Fleet financing and commercial truck financing are different from traditional vehicle financing and leasing. Traditional vehicle and truck loans typically require your credit, business revenue, and time in business to determine if you’re qualified.

When it comes to fleet financing, the vehicle(s) you decide to purchase become the collateral, which helps to limit the lender’s risk on the lease or loan. By reducing the risk you’re more likely to be qualified for truck financing.

Several factors will determine your fleet financing term, interest rate, and down payment. Here’s a list of all the requirements and factors that determine your eligibility and financial requirements.

 1. DETERMINE YOUR ELIGIBILITY – GET PRE-APPROVED

Before you go truck shopping it’s recommended to get pre-approved for fleet financing first. This way you’ll know what you can spend. At Sharp Financial Services we have a quick and easy pre-approval process. One of our finance specialists will ask you a few questions about your credit and business history. We will then do a soft pull on your credit, not a hard inquiry. The majority of our competitors do a hard credit inquiry. That’s not good for your credit score. Our pre-approval process is guaranteed not to harm your business or personal credit score. Once we get your credit results back we’ll get you pre-approved with the amount you’re allowed to finance.

Here are a Few Factors That Determine Eligibility

• Credit Score – 650 or Above for the Best Fleet Financing Rates.
• Time in Business with a CDL License – 3+ Years Preferred (But We Can Finance Start-ups Too!)
• Down Payment Amount – How Much Can You Afford to Put Down on Your Vehicles.

Making smart choices with fleet financing is critical to any trucking or transportation company. Having up-to-date equipment and vehicles to maximize efficiency and stay in compliance with regulations is important to a company’s growth and sustainability. We’ve made the funding process quick and easy so you can get funded fast and back on the road!

1. Get Pre-Approved: Click the “Get Pre-Approved Today” button. Fill out the contact form and one of our fleet finance specialists will contact you ASAP! Or for immediate assistance give us a call at 916.805.3664
2. Select a Financing Program: A fleet finance specialist will contact you to go over your funding and business needs. We want to understand your needs to find the best solution that meets your trucking business objectives.
3. Time to Go Vehicle Shopping: Once you’ve been pre-approved, your fleet finance specialist will contact you to go over your funding details. Your pre-approval is good for 90 days. Now it’s time to go new vehicle shopping!

2. FIND YOUR NEW VEHICLES

Here’s the fun part of the fleet financing process: shopping for your new vehicles! When shopping for your new 18-wheeler, dump truck, or commercial vehicle you need to keep in mind some requirements the lenders have. We always recommend buying your new or used vehicle from a reputable commercial vehicle dealership.  If you’re not sure which dealer in your area is reputable, give us a call and we’ll have some suggestions at 916.805.3664. We have a list of great dealers throughout the US.

• Make, Model, Year (Less than 10+ years)
• Mileage (Less than 700k)
• The truck needs to be for your intended use.
• Condition Report
• Any past major repairs.
• Preferably sold by a commercial dealership.
• Serial Number of the truck.
• Is the vehicle or equipment new or used
• Minimum of 3 pictures

Lenders want to make sure the vehicle you’re trying to buy is a good investment for you and will last the duration of the financing term. Also, the truck is the collateral for the financing. If something were to happen and you can no longer afford to pay the lease or loan back, the lender will need to repossess the vehicle and recover their capital.

3. FIND GOOD COMMERCIAL VEHICLE INSURANCE

Before you get approved and obtain your fleet financing, you’ll need to have reliable commercial vehicle insurance. Commercial lenders will help you with this. Just like your personal vehicle, you’ll need good insurance for your vehicles and equipment. Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. Your vehicle(s) and business are valuable assets, and you don’t want to be under-insured and liable for the potentially massive repair or legal bills.

