No Credit Check Semi Truck Financing: Your Best Options
No Credit Check Semi Truck Financing: What You Need to Know
If you’re looking for a business loan to finance the purchase of a semi truck for your business but you don’t have the strongest credit, you may be searching for financing that doesn’t require a credit check as part of the application process.
Though no credit check semi truck financing isn’t impossible to find, it’s also not easy to come by—and most of the time, if you do find it, this type of loan will be very expensive.
If you’re working with good business credit, solid annual revenue, or a pre-existing relationship with a semi truck financing lender, though, you could leverage these credentials for more affordable financing.
We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to walk you through everything you need to know about your no credit check semi truck financing options, which include
The Top Semi Truck Financing Providers
If you’re looking for no credit check semi truck financing, there are two options worth your consideration. We’ll evaluate both of them, then provide you with a few companies that can facilitate each type of financing.
Semi Truck Lease
Your only true option for semi truck financing without a credit check requirement is to lease your vehicle. With a lease, you’ll pay the financier (usually a semi truck company) for use of their vehicle over a specific period of time.
Once you find a carrier, you should run the numbers and make a budget to ensure the lease makes sense. Factor in costs like payment, fuel, maintenance, insurance, licensing and permits, as well as any down payments and mileage limits on the lease. Once you have your budget in place, you’ll be able to determine if leasing your semi truck will allow you to reach your income goals.
Equipment Financing
Another option is to fund your semi truck purchase through equipment financing lenders. Equipment financing lenders provide you with capital to purchase your semi truck in full and pay it off gradually.
With equipment financing, though, you’ll be able to secure your debt with the very piece of equipment that you use the proceeds to purchase. In other words, the semi truck itself will act as collateral for this business loan. As a result of the self-collateralizing nature of equipment financing, the lender takes on less risk than if they were to provide you with unsecured financing. This mitigated risk allows you to access lower interest rates, longer repayment terms, and larger loan amounts.
The big catch here is that you’ll be hard-pressed to find equipment financing with no credit check required. However, your credit typically doesn’t have to be great for this kind of financing, because of the security provided by the collateral.
1. Anderson Trucking Service
Your first option for no credit check semi truck financing is to lease your semi truck through Anderson Trucking Service (ATS). This trucking company provides a one-year lease-to-purchase program on select semi trucks in their fleet. In order to finance your truck through ATS, you must sign on as an owner-operator. With ATS, you can expect lease payments to start at $325 per week.
Plus, ATS does not require a credit check when you lease your semi truck.
2. Contract Transport Services
Next up is Contract Transport Services (CTS). CTS is another trucking company with a lease-to-own purchase program. With CTS, there is no money down, and no balloon payment at the end of your lease. There’s also a 30-day warranty on all leases, and fuel discounts and other incentives for the lessee.
Your weekly payment is quote-based, and there is no credit check required.
3. Perry Funding
Our third leasing option for no credit check semi truck financing is Perry Funding. With Perry Funding you can acquire up to $400,000 in financing over a 48-month repayment term for your semi truck lease. You also have the option to purchase your semi truck outright at the end of your lease, although you’ll have to put down a 25% to 50% down payment. There’s also a 10% to 15% security deposit on all leases.
4. Balboa Capital
Balboa Capital is an equipment financing lender that can provide loans of up to $1 million for business owners who need to access semi truck financing. Not to mention, their equipment financing can come with repayment terms as long as five years.
That said, Balboa Capital will definitely run a credit check during their underwriting process, so if you’re determined to only apply for no credit check semi financing, then you’ll have to look elsewhere. However, they’ll consider all credit scores and don’t list a minimum credit score requirement beyond a “decent” FICO score. However, to qualify for their financing you will need at least $100,000 in annual revenue and at least one year of business history. If your business financials are strong, though, Balboa may be more willing to work with lower credit scores.
To apply for Balboa Capital equipment financing, you’ll need the following materials:
5. Currency Capital
If you’re looking for semi truck financing over $1 million, then you should consider Currency Capital, another top equipment financing lender that offers equipment loans of up to $2 million. Currency can provide semi truck financing with repayment terms as long as seven years and interest rates as low as 6%.
