Financing equipment without overextending
Equipment financing is cheap money for the right purchase and expensive trouble for the wrong one.
Finance income-producing equipment
Trucks, tools, machines that directly produce billable work are reasonable financing candidates. Office furniture, fancy signage, owner trucks are not.
Match term to useful life
A 5-year truck on a 7-year loan leaves you paying for a truck after it's gone. Match the term to how long the asset will earn for you.
Watch the all-in monthly burden
Loan payments, insurance, fuel, maintenance. The headline price isn't the cost. Run the all-in monthly before signing.
Take your version of this question further
This is one operator-tested angle on the question. Your shop, your size, your trade, and your team change the answer. Ask your specific version inside Ask a Shop Owner to get a response grounded in how owners like you actually handled it.