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Help customers finance new and used dry van trailers. Learn how dealers can offer payment options, prepare applications and coordinate funding with Mehmi.
Your customer has found the right dry van. The specifications fit their operation, the condition looks good, and the purchase makes business sense.
Then comes the question that can stall the sale:
“Can I finance it instead of paying the full amount upfront?”
Your dealership should have a clear next step ready.
Offering dry van trailer financing means introducing a financing option while the customer is still reviewing your inventory and quote. The goal is not to pressure a buyer into borrowing. It is to help them evaluate the trailer’s purchase price, payment structure and effect on operating cash together.
Quick Answer: Dry van trailer dealers can offer customer financing through a third-party lender, leasing company or financing brokerage. The dealer supplies the trailer and sales information, while the financing provider evaluates the application and sets the terms. This lets eligible customers spread purchase costs over time without the dealership funding the loan itself. (BDC.ca)
Financing gives buyers another way to approach the purchase without making a discount your only response to an upfront-cash objection.
Consider a hypothetical carrier purchasing three trailers for CAD $50,000 each. A CAD $150,000 cash purchase and a financed acquisition create different cash-flow obligations, even though the equipment is identical.
The buyer needs to evaluate both the cash retained at closing and the payments added afterward. Financing can preserve liquidity, but it also adds borrowing costs and repayment obligations.
BDC’s equipment-financing guidance cautions that paying for long-lived equipment entirely from everyday operating cash can tie up money needed elsewhere in the business. (BDC.ca)
Canadian research provides useful context. Statistics Canada’s 2023 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, released in February 2025, found that 49.3% of SMEs requested external financing. It also found that 78.9% identified rising input costs as an obstacle to growth. These figures describe Canadian SMEs broadly, not dry van buyers or financing-program conversion rates. (Statistics Canada)
For your sales team, the practical lesson is straightforward: make financing part of the purchase discussion, rather than presenting it only after negotiations have broken down.
The Mehmi vendor financing program provides a way to introduce that option through your website, equipment listings and sales quotes.
Separate the trailer sale from the credit transaction.
Your dealership identifies the equipment, agrees on the selling price and provides accurate transaction information. The financing source evaluates the application, establishes the approved structure and handles the credit agreement.
Mehmi Financial Group acts as a commercial financing brokerage and intermediary, not a direct lender. Independent financing providers make the final credit and funding decisions. (Mehmi Group)
Before enrolling in any dealer program, review the agreement rather than relying on the phrase “third-party financing.” Confirm who handles customer communication, which documents your team supplies, how payment is released, and whether any recourse, repurchase or other dealer obligations apply.
A useful division of responsibilities is:
Your team explains the trailer. The financing provider explains the credit offer. Both coordinate the closing.
That keeps salespeople from promising terms they do not control while giving the buyer a clear path forward.
New and used dry vans may qualify, but eligibility depends on the actual trailer, customer and financing source.
Mehmi’s dry van trailer financing and leasing page identifies asset condition, seller ownership records, business use and repayment capacity as important considerations. Older units may require additional inspection or valuation, and the proposed term needs to fit their remaining useful life. (Mehmi Group)
Build your inventory-to-financing handoff around the exact unit, not a generic description such as “used 53-foot trailer.”
A useful dealer quote should identify:
This is a recommended preparation checklist, not a promise that every financing source will request identical documents.
For transactions that also involve tractors or other commercial equipment, use a coordinated truck and trailer financing request rather than treating related purchases as unrelated commitments.
A useful used-trailer package explains condition, not just model year.
As a dealer, ask your service team to document the cargo floor, roof, doors and seals, frame and crossmembers, landing gear, suspension, tires, brakes and lighting. Record known damage and completed repairs instead of relying entirely on exterior photographs.
Manufacturer guidance reinforces the importance of wear items. Great Dane identifies brake components, lighting, suspension parts, landing gear and tires among the trailer components most commonly replaced through normal use. It recommends regular inspections and timely replacement to help avoid downtime. (Great Dane)
Consider two hypothetical trailers advertised at CAD $35,000.
One is ready for dependable service. The other needs CAD $7,000 of immediate repairs.
The second trailer does not create the same acquisition budget simply because the advertised prices match. Your customer should compare the cost of placing each unit into service, not just the amount printed on the listing.
Also confirm which repairs, accessories or delivery expenses the financing source will accept before including them in a payment estimate.
A well-documented used trailer is easier to evaluate than an unexplained bargain.
Ask what the trailer will do before asking how low the payment needs to be.
This conversation helps your team describe the sale accurately without trying to act as an underwriter.
Ask which unit is being replaced and why. The answer might involve recurring repairs, loading requirements or a planned fleet refresh.
