You’ve had this conversation before… A client calls about a commercial vehicle – a ute for site work, a van for a delivery contract, a truck to start their business.
You ask the right questions and the answers all make sense. They know the industry. They’ve got work lined up. The vehicle is what gets them earning.
Then you pull up the file and the picture changes.
The ABN is weeks old. Or the credit history has a mark from a few years back. Or there are no financials because the business hasn’t existed long enough to produce them.
You run through your lender options and none of them fit because your client’s paperwork doesn’t tell the story lenders want to hear.
So the conversation ends. The client walks away without the vehicle, you lose the deal, and a business that was ready to grow stays where it is.
That happens more often than it should.
What the file doesn't say
Lender criteria exist for good reasons. Credit history, trading time, financial statements… They tell you something about a business. But they only tell you what has already happened – not what the future potential looks like.
They can’t tell you that a plumber has secured a subcontract worth six months of work. Or that a courier has been offered a contracted delivery run starting next Monday.
They also can’t tell you that someone who spent seven years working for a civil contractor is leaving employment to start their own operation – with the clients, the skills, and the industry contacts to make it work.
That kind of information doesn’t sit in a credit file. It comes out in conversation. And for many of the clients you’re seeing, that conversation is where the picture of the business takes shape.
How ARG looks at it
ARG assesses on future earning potential. Yes, we look at credit history – we ask what happened, and we want to understand the circumstances – but one period of difficulty doesn’t close the door.
What we want to understand is whether this person can earn with this vehicle in front of them.
That means asking things like:
- What work is available or already secured?
- What experience does the client bring?
- How does the vehicle fit into the way the business operates?
- And do the expected earnings support the rental?
We don’t require bank statements, BAS, or profit and loss statements. For someone at the start of a business who doesn’t have those documents yet, that matters.
But low-doc doesn’t mean no assessment. We still need to understand the client, their circumstances, their business activity, and how the asset connects to their ability to earn.
The vehicle is the centre of it
ARG exists to put people into commercial vehicles – utes, vans, small trucks – so they can work. And at the heart of every assessment is the question: what does this vehicle allow the business to do?
A tradie needs a ute to get to site. A courier needs a van to run a delivery contract. An operator needs a truck to move from employment into subcontracting
When the vehicle and the earning opportunity are connected, the commercial logic is simple. That’s the kind of scenario we want to hear about.
You don't need to solve the deal first
One thing we see regularly is brokers trying to work out whether a client fits ARG before sending the scenario across. You don’t need to.
If your client needs a commercial vehicle, has work available, and something about their circumstances makes lender criteria difficult, that’s enough to start a conversation with us.
Your ARG BDM can work through the details with you, and that first call often takes a few minutes.
You can also use the ARG Partner Portal to enter vehicle details, purchase price and proposed Mandatory First Payment to generate an indicative weekly rental – before lodging anything or triggering a credit enquiry.
It lets you test the numbers without committing to a formal process.
What Rent To Buy looks like
Rent To Buy is a commercial rental agreement, not a loan. And because of this, the structure may be different from what your client expects.
ARG owns the vehicle and the client rents it on a five-year term with fixed weekly payments. From the twelve-month mark, the client has pre-agreed options to purchase the vehicle – at 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months.
There’s no forced buyout, and the client may also return the vehicle at the end of the five-year term in line with the agreement.
The deal you almost didn't send
The next file that looks difficult on paper might be a Rent To Buy deal.
A new ABN with work already lined up. A client rebuilding after a credit issue who has the skills and the contracts to earn. A visa holder with the right to work and an industry behind them.
These clients aren’t broke, they’re just blocked by criteria designed for a different type of business. You don’t need to solve their file. You just need to recognise the conversation and send it across.
Have a commercial vehicle scenario you’re not sure about?
Talk to your ARG BDM before you move on: [email protected]
