How a Car Carrier Owner Got Approved for a Million-Kilometre Rig When Every Lender Said No

He already had an approval — but it wasn’t good enough.

Mike, a small business owner from Hamilton, Ontario, had just started his own car carrier service after years of working for someone else. He’d finally found the truck-and-trailer setup he needed — a seven-year-old rig with over a million kilometers on it — but the approval he got from another finance company came with a sky-high rate and tight terms. He was ready to sign just to get moving.

The problem? Mike wasn’t a homeowner, his credit was average at best, and his business was still new. To most lenders, that combination equals one thing — decline.

But we didn’t see a dead deal. We saw a good operator with hustle.

So we went to work. We knew exactly which lenders would say “no” and which ones might take a closer look. We reached out to our network and found a finance company that didn’t just judge by credit — they wanted to understand the story.

The seller turned out to be an old contact of mine from ten years ago, which helped smooth everything out. When the lender required an inspection of the equipment down in Hamilton, I drove down personally to get it done. No delays. No excuses.

By Friday, Mike had signed the paperwork over DocuSign. The truck and trailer were cleared for delivery, and all that was left was the final inspection before funding.

It wasn’t an easy deal — but it got done.

Was the interest rate amazing? No. But it was fair — and it got Mike approved when most lenders would’ve turned him away. He’s now running his own truck, hauling cars, building income, and taking control of his business future.

That’s what experience and relationships can do.

Because sometimes the difference between a deal dying and a deal funding is just knowing who to call.

And that’s what we do best at Northlend.