That company had been broken in to, with extremely valuable equipment stolen. The insurance company promptly paid for it, replacements were bought - all's well in the world, right?

Not quite. It turns out, due to tax law quirks, the new equipment's cost as a tax deduction needs to be spread out over years (6 IIRC), but the payout from the insurance company is taxable as a lump sum. So, while the balance sheet is net even after the break-in, the tax man wants a huge chunk of money that he's then willing to return, in small increments, over the next years.

But the company is cash poor. And a loan is not feasible, because it's already stretching the limits. A call to the accountant is in order. And, as it turns out, second quirk of tax law, if you buy a car on a loan, you can claim the entire expense in the same tax year, but you can spread the paying back over the next several years.

And so the car was bought, at significant long term cost to the owner, but it fixed the tax/cash shortfall problem for the current year.

Step two after learning to keep your mouth shut: Learning that the situation is always more complex than you can see from the outside.