A useful explanation would be:
“The customer is replacing an older trailer used on an existing account. The replacement addresses documented floor and door repairs.”
That is more informative than “customer wants another trailer.”
Ask where the trailer will be assigned and what operating need it serves.
Do not automatically assume that every additional trailer needs another tractor. Instead, have the buyer explain its intended use and how it fits the existing fleet.
Ask the customer to compare the rental expense being eliminated with the new financing payment and ownership expenses.
A fair comparison should identify any maintenance or service costs currently included in the rental that the buyer would assume after purchasing.
These questions follow a broader financing principle: the application should explain how the equipment supports sales, profitability or efficiency. BDC specifically identifies that explanation as part of an equipment-loan submission. (BDC.ca)
Introduce it alongside the equipment quote, before making assumptions about the customer’s credit or available cash.
Use a neutral question:
“Are you planning to pay cash, use your existing finance provider, or compare a financing option through our dealership?”
When the customer expresses interest, follow with:
“We can introduce you to Mehmi Financial Group for a financing review. The approved payment, contribution and terms depend on your business, the trailer and the financing provider.”
This gives the buyer a choice without suggesting that approval is automatic.
Keep the cash price visible. Financing should not make the selling price harder to understand.
For staff training, use a shared reference such as Mehmi’s dealer financing FAQ for sales and service teams, then establish your dealership’s own rules for quoting, handoffs and follow-up.
For payment advertising, a conservative starting point is:
Commercial financing available for qualified buyers. Request options for this trailer. Approval and final terms are subject to the financing provider’s requirements.
Avoid publishing an unexplained monthly payment that omits the assumed contribution, term or end-of-term amount.
Keep the dealer’s equipment package separate from the customer’s confidential financial information.
The financing provider may request business details, financial statements, projections and other information appropriate to the application. BDC’s equipment-loan guidance confirms that documentation varies with the applicant’s circumstances. (BDC.ca)
Your salesperson does not need to collect every document personally. Provide the approved application route and let the financing team specify what is required.
Mehmi’s equipment financing documents guide can help Canadian customers prepare for that discussion.
As an operating practice, avoid collecting sensitive identification or financial documents through personal text-message accounts. Explain who will receive the information and why.
For Canadian transactions, where the applicable privacy legislation requires consent, it must be meaningful. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s guidance emphasizes explaining what personal information is collected, how it will be used and the parties with whom it will be shared. (Office of the Privacy Commissioner)
A payment example is useful only when its assumptions and total cost are visible.
Consider this hypothetical Canadian transaction:
Using a standard fully amortizing loan calculation, the payment would be approximately CAD $1,001 per month.
Total scheduled loan payments would be approximately CAD $60,060, including CAD $15,060 of interest. Adding the initial CAD $5,000 contribution produces approximately CAD $65,060 in total cash outlay under these assumptions.
This illustration excludes taxes, documentation charges, registration, delivery, insurance, maintenance and other possible costs. It is not a current rate quote, approval or representation that a 10% contribution is available to every customer.
The term also changes the trade-off. With the same CAD $45,000 principal and assumed rate over 48 months, the payment would be approximately CAD $1,185, with approximately CAD $11,881 of interest.
The shorter term raises the monthly commitment but reduces total interest in this example.
Use the equipment financing calculator to explore scenarios, then obtain a written offer for the actual customer and trailer.
The sales objective is a payment the buyer understands, not simply the smallest number you can display.
Give customers access to suitable structures rather than declaring one option best for every purchase.
An equipment loan may fit a buyer focused on ownership. A lease requires particular attention to the ownership arrangement, purchase option, return conditions and any amount payable at maturity.
BDC recommends comparing equipment options against business goals, available cash, maintenance responsibilities and the full acquisition cost, including end-of-lease purchase costs where applicable. (BDC.ca)
A practical comparison should show the upfront cash requirement, payment amount and frequency, number of payments, fees, final obligation and early-exit terms.
For example, a lease with a lower monthly payment is not necessarily less expensive than a fully amortizing loan if a substantial purchase amount remains at the end.
Canadian buyers can use Mehmi’s loan-versus-lease quote comparison guide to organize that review.
Do not present a lease as automatically tax-deductible, maintenance-inclusive or equivalent to a short-term rental. Have the customer’s accountant review the actual structure.
Submit the complete fleet purchase and make every unit traceable.
For a hypothetical six-trailer order, prepare a schedule showing each VIN, year, make, model, unit price, condition and expected delivery date. Reconcile that schedule to the quotation total.
Then ask the customer to explain the six-unit requirement as one operating decision.
