Equipment
· Answered by Relief Capital Funding Desk
The question
I run a six-truck hauling company and need to replace two trucks this quarter. My personal score is around 620 after a rough year. Is equipment financing realistic at that score, or am I wasting my time applying?
Yes — 620 is financeable for equipment, and it is one of the few places a score in the low 600s does not close the door. The reason is structural: the machine is the collateral. A lender that can repossess and resell a titled truck is underwriting the asset at least as hard as it is underwriting you, so the credit bar sits lower than it would for an unsecured loan.
Where most equipment lenders set their credit floor
620–640
Indicative; the floor moves with the asset, and the lender sets final terms.
Expect the score to show up in three places. A 620 file typically sees a higher rate than a 700 file on the same truck, a first payment or 10% to 20% down where stronger credit gets zero down, and a preference for newer, more liquid equipment. Titled vehicles and standard shop machinery finance easily; custom or single-purpose equipment is harder at any score.
The warning is the term. A 620 approval sometimes arrives stretched to 72 months to make the payment look small, and still paying on a tractor two years after you have stopped driving it is how a fixable credit problem becomes a permanent one. Match the term to how long the asset actually earns, then negotiate the rate.
Equipment Financing is the obvious route here, and if the trucks are part of a broader replacement plan, SBA Loans can cover a fleet at a longer term once the score recovers. Call the desk with the year, make, and mileage before you apply anywhere — the equipment sheet decides more of this than the score does.
Is your situation the same as this one?
It rarely is exactly. Fifteen minutes with the desk gets you this answer rebuilt around your numbers — no fee, no obligation.
Have a different question? Ask the desk and we'll call you back with an answer.