Vehicle finance: your questions answered

A novated lease is a three-way arrangement between an employee, their employer and a financier, where the employer deducts the vehicle payments from the employee's salary. It is only available to employees whose employer offers salary packaging, not to a business buying its own vehicle. The tax treatment involves fringe benefits tax rules, and concessional treatment applies to some eligible electric vehicles. Your payroll department and accountant should confirm the position before you sign.

Yes, most asset lenders fund private sales, with extra checks. The lender will run a PPSR search to confirm no existing finance is registered against the vehicle, verify the seller's identity and bank details, and may require an inspection or valuation. Funds are paid to the seller after signing, not to you. Private sales usually settle a little slower than dealer purchases and there is no GST credit to claim unless the seller is registered and issues a tax invoice.

The finance structures are the same — chattel mortgage, lease or novated lease — but a few things change. Some lenders offer specific EV or low-emissions products, residual and balloon settings can be more conservative because resale values are still stabilising, and charging infrastructure can sometimes be financed alongside the vehicle. For employees, eligible electric vehicles under the luxury car tax threshold may attract an FBT exemption on a novated lease. Confirm current rules with your accountant.

Fleet arrangements put several vehicles under one approved limit, so each new vehicle is drawn down against an existing facility rather than assessed from scratch. That saves time and gives consistent pricing across the fleet. Larger fleets can add maintenance, registration and fuel management into a single monthly cost. The trade-off is an annual review of the overall limit and, in some cases, tighter reporting requirements from the financier.