Excavator financing

An excavator is the machine a site work contractor builds the fleet around, and the one most often bought used because the used market is so deep. iFinancial Group finances excavators new, used or from an auction, with the buckets, thumb and machine control on the same approval, on a one-page application. No tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply, no minimum and up to $1,000,000.

Who you're dealing with

iFinancial Group has funded equipment since 1997, roughly $600 million of it, in all 50 states. We're a direct lender, not a broker, so the file is underwritten in house and not shopped around. Our customers have ranged from independent manufacturers to global technology companies. We've barely advertised in almost three decades. The business came from repeat customers, referrals, and vendors sending us their customers.

What you're financing

Excavators are sized by operating weight. A 14 to 16 ton machine, the size a utility or residential contractor runs, typically lists new from about $150,000 to $230,000. The 20 to 25 ton class, the standard site work machine, runs roughly $200,000 to $350,000. A 30 to 36 ton machine runs $350,000 to $550,000, and 45 to 50 ton mass excavation machines run $550,000 and up. Reduced tail swing and long reach configurations add to the number.

Those are market ranges. The maker, the model year, the hours and the options move them, and a dealer's demo machine with a few hundred hours sits between new and used.

What goes on the same approval

The machine, the buckets, the hydraulic thumb, the quick coupler, a hammer or a shear, and the grade control system all go on one approval. Machine control is the big one: a 3D grade control system on a 20 ton excavator can run $40,000 to $80,000 installed, and it's financed with the machine it's mounted on, from the same dealer or a different one.

Freight, assembly of a long reach boom, an extended warranty and operator training are soft costs and can ride on the same deal, on many deals up to 30% of the total.

Who buys them and how the payment gets covered

Site work and excavation contractors, utility contractors, demolition companies, land clearing operations and owner-operators who run a single machine for general contractors by the hour. Most excavator work is billed by the hour or by the job, and a 20 ton machine on a steady site is one of the better earners per dollar in construction.

Dirt work stops when the ground freezes. Where the year is uneven, seasonal payments follow the working months, and a machine delivered in the off season can defer its first payment up to 90 days.

New or used

A 20 ton excavator five to eight years old with 3,000 to 6,000 hours typically trades from about $90,000 to $180,000. Mini and mid-size machines run $40,000 to $120,000 used. Dealers, the large equipment auctions and private sellers all move excavators in volume, and all three are financeable here.

On a used excavator, the undercarriage, the slew ring, the hydraulic cylinders and the service history matter as much as the hours. On the financing side it's the invoice or bill of sale, the serial number, a lien search on a private sale, and proof of what was paid. There's no title; the lender's claim is a UCC filing against the serial number, released at the last payment.

What slows an excavator deal down

Not much on a dealer machine; those can fund inside a week once the terms are signed. Auction purchases are about timing: payment is due within days of the sale, so the approval needs to be in hand before you bid. An approval here holds up to 60 days.

The other thing is the first machine. A lot of excavators are bought by an operator leaving a contractor to go out on his own, with one signed job. It starts with the one-page application, and a newer business will typically need a little more up front, usually that contract.

How it works with iFinancial Group

It's the same one-page application whether the equipment is small or the deal runs to $1,000,000: no tax returns and no audited financial statements to apply, no minimum and up to $1,000,000. Decisions typically come back within 24 hours, and an approval holds up to 60 days. New and used equipment, terms up to 84 months, and soft costs up to 30% so freight, setup and training can go in the same deal. Payment structures beyond level payments are there when the equipment earns unevenly. We've been doing this since 1997, in all 50 states.

Other construction equipment: mini excavator, skid steer, compact track loader, wheel loader, dozer, backhoe loader, motor grader, telehandler, compactor, asphalt paver, aerial lift. Or start with construction equipment financing.