Commercial lenders require you to have the following coverage:

• Liability coverage
• Physical damage coverage
• Bobtail coverage for non-trucking use
• Cargo and storage coverage that covers what you’re hauling

If you own a fleet of semi-trucks, delivery vans, or transportation vehicles and have employees driving for you, you’re going to need workers’ compensation. Contact your local business insurance agent for more details.

Lenders will not allow you to finalize the deal without the correct type of insurance for a commercial vehicle. If you have any questions please feel free to contact your finance specialist. 916.805.3664

4. SUBMIT ALL DOCUMENTS AND GET FUNDED

Once you’ve picked out a vehicle that meets all the requirements and you have proper insurance in place, it’s time to finalize your funding. Contact your finance specialist to finalize your application. 

Documents will be generated and then emailed for review and signature. An electronic signature is acceptable on most documents.

After the signed contract is returned, we’ll process your documents. Most transactions fund within 1 to 3 days. We have a fast turnaround to get your truck up and running.

FLEET FINANCING AND CREDIT

When it comes to getting a new truck, credit can play a big role. While shopping for a new truck loan, you need to keep your credit health in mind. A lot of truckers actually harm their credit by applying haphazardly to any company that promises they can get them the truck of their dreams.

This will lead to a LOT of hard inquiries on your report. Remember: each hard inquiry can ding you about 10 points. Even if you apply to 4 places, that’s enough to drop your score a whole credit grade.

Dealers are another avenue you want to be wary of in regards to credit. When you “apply” or look for truck financing at a dealership, dealers often send your information to any bank or company they think will approve you.  Again, this leads to many unnecessary hard inquiries that damage your credit.

Don’t worry, there are companies out there that can approve you for Commercial Truck Financing without harming your credit. We here Sharp Financial Services can help by getting you pre-approved with just a soft inquiry. This way, you can see your rates without any damage done to your credit or commitment.

For these reasons, it’s important for you to be familiar with both your credit score and what financing companies can offer at your current credit rating before you ding your score. Do your research and make sure you’re making good choices for your business. Click the link if you want to read our in-depth Semi-Truck Financing guide. Being knowledgeable about the process and what it means in terms of credit will help you make the best choices.

FICO SCORE RANGE BREAKDOWN

• 300-579: A score in this range is considered Very Poor. Credit applicants with a score in this range will often be required to pay larger fees and deposits, or sometimes may not be approved for credit at all. 16% of people have a score in this range.
• 580-669: Scores between the 580 mark to the higher 600s are called Fair credit scores. Often, people with scores in this range will be referred to as subprime borrowers. A total of 17% of people have a credit score in this range.
• 670-739: This range is referred to as Good. Individuals with scores this high have a much lower rate of default. Statistically, about 8% of applicants with a Good range credit score will become seriously delinquent. Around 21% of people have a score in this range.
• 740-799: People with scores in the mid to top 700s are in the range of Very Good. Borrowers with scores in this range will receive better than average interest rates from banks and lenders. 25% of people have a score in this range.
• 800-850: The top of the scale is considered an Exceptional credit score. Individuals with a credit score above 800 receive the best rates from lenders. Around 21% of people have scores between 800-850.

Statistically speaking, most people’s credit scores fall between the range of 600 to 720.

WHAT AFFECTS YOUR CREDIT SCORE

• Payment history – This shows if you’ve made your payments on time or at all.
• Credit utilization rate – How much of your credit you are using on your credit cards.
• Type, amount, and age of credit accounts – Lenders want to see diversity on your credit report. Having a good mix of credit cards, a car loan, and maybe a mortgage helps your score.
• Total Debt Owed – This is the amount you owe in loans and how much is on your cards.
• Bankruptcies, Child Support Due, Public Records – Filing for bankruptcy or having a large amount of delinquent child support will hurt your score.
• New Credit Accounts – Opening a lot of accounts in a short period of time can hurt your score. If you have gotten too many loans or credit cards in a 2-year period, it can ding you.
• Hard Inquiries – The number of times a lender has requested your credit information will affect your score. These searches stay on your report for two years.