Finance question
Can I get finance to buy a car rental business?
Often yes. The fleet funds most easily because each car has a VIN and an active resale market, so vehicle finance can sit on the cars themselves. The goodwill is harder, and lenders want your own money or property behind it. Live listings run from $260,000 for a 35-car subscription fleet to $1.6 million plus about 100 vehicles for a Brisbane car and ute business, subject to lender assessment.
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The short answer
A hire business is a fleet with a booking system attached
The asking price on a car rental business mixes two different things: vehicles you can value and resell, and goodwill you cannot. Lenders split them the same way. The fleet is secured on the vehicles, registered on the PPSR. The goodwill, meaning the bookings, brand, customer base and airport location, does not resell, so a lender wants security and your own cash behind that part of the deal.
Our car and campervan hire guide surveyed 11 live listings. A home-based Melbourne subscription business with 35 cars asks $260,000, a Brisbane car and ute hire business with about 100 vehicles asks $1.6 million plus the fleet at valuation, and a 180-van campervan operator asks $15 million. Fleet value per vehicle runs from about $5,100 for a low-value car fleet to $14,300 to over $32,500 for a working car and ute fleet, and about $55,600 for fitted-out campervans, by the guide's arithmetic. Revenue per vehicle runs from about $7,400 to $41,700, and revenue is not profit.
Lenders get more careful with fitted-out campervans and motorhomes, older or high-kilometre cars, fleets that are already financed (each vehicle's lender must be paid out or consent to the transfer) and buyers with no rental experience. Ventas is a broker across 40+ lenders, not a single bank, and there is no upfront fee to you. The lender pays us on settlement.
Do you qualify?
What a lender looks at on a car rental purchase.
A fleet schedule
VIN, registration, age, kilometres, owned or financed, and a valuation.
Utilisation by month
Booking data per vehicle, and where the bookings come from.
A committed lease
A secure site and term, plus franchisor consent if it is a franchise.
Cash or property
Savings or equity in a home or other property for the goodwill and fleet gap.
Why the fleet and goodwill are funded differently
Cars are security
Each vehicle has a registration and a used market a lender can value.
Balloons suit rotation
A fleet that turns over every couple of years often carries a balloon.
Property can fund goodwill
The lender relies on the property, not the business, for that layer.
A worked example
A buyer takes a 40-vehicle car and ute hire business. Goodwill is $400,000 and the fleet is valued at $720,000, or $18,000 a vehicle, so the price is $1,120,000. Add $20,000 of costs and $60,000 of working capital for $1,200,000 in total. Vehicle finance at about 80 per cent of the fleet is $576,000, an acquisition loan covers $200,000, and the buyer funds the other $424,000 from savings or property. Illustrative only.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I finance the whole rental fleet?
Often much of it. One Brisbane vendor says up to 100 per cent of the fleet may be financed. In practice vehicle finance is commonly around 80 per cent of the fleet valuation, with the rest from your own funds, subject to lender assessment.
What if the fleet already has finance on it?
Each vehicle's lender must be paid out or consent to the transfer. A PPSR search on every vehicle shows what is registered against it, so run one before you sign.
Does a franchise change the funding?
It adds a step. The franchisor usually has to approve the transfer, and you should ask for that in writing. A lender will also want the lease terms and the franchise agreement.
Is stamp duty payable on the vehicles?
It can be. Duty on vehicles and on the business varies by state, so have your accountant confirm how a fleet sold with a business is treated before you set your cash budget.