A useful submission summary might read:
“Four trailers replace existing units, and two support an identified customer requirement. The proposed delivery schedule is three units this month and three next month.”
This is a recommended format, not an assurance of approval.
Resolve staged deliveries early. Ask whether the financing source can accommodate them, when each payment obligation begins and what documentation is required for each release.
Also establish a substitution rule. When a listed trailer sells to another buyer, do not quietly replace its VIN on the final invoice. Send the revised equipment details back for confirmation before preparing closing documents.
A fleet package should be easy to reconcile from quotation through delivery.
Treat approval, documentation, delivery authorization and payment as separate milestones.
In a typical third-party equipment-financing transaction, the lender or lessor pays the dealer once the applicable funding requirements are met. The exact sequence can depend on delivery, customer acceptance and the agreed transaction structure. The dealer does not normally wait to collect the buyer’s installments over the financing term. (Mehmi Group)
Before arranging pickup, assign one person to confirm the outstanding conditions and written release instructions.
Check that the final invoice identifies the approved trailer, deposits and trade-ins reconcile, and any required insurance, ownership, payment and acceptance documentation is complete.
Do not rely solely on a salesperson hearing “approved.” Equally, do not assume every financing source pays before delivery. Follow the documented closing sequence, and never ask a customer to certify delivery or acceptance before it has actually occurred.
Mehmi’s guide to how vendors get paid when customers finance explains the distinction between the customer’s payment agreement and the dealer’s payout process.
Mehmi connects the customer financing process with the way your dealership already sells equipment.
Its published vendor program includes branded applications for websites and sales quotes, lender matching, specialist support, application tracking and comparisons of available financing approvals. The program also states that there are no setup or membership fees. That does not mean the customer’s financing is interest-free or has no transaction charges; written offers and agreements govern. (Mehmi Group)
For a dry van dealer, the practical starting point is a focused onboarding discussion about the trailers you sell, typical purchase amounts, buyer locations and your current sales process.
A dealer-branded financing experience may be useful when financing inquiries regularly originate from inventory pages. A simpler referral process may be sufficient when requests are less frequent.
Confirm geographic coverage during onboarding. Mehmi’s services are subject to jurisdiction and product restrictions; website access does not mean every financing service is available everywhere. (Mehmi Group)
Measure completed sales and the quality of the process, not applications alone.
Start with three practical measures: how many interested buyers complete an application, how many approved transactions reach funding, and how long completed files take to move from approval to dealer payout.
Record why transactions stop.
A customer declining the payment calls for a different response from a customer abandoning an unclear application. An unresolved ownership issue requires different work from an unavailable trailer.
Review gross profit as well as sales volume. A program is not automatically successful because more units move if the dealership repeatedly discounts them to overcome unsuitable financing terms.
Set your own baseline before making claims about conversion improvements.
Yes. Equipment sellers without an in-house finance division can work with financial institutions or other appropriate financing partners to help customers access loans or leases. The dealer should establish its responsibilities through the applicable program agreement. (BDC.ca)
There is no single percentage suitable for every quotation. BDC’s equipment-loan guidance, for example, states that contribution requirements depend on the financing structure and business risk profile. Obtain the actual requirement rather than advertising a universal amount. (BDC.ca)
Mehmi’s equipment financing down-payment guide provides additional Canadian context.
They may be considered, but age alone does not establish eligibility. Condition, value, ownership records and remaining useful life matter. Ask for a review of the specific unit before representing it as financeable. (Mehmi Group)
A second review may identify another potential financing source, but it is not a guaranteed approval. Have the customer disclose the reason for the decline and any relevant changes. Mehmi cannot require an independent financing provider to approve or fund an application. (Mehmi Group)
Not without comparing the full transaction. Review upfront cash, total scheduled payments, fees, purchase options and other end-of-term obligations. The customer’s intended ownership period and maintenance responsibilities also belong in the comparison. (BDC.ca)
Do not assume so. Identify the borrower’s location, seller location, equipment location and currency at the outset. Mehmi reviews requests for Canada and eligible U.S. markets, but cross-border purchases require specific confirmation rather than relying on a domestic approval. (Mehmi Group)
Start with one well-defined process: an accurate trailer quote, a clear financing introduction and a named person responsible for the closing handoff.
Then make that process consistent across your sales team.
When speaking with Mehmi, have your typical transaction size, new-versus-used inventory mix, customer locations and a sample trailer quote ready.
Call Mehmi Financial Group at 833-863-4644 or contact the team to discuss financing for your dry van trailer customers. (Mehmi Group)
Financing is subject to credit approval, equipment eligibility, geographic availability and the financing provider’s final terms and conditions.
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