Excavator finance, sized to the machine and the work

Size drives everything: price, day rate, transport requirements and the shape of the resale market. A 1.7-to-3-tonne mini is a modest purchase with an extremely liquid second-hand market, so lenders treat it almost like a vehicle. Five-to-eight-tonne midis are the civil subcontractor's staple — strong demand, strong resale, straightforward finance. From thirteen tonnes upward the values climb steeply, buyer pools thin out, and lenders lean harder on your work pipeline and experience with machines of that class before signing off.

That gradient shapes sensible structuring. Smaller machines suit shorter terms because operators upgrade them frequently as the business grows. Larger machines justify longer terms — their working lives run well past a decade with proper maintenance — and can carry balloons where resale value is well established. If you're stepping up a class, say a five-tonne operator buying a thirteen-tonne machine, expect the assessment to probe whether the bigger day rates are contracted or hoped for. Contracted wins.

Attachments matter more on excavators than on almost any other asset. A tilting quick hitch, a set of buckets, an auger drive, a ripper and a hydraulic breaker can add a five-figure sum to the invoice — and bought together with the machine, they can generally be financed within the same facility. One facility means one repayment, one settlement and a machine that arrives on site actually ready to work, rather than waiting weeks while you fund the hitch out of cash flow.

Buying attachments later is a different conversation: small standalone amounts can be awkward to finance efficiently, so it pays to think the package through before settlement. List what the first year of work genuinely requires — not the full wishlist — and put that on the supplier quote. Lenders finance a documented package on one invoice far more cleanly than a machine plus a scatter of aftermarket receipts. Your specialist can sanity-check the package against what the work actually pays for.

Used excavators are a deep, healthy market, and lenders read them by hours and history rather than age alone. A 4,000-hour machine with stamped services and undercarriage records can present better than a 2,500-hour machine with nothing in writing. Recognised brands with strong parts networks hold value best, which flows through to the terms available. Keep every service invoice — on a used machine those documents function as evidence of value, not just maintenance history.

Provenance is the other half. Private-sale machines need proof of ownership, a clear PPSR check and usually an independent inspection; auction machines need the invoice and clear title, settled to the auction house's deadline. None of this is difficult, but it must be sequenced correctly, and that is precisely the legwork a specialist runs while you organise transport and insurance. A used machine bought well, documented well and financed over a term matching its remaining life is among the best value in earthmoving.

Plenty of excavator finance goes to one-person businesses buying their first machine after years operating someone else's. Lenders back that story regularly, but they want it evidenced: industry experience, any lined-up work or wet-hire arrangements, a deposit if available, and a realistic machine choice for the work in hand. A first-time buyer chasing a near-new twenty-tonner with no contracts reads very differently from one buying a tidy five-tonne machine with three months of booked work.

In general terms, GST-registered operators may be able to claim GST on the purchase, and ownership under a chattel mortgage may open depreciation options — both points to confirm with your accountant rather than assume. Structure the first machine conservatively: a term the quiet months can survive, a balloon only where resale comfortably supports it. The second machine is easier to finance than the first, so the real goal is a first deal that ages well.