Machinery finance covers earthmoving and construction plant, agricultural equipment and heavy fixed or mobile machinery — assets that are often expensive, long-lived and central to how a business earns. Like most commercial asset finance, it's typically structured as a chattel mortgage: the lender funds the purchase, you own the machine from settlement, and the lender's security is registered against the asset until the loan is repaid.
Machinery holds its value differently to a car or even a truck — a well-maintained excavator or tractor can keep working productively for decades, which is part of why balloon structures and longer terms are common here: lenders are comfortable lending against an asset that depreciates more slowly than a road vehicle, provided it's been looked after and comes with clear service history.
New, used, dealer-sourced or privately purchased machinery can all be financed. Private and auction purchases typically go through an inspection or valuation step before settlement so the lender has an independent view of the machine's condition.
Interest on machinery finance is generally deductible where the machine is used in the business, and the machinery is typically depreciable as a business asset. This is general information, not advice for your specific circumstances — confirm with your accountant.
Machinery finance skews heavily toward regional and rural businesses — construction contractors, earthmoving operators and farmers replacing or expanding equipment ahead of a season or a project. Seasonal cash flow is a real factor for a lot of these buyers, which is one reason working with a broker who compares the whole panel matters: not every lender structures repayments the same way around harvest cycles or project milestones, and finding one that does can make a material difference to how the finance actually feels day to day.
Yes — excavators, skid steers, loaders, dozers and other earthmoving machinery are among the most commonly financed asset classes on our panel, new or used, through a dealer or privately.
The finance structure and maths are the same, but lenders sometimes offer seasonal repayment options for tractors and harvesters to match a farm's cash flow — for example, larger repayments after harvest and smaller ones in the off-season. Ask your broker if that's relevant to your business.
Older machinery generally attracts shorter loan terms and smaller (or no) balloon options, since the lender is weighing the asset's remaining useful life and resale value against the loan term. Late-model machinery in good condition gets the most flexible terms.
For machinery used in the business, the interest portion of chattel mortgage repayments is generally deductible and the machinery itself typically depreciable. Confirm with your accountant.
No dealer requirement at all — a dealer sale, private sale, auction, buying from a friend or relative, even a Facebook Marketplace listing, are all fine. Private and auction purchases just involve a couple of extra verification steps that we handle for you before settlement, since there's no dealer warranty backing the asset's condition.