Quick answer
Automotive business loans secured on property are short-term private loans, by first mortgage, second mortgage or caveat, over a workshop, home or investment property. Mechanics, auto electricians, panel beaters, tyre shops and used-car dealers use them to buy their premises, fit out bays and diagnostic equipment, carry slow insurer payments, top up stock outside a floorplan, or clear ATO debt, repaying from trade, a refinance or a sale.
Key points
- Your workshop, home or investment property is the security, not cars or hoists
- Suits premises purchases, equipment upgrades and insurer payment gaps
- Works alongside a dealer's floorplan rather than replacing it
- $20k–$250k against property possible the same day once documents are in
- Amounts
- $20k – $5m
- Structures
- First, second or caveat
- Repayments
- Interest can be prepaid or capitalised
- Assessment
- No formal valuation required
Workshops and car yards carry a lot of money in things that never appear in a bank’s favourite column. A two-post hoist, a wheel aligner, a spray booth, a diagnostic scanner subscription, a yard full of trade-ins. Cash goes out for parts on the day of the job and comes back when the customer, the fleet manager or the insurer pays, which for panel shops can be weeks after the car leaves.
Many automotive owners have been in their trade for years and own property: a home, sometimes an investment unit, often the workshop itself after a decade of renting it. That equity can fund the business when the bank wants more paperwork than the timing allows.
What do automotive businesses borrow for?
| Business | Funding moment | Typical structure | Usual exit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanic or auto electrician | Buying the workshop they lease | Private first mortgage plus top-up security | Bank commercial loan |
| Panel beater | Insurer payments running behind wages and paint suppliers | Caveat | Insurer payments |
| Tyre and service centre | New bays, hoists, alignment and calibration equipment | Second mortgage or caveat | Trade and refinance |
| Used-car dealer | Stock outside the floorplan, or equity a floorplan provider wants | Second mortgage | Vehicle sales |
| Any | Buying an established workshop business | Second mortgage over a home | Bank business loan after trading |
| Any | ATO debt or a garnishee on the bank account | Caveat or second mortgage | Trade over the term, or refinance |
For premises, read buying your business premises; workshops in industrial estates are covered under industrial property loans. For an established business, see buying a business with property security.
Why can’t the workshop borrow against its equipment and cars?
It can, through other lenders, but with limits. Equipment finance works for standard, new items with a resale market. Specialised tooling, used gear bought at auction, and the building work around it (a new bay, a spray booth extraction system, an EV-safe isolation area) are harder to finance that way. Cars on a dealer’s yard are usually already subject to a floorplan provider’s security interest.
The PPSR notes that a $2 online search can show whether goods have a security interest registered against them, and that buying goods with money owing on them can lead to repossession even after you’ve paid. Dealers already live with that. A property-secured loan sidesteps the question: the security is real estate, and your equipment and stock stay free for the financiers who already rely on them.
Our equipment and machinery page compares equipment finance and property equity item by item.
What’s changed for automotive businesses in 2026?
- The write-off became permanent. In September 2026 the ATO confirmed the $20,000 instant asset write-off no longer has an end date: from 1 July 2026, small businesses below the $10 million aggregated turnover test can deduct each qualifying asset costing less than $20,000 in the year of purchase. Think scan tools, tyre changers and wheel balancers.
- Payday Super. Since July 2026 the super for each pay run has a seven-business-day deadline to arrive in the fund. Workshops with apprentices and several techs now carry that cost in every pay cycle instead of once a quarter.
- Luxury car tax threshold. The Australian Border Force lists the 2026–27 luxury car tax threshold at $80,809 (GST-inclusive), and $91,661 for fuel-efficient vehicles. Dealers trading prestige stock should check how that affects the cash tied up in each car with their accountant.
How it works for an automotive business
- Enquire in a minute: tell us the address, the balance of any loan on it, the sum you need and why. No credit check is run.
- Speak with a specialist about security, structure and the exit.
- Choose the structure: a caveat for a short insurer gap, a second mortgage for equipment or stock, a first mortgage for a premises purchase.
- Receive the Letter of Offer and have your solicitor check it.
- Settle with funds paid to the vendor, equipment supplier or your account.
Who it suits
- Workshop owners who’ve been offered the building and need to settle on the vendor’s terms.
- Panel shops with approved insurer work outstanding and wages due now; our page on cash flow while waiting on customers to pay covers the same pattern.
- Dealers who want flexible stock funding alongside their floorplan.
- Operators clearing ATO debt, including where a garnishee has hit the business account. See ATO garnishee notices and paying ATO debt with property equity.
When this isn’t the right move
- Standard new equipment with good finance on offer. A chattel mortgage over a new hoist may cost less over five years.
- Ageing stock. If cars have sat on the yard for months, borrowing to buy more stock won’t help. Clear the old stock first.
- The business is losing money. Debt secured on your home won’t fix underpriced labour or poor job flow.
- A floorplan prohibits it. Read your agreement; some restrict other borrowing.
How does property-secured funding compare?
| Option | Security | Speed | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property-secured private loan | Workshop, home or investment property | Possible in 24–48 hours with documents complete | Premises, mixed fit-outs, insurer gaps, ATO debt |
| Equipment finance or chattel mortgage | The equipment | Days | Standard new items with resale value |
| Dealer floorplan | The vehicles | Set up over weeks | Ongoing new and late-model stock |
| Unsecured online loan | Personal guarantee | Fast | Small, very short needs |
| Bank commercial loan | Property and guarantees | Weeks to months | Long-term premises funding once approved |
The secured vs unsecured business loans page explains why property security usually means larger amounts and a single repayment at the end.
What should a workshop buyer check before borrowing?
