Do you wonder how to get commercial truck financing? The type of financing you receive depends what you are buying. What you are buying depends on what your business needs. So first, determine how many commercial trucks you need. Then ask yourself whether you want them new or used. Determining this is the first step in getting commercial truck financing.
Second, you will need to know what type of credit you have. You’ll want to check your credit report, just to make sure there are no surprises. If there are, take care of them! The greatest bulk of your credit score is determined by two things 1) how much you still owe on credit cars, vehicles, and other purchases, and 2) your payment history (do you make your payments on time.) Your credit score helps determine how much interest you’ll be paying on your loan, so you will want to do what you can to take care of credit problems, and increase your credit score.
If you have credit problems that can’t quickly be erased, like repositions, late payments, tax liens, and bankruptcy (within the past year), then you are less likely to get the commercial truck financing you want, but it is still possible. Most companies will want a large down payment. The down payment will be significantly more if you have bad credit.
When applying for commercial truck financing, the company will want to know your OTR driving experience (it’s best if you have six months of experience or more), and the name and phone number of someone who can verify your OTR driving experience. They will also want to know your CDL License number and expiration date. If you already own a truck or trailer you will need to know how much you still owe on them. You need to know who will be operating the truck, and for what company (this company will be called, so make sure you are being honest).
Most financing companies offer a few options. They will have either a sixty or ninety day delayed payment plan. This delays your payment for two or three months, allowing you to make money with the truck before you start your payments.
Another option is a seasonal skip program. This type of program varies. It allows you to totally skip your payments, or make a greatly reduced payment for three months of the year. This is convenient if you do more work in one season of the year than another. For example, if you don’t make money during the winter months, you can lesser payments during those months, helping you to better manage your business.
A third option is a graduated payment program. With this program you make larger payments at the beginning of your loan, and they gradually get smaller. This could be a good option because your maintenance costs will increase as your truck gets older. It is also good because you will have a lesser payment at a time when the contracts you had when you got the truck may or may not be renewed.
By Clint Hunter