You’ll need to be slightly more qualified to access Currency semi truck financing, though. And, again, you’ll need to be willing to undergo a personal credit check—Currency Capital prefers you to have a FICO score of at least 620 to be eligible for equipment financing form them; however, their website says they have loan options for all credit profiles.
To apply for Currency Capital equipment financing over $150,000, you’ll need the following materials:
- An equipment quote
- Two years of business tax returns
- Three months of bank statements
- An exact equipment quote
- Profit and loss statements
- Balance sheet
- Debt schedule
Why Do Most Lenders Require a Credit Check?
Aside from leases, any kind of business funding with no credit check is hard to come by—and generally speaking, you should be wary of loans that don’t require a credit check.
Though some trustworthy revenue-based business lenders might forgo a credit check in favor of strong business bank statements, most lenders that promise no credit checks are out to stick desperate business owners with predatory loan rates simply because the borrowers have no other option.
Unfortunately, no credit check semi truck financing isn’t any different. If you’re determined to find semi truck financing with no credit check requirement, you’ll need to be very careful who you end up working with. If a semi truck financing provider promises no credit check funding, read up on them and pore over your loan agreement before taking on debt with them.
Long story short, lenders need to make sure they’re not taking on too much risk by lending to you. That’s why most will insist upon a credit check—it will help them get an idea of how trustworthy you are as a borrower. Unless you’re compensating for the lack of credit check with other credentials—more on this later—very few trustworthy lenders will promise affordable financing without a credit requirement.
Reasons You May Be Avoiding a Credit Check
You’ll notice that none of our top equipment financing lenders offer no credit check semi truck financing. And that’s because it’s pretty much impossible to find affordable financing without a credit check requirement.
Because of this, you’ll likely need to come up with a Plan B. To decide where to go from here, we suggest you pinpoint why you began your search specifically for no credit check semi truck financing in the first place. Chances are, your reasoning falls into one of two categories: You have less-than-stellar personal credit or you want to avoid dinging your credit score with a hard credit inquiry.
You’re Working With Challenged Personal Credit
If you’re looking for no credit check semi truck financing because you’re worried your personal credit score might disqualify you, be sure to check in with each individual lender’s minimum personal credit score requirement—you might be surprised what your credit qualifies you for. Also be sure to consider the equipment you’re looking to finance. Oftentimes, semi trucks with lower year and mileage limitations will have higher approval odds, because there is less risk involved.
Because semi truck financing is a form of self-secured debt, lenders will be taking on less risk by lending to you. As a result, semi truck financing lenders will be more willing to work with less-qualified borrowers, so challenged personal credit might not be as debilitating as you’d assume.
You’re Protective of Your Credit Score
On the other hand, you might be worried about taking a hit to your credit score because of a hard credit inquiry from a financing provider. This is a valid concern, but be sure to remember that a single hard credit inquiry will only make your credit score drop around five points for just about six months.
Though hard credit pulls are certainly worth keeping an eye out for if you’re applying to multiple lenders, one hard credit pull has only a mild impact on your credit score. Plus, if you do some research, you might be able to find a financing company that only performs soft credit pulls, which won’t affect your credit at all.
And if you can’t find semi truck financing lenders that don’t do soft credit pulls, taking a five-point hit to your credit score (compared to paying way more in interest for financing that doesn’t require a credit check) will almost always be worth it.
Tips Before Applying for Semi Truck Financing
There are a few things you can do to help yourself out when looking for semi truck financing. Let’s explore some steps to take before applying for semi truck financing.
Improve Your Credit Score
Perhaps you’ve checked and made sure that your personal credit disqualifies you from the financing you need, and that’s why you’ve started your search for no credit check semi truck financing.
If this is the case, you should seriously consider taking some time to build your personal credit. Even if you do manage to find financing without a credit check, it’s almost guaranteed to be pricey. Putting a bit of thought and effort into building your credit will help you to qualify for more affordable financing in the future.
The most straightforward way to do this? Spending strategically and responsibly with a business credit card.
Here are some options to consider.
The Capital One Secured Mastercard
If you’re working with a personal credit score below 580, then your best option for building credit will be the Capital One Secured Mastercard. With the Secured Mastercard, you’ll need to put down a security deposit for your credit line—that’s what makes it secured. With this card, however, you’ll be able to put down a deposit of as little as 25% of your credit line. You’ll also be able to pay your deposit in installments, as long as it’s paid in full within 80 days of opening your account.
