Refinance your car dealership property

Ardent Capital Group brings the same method to every client: execution and strategy, clear advice for smart lending, and long-term growth. That means the right lender, structure and timing, straight advice so you borrow with confidence, and today's deal built toward where you want to be tomorrow. On a dealership refinance the work is in the site rather than the brand: the split between building and yard sets the number, and the alternative use case decides the rest. We argue both properly, keep the floor plan position where it belongs, and stay with it past drawdown. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

We refinance commercial facilities from $50K up to $30M, whether that is a single site you want repriced or two held under one structure. The new limit is set by the current valuation and by servicing, not by what you originally borrowed, and on a dealership the blend between building and yard is worked out first.

Because your bank can only tell you what your bank will do, and on a dealership site lenders differ most on the part that is hardest to argue: what happens to the building if the badge comes off. We do the legwork, run the comparison across more than 40 lenders, work out which read a purpose-built facility comfortably, and present to one at a time so your credit file does not collect an enquiry for every conversation. We also model the break costs, valuation and legals against what moving gains you.

Around 80% of the current value against the building, and closer to 65% against display yard and hardstand, because that part is land. The blend on your site depends on the mix of the two, so we work the split out before anything else.

No, and it should not. Under a floor plan arrangement the financier buys and owns the vehicles and you hold them as bailee, paying out the principal as each one sells, so the stock is not yours to mortgage. The property is one facility and the stock is another. What we do at a refinance is present both positions together, because each financier will want to understand the other.

The manufacturer captives and a group of independent financiers. It is a large and established market, running to billions of dollars of bailment stock in audited accounts. Two large banks exited wholesale dealer bailment and sold their books, so a page listing the old providers is out of date.

Not directly. The ACCC found dealer agreements typically run one to five years with renewal at the manufacturer's discretion, and no lender publishes a rule that caps your property loan term to your agreement term. What the agreement shapes is how a credit team reads the building. A renewal is helpful context, and a change of brand is worth presenting properly rather than leaving to be discovered.

It reads on the building rather than on the badge. A generic showroom in a good location funds as ordinary commercial property, because if the badge comes off somebody else can trade from it. Going used only actually removes the franchise question entirely. Where the site was purpose-built for one brand, the alternative use case is the argument to make, and we make it up front rather than waiting to be asked.

Yes, where the current valuation supports it. Cash out on a commercial refinance is assessed on the purpose of the funds, so the lender wants to know what it is for. A showroom upgrade, a brand refresh, paving or expanding the display yard, a workshop extension or a deposit on a second site are all ordinary purposes. We evidence them with quotes and a timeline.

It changes the blend, and which way depends on what the land is doing. More display yard adds value but it gears closer to 65% because it is land, so a site that has grown mostly in yard moves the blended figure down even as the valuation goes up. Building on it moves the blend the other way. We run the split on the current site rather than the one you bought.

Often not. A decline on a top up is one lender applying one policy on one day, and on dealership sites the policies differ sharply because the alternative use question is a matter of judgement rather than a formula. We look at why the answer was no, then place the file with a lender that reads a site like yours comfortably.

Four to six weeks from application to settlement for a straightforward file. A site with a large hardstand component can take longer because the valuation splits two ways, and SMSF refinances take longer again. We give you a realistic timeline at the start so you can plan the expiry date around it.

The existing loan statements, two to three years of financial statements and tax returns for the operating entity, personal tax returns and notices of assessment for the guarantors, a statement of assets and liabilities, and the equipment schedules. We also want the current dealer agreement, the floor plan facility terms and limits, and the site plan showing the building and yard areas.

The costs are a valuation, legal and settlement fees, any lender establishment fee, discharge costs from your current lender, and break costs where you are leaving a fixed rate. Break costs are an economic cost, so they are calculated on the day and vary with how much fixed term is left. We put the real numbers against the benefit before you commit to anything.

Yes, it is possible, and we arrange these. It is also one of the more intricate refinances in commercial finance, and the detail is what decides whether it works. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property, and a site trading wholly as a business qualifies, whether your company occupies it or a tenant does. It has to stay the same single property, and it is limited to the balance outstanding plus accrued interest, so there is no top up, no redraw and no cash out inside the fund. The holding trust is reassigned to the incoming lender rather than dissolved, which carries a legal cost worth weighing against the gain. Your operating company leases the site back in writing, at market rent supported by an independent appraisal, and the rent has to actually be paid. Cross-collateralisation is not available inside super, and the floor plan arrangement sits entirely outside the fund. SMSF lending on standard commercial security generally runs between 65% and 80%, the major banks have exited SMSF lending, and lenders want a liquidity buffer left in the fund after settlement. We know this sounds complicated, and we can assist to make things clearer. Reach out to our team and we will guide you through the entire process. We structure the finance, tell you which lenders will take a dealership site as SMSF security and on what terms, and bring in the SMSF specialists and licensed advisers who set the fund side up. You will not be working it out on your own.

Most of the time, no. Where a refinance requires significant preparation due to its complexity, a small mandate fee may apply, and we will always be upfront about this before any work begins.

Although we are based in Sydney, we service clients across all major Australian cities, including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart, along with their surrounding regional areas. Wherever your site is located, we can arrange your finance.

Beyond refinancing the site, we also assist with asset finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers workshop hoists and diagnostic equipment, wheel alignment rigs, service department tooling, courtesy and demonstrator fleets, and transporters. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to carry parts stock and wages, and we can fold these into the refinance where it makes sense.

Yes, and it describes most dealers we speak to. The property facility is set up at settlement and then simply runs, because the agreement cycle and the floor plan facility take all the attention. That is our core ethos, helping you understand the right strategy, structure and clear advice from the very first conversation. Our main borrower profiles are established business owners and commercial property investors with facilities from $50,000 upwards. We will start by splitting the site into building and yard, telling you what each is likely to value at now, what sits on your current facility, what moving costs, and whether it is worth making. If it is not, we will say so and you can stay where you are.