Diesel forklift finance
The truck of choice wherever the work happens outside, on rough ground, in the rain, and often at a weight an electric will not lift.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Can you finance a diesel forklift?
Yes. Diesel forklifts are funded very readily, normally on hire purchase or a finance lease, and they have the broadest second-hand market of any truck type because they sell into construction, timber, agriculture and waste as well as pure warehousing. Used diesels are fundable well into double-digit ages. The point people miss is emissions: a pre-Stage V engine restricts where the truck can work and who will buy it later, so a bargain older machine can prove harder to move on than the price suggests.
Used kit: Yes — used diesels are the most widely funded trucks of all, and machines beyond ten years old can still be placed where the hours and condition stack up.
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What would a diesel forklift cost per month?
Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
How lenders treat it
An asset most funders are genuinely happy with. Diesel trucks are robust, mechanically simple compared with the automation elsewhere in a warehouse, and there is a live export trade that supports values at the older end. They are written on hire purchase far more often than contract hire, because the buyers tend to want ownership. Underwriters will look harder at the working environment than they do on an indoor truck — scrap yards, quarries and heavy block handling all accelerate wear, and a funder pricing a residual knows the difference. High lift capacities above the common two-and-a-half to three tonne band narrow the buyer pool, so specialist heavy trucks are placed with funders who know the market rather than with a general lessor.
Makes and models we fund
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Linde H30D | Three tonne diesel forklift |
| Linde H50D | Five tonne diesel forklift |
| Hyster H3.0FT | Three tonne diesel truck for yards |
| Hyster H5.0FT | Five tonne diesel truck for heavy loads |
| Caterpillar DP30N | Three tonne diesel forklift with sideshift |
| Doosan D30S | Three tonne diesel forklift for merchants |
| Mitsubishi FD30N | Three tonne diesel truck for general handling |
| Toyota Tonero 8FD30 | Three tonne diesel forklift for busy yards |
| Yale GDP35VX | Three and a half tonne diesel forklift |
| Clark C35D | Diesel counterbalance forklift for builders merchants |
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Who buys one
Builders merchants, timber yards, brick and block distributors, recycling operators and port-adjacent hauliers — anyone loading and unloading outdoors on hardstanding or worse. Buying is usually prompted by a machine reaching the point where hydraulic and transmission repairs outrun its value, by winning a contract that needs a heavier lift capacity, or by hire charges over a long busy season quietly exceeding what ownership would have cost.
Get a quoteor call 07581 364281
How it is treated for tax
Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Diesel forklift finance questions
Does the emissions stage of the engine change what I can borrow against?
It can affect the residual value a funder assumes, which in turn affects how much they will advance and on what structure. An older engine that cannot work on emissions-controlled sites has a smaller pool of future buyers. It rarely stops a deal outright but it is worth knowing before you buy the cheapest machine on the forecourt.
The truck will work in a scrapyard. Is that a problem?
It needs disclosing but it is not a barrier. Funders know that aggressive environments shorten a truck’s life, so they may take a different view on term or contribution than they would for a machine doing light indoor pallet work. Hiding the application helps nobody, least of all at claim time on the insurance.
Can I finance a heavy-capacity diesel truck of eight tonnes or more?
Yes, but it goes to a narrower group of funders. Large-capacity trucks cost far more, sell to fewer buyers and take longer to shift second-hand, so the underwriting leans more on your accounts and the contract the machine is working on. It is a common enough request in ports and steel stockholding.
Is a forklift classed as a vehicle for finance purposes?
For funding it is plant rather than a road vehicle, even though it moves under its own power. That matters because it is not registered with the DVLA in the ordinary way, so identification rests on the serial and chassis numbers. Make sure the plate details on the invoice match the physical machine.
Can I fund attachments like a bale clamp or a jib separately?
Yes. Attachments bought after the truck can go on their own agreement or be added to an existing facility, provided there is a supplier invoice. They hold value reasonably well and are easy to identify. The one thing to check is that the attachment is rated for your truck, since a derated capacity plate is required.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Get your quote
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.