Buying an established workshop is often the quickest way into your own business, and the lender’s questions overlap with the ones you should be asking anyway:
- Where does the work come from? A workshop that relies on one fleet contract or one insurer’s repair network can lose a big slice of revenue overnight. Ask for a customer breakdown.
- Does the lease survive the sale? Check the remaining term, the options and whether the landlord will assign it. A short lease makes the later bank refinance harder.
- What’s actually included? List every hoist, scanner, compressor and software licence in the contract, and search the PPSR so you know none of it is still owing to a financier.
- Who stays? Experienced techs and the service adviser are much of what you’re paying for.
- What does the exit look like? If you plan to refinance with a bank, ask which figures it will want and how long you’ll need to trade first, then set the term to suit.
What it costs (without the guesswork)
Price follows the deal: the property offered, how much of its worth is borrowed, how long for and how it’s repaid. The goal is the keenest pricing your situation allows. The Letter of Offer shows interest (which can be prepaid or capitalised), a small assessment fee that varies by loan, and legal and registration costs. A lender queued behind a bank takes more risk, so caveats and second mortgages are priced above first-ranking loans. Keeping the term tight to your exit is the simplest saving.
Documents you’ll need
- ID for each borrower, director and guarantor;
- title details and current statements for each property offered;
- the sale contract for premises or a business, or quotes and invoices for equipment;
- insurer authorities and outstanding invoices if you’re bridging insurer payments;
- your floorplan agreement, if you’re a dealer;
- your last few BAS, plus the ATO’s statement of account where a tax debt is part of the purpose.
How fast can it happen?
With paperwork complete, larger loans up to $5m can possibly fund in 24 to 48 hours, and smaller property-secured sums between $20k and $250k can possibly settle the same day. There’s no formal valuation required, so no inspection has to be booked. What usually slows a workshop deal is a co-owner who hasn’t signed or a loan statement that’s months out of date.
How would a panel shop’s numbers work?
Illustrative example: a Geelong panel and paint shop has $210k of approved insurer work invoiced but unpaid, and needs $120k for wages and paint supplier accounts plus $40k for an ATO balance. The owner has a home worth about $950k with $430k owing. Net funds:
- $950k × an illustrative 75% LVR band = $712k of total borrowing room across both loans.
- Less the bank’s $430k = $282k available behind the bank.
- The shop borrows $175k by caveat for 4 months, with interest prepaid.
- Less prepaid interest, the assessment fee and legal costs, about $160k is in hand to pay wages, suppliers and the ATO. Insurer payments flow in over the next three months, the loan is cleared, and the lender removes its caveat.
Owners in the Geelong and Surf Coast region can read our Geelong private lender page. Truck and fleet businesses should see transport and logistics.
See if you qualify
Start a short enquiry with the property, the loans already on it, how much you need and what it’s for.
There’s no credit check to ask, your details stay with one direct lender instead of being shopped around, and a specialist reads every enquiry. Give us accurate figures for the property and what’s owing on it and you’ll get a reliable answer quickly. See what your property could fund.
Frequently asked questions
Our landlord is selling the workshop we lease and has given us first right to buy at $1.6m with a six-week settlement. Can a private lender do it?
Yes, if the numbers work. A private first mortgage over the workshop, plus a second mortgage or caveat over a home for the deposit and stamp duty, can settle on the landlord's timetable. Once the title is in your name, a bank commercial facility normally takes over.
We're a panel shop and two insurers owe us $210k for approved repairs. Can a caveat loan carry wages until they pay?
If you own property with equity, a caveat loan suits that kind of short gap, and $20k to $250k is possible the same day once documents are in. Bring the insurer authorities and invoices, since their payment is your exit.
We need ADAS calibration gear and an EV-safe bay. Should we use equipment finance or property equity?
For individual items, equipment finance secured on the gear itself is often cheaper over its life. Property equity makes sense when the fit-out is mostly building work, when several smaller items add up, or when a financier won't take specialised equipment.
I'm a used-car dealer with a floorplan facility. Can a property-secured loan buy stock?
It can fund stock your floorplan doesn't cover, such as trade-ins, older vehicles or auction buys, or provide the equity your floorplan provider wants to see. It doesn't replace the floorplan, and you should check your floorplan agreement for restrictions on other borrowing.
Will you lend against our tow truck or the cars in the yard?
No. Vehicles and plant aren't accepted. The loan has to sit over real estate, such as a workshop, a factory unit, a home or an investment property.
The ATO has issued a garnishee notice to our bank. Can a secured loan clear it quickly?
Yes, if there's property equity. The ATO describes a garnishee as an instruction to a third party, such as your bank or trade debtors, to pay your money straight to it. Clearing the debt removes the reason for the notice, and a caveat or second mortgage can be arranged quickly once documents are in. Tell the ATO payment is coming and ask how it will release the notice.
I'm buying an established mechanical workshop business. The bank wants two years of my own trading figures. What can I do?
Fund the purchase against your home or another property now, then refinance with a bank after you've traded the workshop for a while. The vendor's figures and your own trade experience help show the lender the exit is realistic.
Do the instant asset write-off rules matter if I borrow for equipment?
They change your tax position, not the loan itself. Under the ATO's 2026 confirmation, each item costing less than $20,000 can generally be written off straight away by a small business. Your accountant can tell you which purchases qualify.
Our workshop is owned by a family trust and the business is a company. Can that work?
Yes. The trustee gives the mortgage over the workshop and the company borrows. The trust deed must allow it, and the lender will want a copy.
Do you need a formal report on our workshop property?
No. With no formal valuation required, the workshop is assessed directly from title, location and comparable sales, so there's no report fee and no wait.
Can the loan cover Payday Super for our apprentices and techs?
Yes. The ATO's rules now give employers 7 business days after each payday to get super into the fund. A short loan can absorb the changeover while you tighten up invoicing.