Meanwhile, to build credit with other secured cards, you’ll have to put down at least 90% of your credit limit, all at once. Plus, most other secured cards will charge you an annual fee, but the Capital One Secured Mastercard is completely fee-free.
With a few months of careful spending and repayment, you’ll be able to improve your personal credit and access more affordable business loan options.
The Capital One Spark Classic
Alternatively, if you’re working with personal credit of 580 or above, you’ll be able to access unsecured credit with the Capital One Spark Classic. In fact, the Spark Classic is one of the only unsecured business credit cards available to business owners with average credit. As you spend with this card, you’ll also earn 1% cash back. But, most importantly for business owners hoping to work their way up to better financing options, you’ll be able to build both personal and business credit by spending responsibly with the Spark Classic.
Repair Your Credit
Another thing you can do to qualify for better semi truck financing is to repair your credit. This means paying down your debts and catching up on any delinquencies you owe. You can also work with a credit repair service. These are businesses that will review your credit report for errors and contact creditors, debt collectors, and credit bureaus to have the errors removed from your report. Some credit repair services will also negotiate with creditors to settle or remove delinquent accounts and recommend credit management tips.
If this is a route you want to go, here are some credit repair services to consider working with:
Key Credit Repair
For a flat monthly fee, Key Credit Repair will remove an unlimited number of negative items from your credit report with each of the three credit bureaus. They offer a free initial consultation, where they’ll review your credit report to see if you’re a good candidate.
Key Credit Repair will negotiate with creditors on your behalf and suggest positive credit building strategies that you can do on your own over the long-term to keep your credit in good shape.
The Credit People
If you need long-term help repairing your credit, consider The Credit People. Like Key Credit Repair, The Credit People will work to remove all types of negative items from your credit report, from late payments to bankruptcies. In addition to disputing any errors on your report, The Credit People will also suggest positive credit-building strategies.
With The Credit people, you can get a six-month plan for a flat $419 fee.
Leverage Other Credentials
If you’re determined to find no credit check semi truck financing—for whatever reason—you’ll increase your chances of being approved if your business has other credentials to leverage. As a reminder, financing providers will typically want to check your credit to determine how much of a risk lending to you would be. If they’re not able to check your credit, then how will they decide whether you’re a responsible borrower?
If you’re not willing to go through a credit check for semi truck financing, you’ll need to find leverage with other business credentials that you might be able to tout.
Here are a few other qualifications you could use to leverage your way into a loan without a credit check:
Solid Business Credit History
If you’ve built up a positive business credit history by taking on and repaying business debt responsibly, then you could leverage your business credit score. Though you might want semi truck financing with no credit check at all, some lenders are willing to replace a personal credit check with a business credit check if your business credit history is robust enough.
High Annual Revenue
Additionally, if your business has an extremely high revenue, then some financing providers might be willing to base your application solely on your cash flow and bank statements. And while most lenders will want a credit check and financial statements, some might be willing to forgo the credit check if your statements indicate an extreme likelihood that you can afford the funding you’re applying for.
Previous History With Lender
Perhaps your best leverage for accessing financing without a credit check is having a previous relationship with the lender. If you’ve borrowed from a given equipment financing lender before—and you’ve repaid your debt on time and in full—then they’re more likely to trust you to do the same with subsequent funding.
If you’ve already worked with a lender and had a positive experience, check to see if they’d be willing to finance you again, without the credit check.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line
Your only real option for semi truck financing with no credit check required is to lease your vehicle. If that’s not right for you, then you should look into an equipment financing loan. While this financing will look at your credit, lower scores will likely be considered because this self-secured funding option is less risky for lenders by nature.
To qualify for a good equipment financing loan, take steps to improve your credit. You could also leverage other credentials, such as a solid business credit history or high annual revenue, to secure a loan with favorable terms.
While you may be eager to find funding without bringing your credit into the mix, this type of funding is both hard to find and incredibly expensive. Your best bet is to spend some time building up your credit score before applying for financing. This way, you can get the best rates and terms—costing your business less in the long run.
