Financing by Vehicle Type for Auto Dealers

Pick the guide below that matches your situation and get straight to the financing path that fits, without sorting through the wrong product first. If the spend is bigger than the vehicle itself, depot inventory financing is the cleanest stock path, while auto showroom upgrade financing fits the buildout side of the business.

Key differences

If you are comparing dealership equipment financing options, the vehicle type changes more than the collateral. New units tend to be cleaner to underwrite, used units carry more recon and title friction, and commercial units usually need more term and more money because the asset is tied to work use, not retail turnover. That is why auto dealer loan rates can look close at the headline level but diverge once the lender prices in sell-through speed, condition, and how easy the unit is to resell if the deal goes sideways.

Situation	Best fit	Typical lane	What matters most
New vehicles	Fresh inventory, demos, stock replenishment	new vehicle financing or depot inventory financing	Fast approval, clean title flow, low carry cost
Used vehicles	Trade-ins, reconditioned units, mixed-age inventory	used vehicle financing	Reconditioning budget, mileage, title timing, margin cushion
Commercial vehicles	Service vans, trucks, shuttles, fleet replacements	commercial vehicle financing or fleet upgrade financing	Asset life, upfit cost, higher ticket size, business use case

As of July 2026, through our funding partner, equipment financing runs from $10K-$5M at 8%-25% APR, with funding in 3-7 days and a 580 minimum credit score. At 650+ credit, zero down may be available. That is usually the most direct lane for auto dealership asset finance when the need is tied to a specific unit, lift, rack, service bay tool, or other piece of equipment that can stand on its own collateral. If the request is broader than one asset, the rate may be less important than whether the debt matches the useful life of the purchase.

If you need a dealership working capital loan instead of asset-specific paper, the structure changes. Business term loans run $25K-$1M+ over 1-5 years, with pricing in the high single digits to low teens APR for strong files and 18%-35% APR for thinner files; the floor is 600 FICO and 12 months in business. That works when the goal is a second location, hiring, marketing, or equipment under $100K. A business line of credit is smaller, at $10K-$250K, but it is built for repeated short-cycle draws rather than one large purchase. Our partner's line of credit usually sets up in 1-3 days, allows same-day draws, requires 600 FICO, 6 months in business, and $10K+ monthly revenue, with Prime + 3% to mid-20s APR plus a 1%-3% draw fee. That makes it useful for payroll timing, supplier discounts, recon, and emergency repairs, but expensive if you hold the balance too long.

SBA 7(a) is the slower lane, but it can be the cheapest long-horizon option when the dealership can wait and qualifies cleanly. As of 2026, it runs from $50K-$5M+ with 10-25 year terms, 640 FICO, 24 months in business, $100K+ annual revenue, and 30-90 day funding. That profile makes sense for acquisitions, expansion, or refinancing expensive short-term debt, not for a unit that needs to be bought by Friday. If the spend is tied to qualifying equipment, Section 179 still matters: the 2026 deduction limit is $1,220,000, and qualifying financed equipment can still be eligible for Section 179 expensing. For a used-unit strategy that depends on in-house repayment, the operating model behind BHPH dealer financing for Fontana dealers is a useful reminder that payment cadence matters as much as purchase price.

The practical split is simple. New inventory is usually about speed and carrying cost. Used inventory is about margin, recon, and turn discipline. Commercial vehicles are about matching the loan term to the work life of the asset. Use the matching guide below once you know which of those jobs you are trying to fund, and use business financing overview when you need the broader map before you choose a lane.