Courier fleet repairs
For a local delivery business, a van in the shop is a route not run. Here is how to price downtime per van per day, decide between renting and waiting, and fund a repair bill in a way that matches how routes pay.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Price each van’s downtime first: the route pay you lose plus any contract chargeback for a missed route. If that daily number is larger than a rental van, rent on day one and fund the repairs; waiting a week to save cash usually costs more than the funding. If your repair bill is under $25,000, pay it from cash or a card, since our funding starts at $25,000.
This page is for local courier and last-mile delivery fleets running cargo vans and box trucks on local routes. It is not for over-the-road long-haul trucking, which we do not fund. Regional and local carriers have their own page at fleet repair funding.
Take a courier company with 14 cargo vans on contracted local routes. Each route pays $310 a day, about 22 route days a month, so deposits run about $95,480 a month (14 × $310 × 22). A missed route carries an assumed $150 chargeback. A rental cargo van costs $105 a day.
| Situation | Math | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Van off route, no backup | $310 lost + $150 chargeback | $460 |
| Van off route, rental covers it | $105 rental | $105 |
| Three vans, no backup, 10 days | 3 × 10 × $460 | $13,800 |
| Three vans, rentals, 10 days | 3 × 10 × $105 | $3,150 |
Waiting ten days for cash on three vans costs about $10,650 more than renting. Contracts can also drop a route after repeated misses, which costs far more than any single repair.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
Three vans go down in the same week: van A needs a transmission ($6,800), van B an engine ($11,500) at 236,000 miles, and van C brakes, tires and suspension ($2,900). Vans A and C are easy repairs. Van B is the real decision: $11,500 into a high-mileage van versus a used replacement. If you expect another $6,000 of major repairs on van B within two years, its two-year cost is $17,500 before any downtime. Lay that next to the down payment and monthly payments on a replacement through equipment financing. Our repair vs replace guide walks through a full three-year comparison.
The owner repairs all three and covers routes with rentals: $21,200 of repairs plus $1,575 of rental days (15 van-days) plus a small buffer, and requests $30,000. Assume an illustrative factor of 1.30 and a $900 fee: net proceeds $29,100, total repayment $39,000. Because route pay settles weekly, the owner asks for weekly payments: 24 payments of $1,625 from Tuesday, October 27, 2026 through Tuesday, April 6, 2027.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| Mon Oct 19 | Three vans down; rentals booked; apply with statements and repair quotes |
| Mon Oct 19 | Same-day decision on a complete file |
| Tue Oct 20 | Funds land; parts ordered |
| Wed Oct 21 | Van C back on route |
| Fri Oct 23 | Van A back on route |
| Tue Oct 27 | First weekly payment of $1,625 |
| Wed Oct 28 | Van B back on route; last rental returned |
Weekly deposits average about $22,030 ($95,480 × 12 ÷ 52), so each payment takes about 7.4%. Test the payment against your slowest week, such as a holiday week with fewer route days, using the payment burden calculator. If route pay arrives weekly, a daily debit drains the account between deposits; see daily vs weekly payments.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
If you are growing the fleet rather than fixing it, see delivery fleet expansion. For moving and freight businesses, see freight and logistics equipment repair.
Write down your route pay per van per day and your chargeback terms, rent for any van that will be out more than a day, and gather the quotes. Then check where your file stands with the qualification checker, or apply directly. Qualified businesses can be funded in as little as 24 hours.
Yes, local courier and last-mile delivery businesses can apply. Over-the-road long-haul trucking is not funded. If your work is classified as trucking, the trucking rules on the revenue-based tier apply.
If the rental costs less than the route pay you would lose plus any chargeback, yes. In the example, renting cost $105 a day against $460 a day of downtime.
Our funding starts at $25,000, so a single small repair is usually better paid from cash or a card. Larger combined needs, such as several vans plus a reserve, can fit.
Ask for it. When route pay settles weekly, weekly payments line up with your deposits and avoid low balances midweek.
Complete files get a same-day decision, and qualified businesses can be funded in as little as 24 hours. Having statements and quotes ready is what makes that possible.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
