How to Get Turo Fleet Financing to Build Your Commercial Fleet

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Building Your Commercial Fleet While You Build Your Business and Its Credit

Turo is a car-sharing app that can be a great way to get some extra money through mostly passive income. You can also start a full-fledged car sharing business on Turo.  Starting any business is not cheap, of course.  

For a Turo business to grow you have to build your fleet, not to mention other business expenses that must be met. That requires financing.

Financing requires credit, and you do not want business financing on your personal credit. 

If you do not already have business credit, however, you may feel stuck. How can you finance your fleet and build business credit at the same time? 

It is possible! It’s not going to just happen though. Building business credit has to be done intentionally. 

It requires taking specific steps taken in a certain order. So, how do you simultaneously build business credit and finance your business? Keep reading. 

Kick-off Business Credit and Turo Fleet Financing with Vendor Credit Cards

Vendor credit cards will kick off business credit building for your business. Once you’ve added payment experiences from three vendors, and they have sent reports to business CRAs like Dun & Bradstreet, you can start qualifying for fleet credit. 

Make sure a business credit card doesn’t report on your personal credit. Business credit is independent of personal. Applying for it often won’t harm your personal credit scores, although it can if you offer a PG and then fail to pay. 

You need 3 or more vendor accounts reporting to move onto more credit with higher limits and better terms.  More reporting accounts are even better. It will take 30 – 90 days for those accounts to report—about 60 days on average. 

Using Business Credit Vendors to Finance Your Turo Fleet

The first step after you build your Fundability Foundation™ is to apply for business vendor credit. You can use vendors to pay for various auto expenses.

Check out three of our favorite starter vendors:

• Wex Fleet
• Marathon
• 76

All three come from Wex.

Wex Fleet

They report to Experian and D&B. They offer universal fleet cards, heavy truck cards, and universally accepted business fleet cards. Their cards have features supporting a small business. This includes a rewards program. Before applying for several accounts with WEX Fleet cards, leave enough time between applying so they don’t red flag your account for fraud.

If you don’t get approval based on business credit history or have been in business for at least a year, then a $500 deposit is necessary or a PG. Apply online or over the phone. Terms:  Net 15 (Wex Fleet Card), Net 22, or revolving (Wex FlexCard).
To qualify, you need:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Business phone number with a listing on 411

Marathon

Marathon Petroleum Company provides transportation fuels, asphalt, and specialty products throughout the US. Their product line supports commercial, industrial, and retail operations. This card reports to Dun & Bradstreet and Experian.

Remember: before applying for several accounts with WEX Fleet cards, leave enough time between applying so they don’t red-flag your account for fraud.

To qualify, you need:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Business phone number with a listing on 411

Your SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned they will pull your personal credit talk to their credit department before applying. You can provide a $500 deposit instead of using a PG if you’ve been in business less than a year. Apply online or over the phone. Terms are Net 15.

76

Phillips 66 Company owns 76. It has more than 1,800 retail fuel sites in the United States. This card reports to D&B and Experian. Keep in mind: before applying for several accounts with WEX Fleet cards. make sure to leave enough time between applying so they don’t red-flag your account for fraud.

To qualify, you need the following:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Business phone number with a listing on 411

Your SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned they will pull your personal credit talk to their credit department before applying. You can give a $500 deposit instead of using a personal guarantee.  if you’ve been in business less than a year. Apply online or over the phone. Terms are Net 15. You can use this card at any P66, 76, or Conoco fueling location. Let’s move on to fleet credit.

Using Fleet Credit for Turo Fleet Financing

Fleet credit is offered from places like Gulf and Exxon. You use it to:

• Buy fuel
• Maintain vehicles of all sorts
• Repair vehicles

These are usually gas credit cards that you can use for your Turo fleet. While other cards can be used for these expenses, adding fleet credit offers additional benefits designed specifically for business fleets. It also frees up other types of credit to help manage cash flow.

Qualifying for these cards is a little harder, which is why you need to use vendor cards first to build your business credit at the beginning of your Turo endeavor. For example, you may need to meet a minimum time in business requirements. 

If your business doesn’t have enough time in business, you may be able to offer a personal guarantee or give a deposit to secure the credit. 

Vehicle Financing

With a fleet car, your choices are usually buying or leasing. Providers include banks like Bank of America or the financing arm of the manufacturer, like Chrysler Capital.

Using Business Credit for Vehicle Financing

You can even finance a vehicle purchase or lease through our Business Credit Builder. These offers are in Tier 4. They have certain requirements that business credit newbies won’t be able to meet. 

Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing Through Credit Suite

Ford offers several commercial vehicle financing options like a business loan, line of credit, or lease. However, you have to be an actual business entity, not a sole proprietor.

They may ask for a personal guarantee if you do not get approval on the merit of your application. Apply at the dealership. Ford will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.

To qualify, you need:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Strong business credit history
• Must have a good Experian business credit score

Ally Car Financing Through Credit Suite

Ally provides personal financing in the form of a car loan, but they will also report to business credit bureaus. If your business qualifies for financing without the fleet owner’s guarantee, you can get financing in the business name only. Ally will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.

Ally Car Financing: Ally Commercial Line of Credit

To qualify, you need:

• A Fundability Foundation™
• Bank reference
• Fleet financing references

If you use a PG, Ally will not report to the personal credit bureaus unless the account defaults.

Ally Car Financing: Ally Commercial Vehicle Financing

Get a lease or a loan. To qualify, you need the same things as you need for an Ally Commercial Line of Credit, except for a bank reference and fleet financing references. There is no time in business requirement, and you have to apply in person. 

What You Must Know About Vehicle Financing

With commercial vehicle financing, business owners may need to personally guarantee vehicle loans.  If you are a co-borrower the loan will most likely report to your personal credit report. 

Still, starting off by giving a personal guarantee means you can get money, and start building your commercial fleet now instead of later.

According to Investopedia, a personal guarantee is:

“…an individual’s legal promise to repay credit issued to a business for which they serve as an executive or partner. Providing a personal guarantee means that if the business becomes unable to repay the debt, the individual assumes personal responsibility for the balance. Personal guarantees provide an extra level of protection to credit issuers who want to make sure they will be repaid.”

When you provide a PG, you are adding your Social Security number to the application. You should expect a hard inquiry. You’re also adding the details of your personal income to the application, and your personal assets are at risk if repayment becomes an issue.

No PG Financing

With no PG financing, you can get higher limits and better terms. Continue to build exceptional business credit and pay your bills on time. In general, the following you won’t need to provide a personal guarantee for this type of financing if you have:

• good business credit
• a decent amount of time in business or
• good personal credit

Much like with any other kind of business borrowing, the more assurances you can give the lender, the better.

Turo, Business Credit, and Growing Your Business: Takeaways

Turo is a new way to run a rental car company run by CEO Andre Haddad. Being an entrepreneur and a car owner that runs a car rental business through Turo, whether luxury cars, regular cars, or both, means you will need financing. This is true, for most, even if you only host one Turo car.