Mini excavator financing

A mini excavator is the most-sold piece of construction equipment in the country, because a landscaper, a plumber, a fence company and a homeowner-turned-contractor all have a use for a machine that fits through a gate. iFinancial Group finances them new or used, with the trailer and attachments 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

A 1 to 2 ton machine, the one that fits through a backyard gate, typically lists new from about $30,000 to $50,000. The 3 to 4 ton class, the most common size, runs roughly $50,000 to $80,000. A 5 to 8 ton machine runs $80,000 to $130,000. Zero tail swing, a cab with air, a hydraulic thumb and an angle blade each add to the number.

Those are market ranges. The maker, the hours and the configuration move them.

What goes on the same approval

The machine, the buckets, the thumb, the quick coupler, an auger or a hammer, and the trailer that moves it all go on one approval. The trailer matters: a mini excavator without a trailer is a machine that lives on one job, and a 10,000 to 14,000 pound equipment trailer runs $8,000 to $15,000. On many deals the truck that tows it can be part of the package too.

Freight and an extended warranty 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

Landscapers and hardscape installers, plumbers running sewer and water lines, fence and deck builders, pool contractors, tree services and general contractors who were renting one every week. The common story is a contractor who adds up a year of rental invoices and finds he's paid for the machine twice. Mini excavators also rent out well; a lot of owners rent theirs to other contractors on the weeks it's idle.

Where the work is seasonal, seasonal payments follow it.

New or used

Used 3 to 4 ton machines three to six years old typically trade from about $25,000 to $50,000. Rental fleets cycle mini excavators on a schedule, so there's a steady used supply through dealers and auctions, and private sales between contractors are common. All three are financeable here.

On a used mini, the tracks, the pins and bushings on the boom and the hours get the inspection. On the financing side it's the invoice or bill of sale, the serial number, and proof of what was paid. There's no title; the lender's claim is a UCC filing against the serial number.

The first-machine question

Most mini excavators are the first piece of equipment a business owns, and a lot of those businesses are young. Being new is not a decline here on its own. It starts with the one-page application, and a newer business will typically need a little more up front: the owner's background in the trade, and the work the machine is bought to do.

Mini excavators hold their value well and resell easily, which is part of why they're an easier first machine to finance than most.

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: 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.