We want to know what your cash position will look like after settlement, not only what repayment can be achieved on the trailer.
Another Trailer Needs to Earn Its Place in the Business
An additional trailer should have a purpose.
Perhaps grain is waiting because the current transport setup cannot keep up.
Perhaps there is additional cartage work available.
Maybe a contractor needs a trailer that can also move machinery between jobs.
A transport operator may be replacing an older trailer that is becoming expensive to maintain.
Another business may be adding a side tipper to move into different work.
These are all commercially different reasons to borrow.
That matters because finance works best when the asset solves a real business problem.
A $150,000 trailer that allows the business to take on profitable additional work is a different proposition from a trailer being purchased simply because it has become available.
The lending application should be able to explain why the asset is being added.
What If the Trailer Means You Also Need Another Truck?
This is where a seemingly simple purchase can grow.
Another trailer may improve the utilisation of an existing prime mover.
But in some businesses, the truck is already at capacity.
The real requirement may eventually become another truck and trailer combination.
Before committing to both, look at what the additional capacity is expected to produce.
Another prime mover creates additional expenses beyond the loan repayment.
There may be another driver.
More fuel.
Registration.
Insurance.
Tyres.
Servicing.
Repairs.
If you are looking at both assets, Thrive Broking can consider the truck finance and trailer requirement together rather than treating them as unrelated purchases.
That can give us a clearer picture of the total commitment the business is taking on.
Mid-Purchase Check: Send Us the Trailer Before You Sign
If you have already found a grain trailer, tipper, side tipper, flat top or machinery trailer, you do not need to wait until you have signed the purchase agreement to speak with us.
Send Thrive Broking:
The purchase price
Year, make and model
Dealer or private seller
A photo or advertisement if available
Your ABN
Any trade-in details
The payout if finance is still owing
The amount of cash you are considering contributing
We can start looking at the transaction from there.
That is a much stronger starting point than buying the trailer first and discovering afterwards that the asset age, seller type or existing payout changes the finance options.
Extra Capacity Can Create a Cashflow Requirement Too
There is another issue worth considering.
If the trailer allows the business to take on more work, operating expenses may rise before the additional revenue arrives.
A transport business might immediately spend more on fuel, wages and maintenance.
An agricultural contractor may increase kilometres and labour costs.
If customers then pay 30 days after invoicing, the business can have more work and tighter cashflow at exactly the same time.
That does not make the trailer purchase wrong.
It means the business needs enough working capital to use the additional asset properly.
This is why we look beyond the finance repayment.
Asset finance solves the purchase.
It does not automatically fund the increased costs of operating a larger business.
Do Not Wait Until You Need the Trailer Next Week
Urgency changes buying behaviour.
When the business suddenly needs another trailer immediately, there may be less time to compare assets, establish payouts, gather documents or work through a private sale.
The decision becomes:
“What can we get?”
rather than:
“What actually suits the business?”
If you already expect another trailer will be required, doing some of the finance work earlier can put you in a stronger position when the right one appears.
You do not necessarily need to know the exact serial number today.
But knowing the likely purchase amount, type of trailer, intended use and existing finance position can allow the conversation to start.
Tell Us About the Trailer You Are Looking At
If you are around Echuca and looking at a grain trailer, tipper, side tipper, flat top, machinery trailer or another commercial trailer, tell Thrive Broking about the actual asset.
Send us the price, age, seller type and any trade-in or payout information.
With around 30 years of finance experience, Thrive Broking can look at the purchase in the context of your existing commitments and the way the trailer will be used.
We can then assess the available finance options before you commit your cash or lock yourself into the purchase.
If you have already found the trailer, that is enough reason to start the conversation.