Tougher lending conditions by the banks have forced some Illawarra tradies to hire rather than buy their work vehicles.
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Sydney business Tradie Spec Utes is seeing an increase in business coming from the Illawarra from tradies who can't get finance for a ute to get their business on the road.
Tradie Spec Utes director Tim Cullen said the business was benefitting from the fall-out from the Banking Royal Commission.
Getting loan approval for a ute had become increasingly difficult for new tradies starting out in business, he said.
"Without wheels they can't run their business so they are coming to businesses like ours that specialise in trade specific rentals," Mr Cullen said.
"We have a number of clients out of the Illawarra area who we have put into our utes over the last 12 months, who have been knocked back on finance for a work ute.
"They all have full-time, high-paying trade jobs.
"Many of them, considered 'too risky' by the banks, haven't missed a single weekly payment with us.
"Our dealer network have indicated that finance application rejection rates are north of 30 per cent."
Mr Cullen said the new trend coincided with a dramatic shift in the view among tradies about owning their own utes.
"Tradies regularly tell us they would rather rent their ute than borrow against it or commit to long-term lease.
"Debt just isn't something small business owners are happy to carry on their balance sheets anymore, not to mention the difficulty of managing a fleet of vehicles," Mr Cullen said.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
