Most commercial trucks in Australia are financed through a chattel mortgage: the lender pays the dealer or seller, you own the truck from day one, and you repay the lender in fixed instalments over an agreed term. Because you're the registered owner immediately, the truck can start earning for your business straight away, and if your business is GST-registered you can generally claim the GST credit on the purchase in your next BAS rather than waiting for it to be paid off.
Repayments are usually weekly, fortnightly or monthly to match how the truck earns — freight and haulage income tends to land in similar cycles, so lenders are used to aligning the schedule with your cash flow. A balloon (residual) payment at the end of the term is common on truck finance because operators often trade in or refinance before a prime mover reaches the end of its productive life with one owner — it lowers the regular repayment in exchange for a lump sum due at the end.
New and used trucks are both financeable, and so are private-sale purchases (with an inspection step before settlement). The rate a lender offers depends on the truck's age, kilometres, your business's trading history and the loan term — the indicative rate in the calculator above is a starting point; your actual rate is set once a lender has assessed your application.
For a truck used in the business, the interest portion of chattel mortgage repayments is generally tax deductible, and the truck itself can typically be depreciated as a business asset. None of this is a substitute for advice from your accountant, who can confirm the treatment that applies to your entity and circumstances.
Road freight remains the backbone of how goods move around Australia, and that keeps steady demand running through truck finance — from owner-operators replacing a single prime mover to fleet operators adding tippers and rigids as contracts grow. Because trucks are a working asset rather than a discretionary purchase, most lenders on a broker panel like ours are set up to move quickly once the paperwork is in, comparing terms across dozens of options rather than the single rate a truck dealer's in-house finance desk can offer.
It depends on the lender — but we have lenders on our panel who don't require a deposit at all.
A balloon (residual) lowers your regular repayment by leaving a lump sum owing at the end of the term, which suits operators who plan to trade the truck in or refinance before the balloon falls due. It means paying more interest overall for lower repayments along the way — the calculator above lets you compare the trade-off directly.
For a business-use truck financed via a chattel mortgage, the interest component of your repayments is generally tax deductible, and depreciation can typically be claimed on the asset. Confirm your specific position with your accountant — this calculator gives a repayment estimate only, not tax advice.
No dealer requirement at all — a dealer sale, private sale, buying from a friend or relative, even a Facebook Marketplace listing, are all fine. Private sales just involve a couple of extra verification steps that we handle for you before settlement (we use a remote vendor-photograph process).
Straightforward applications from an established business are often pre-approved within 24 hours. More complex deals (new entities, larger prime movers, non-standard structures) take longer while we compare terms across the panel.
They're all financed the same way — lenders assess the asset's value, age and usage rather than its body type. Where it matters is resale value and loan term: rigids and tippers often carry shorter terms than prime movers because of how hard they're worked, which can affect the balloon a lender is comfortable with.
Commercial truck finance is written to a business (sole trader ABN, company or trust), not to an individual for personal use. If you're financing your first truck as a new operator, lenders will typically want to see the ABN registered and, ideally, some track record or industry experience.