America. Even large fleets that don’t want to
rely on short-term rentals to handle peak seasonal needs can benefit from purchasing used
equipment, Rawson notes.
Companies that require specialized equipment on an intermittent but regular basis
should look at buying used lift trucks, says Gary
Hansen, vice president and owner of Capital
Equipment & Handling, a Milwaukee-area
dealer with locations throughout Wisconsin.
Capital represents Nissan by UniCarriers and
Clark lift trucks.
“Instead of purchasing a specialty machine
that could potentially cost $250,000 or higher,
a company that only needs a specific piece of
equipment to do a certain task, like lifting very
high or lifting very heavy loads, [might] look
for something used that may cost half that
amount,” Hansen says. Many companies rent
specialty trucks, but buying used has advantages, he says. For one thing, a specific piece
of rental equipment won’t always be available
when you want it. And even if you choose to
buy new, the leadtime for some heavy equipment orders can be six months or more. Buyers
of specialty trucks sometimes can find what
they need faster in the used market.
BUYER BEWARE
There are several different sources of used
trucks for sale, some of them riskier than
others. It’s no surprise that manufacturers
and dealers recommend buying directly from
them. They have a vested interest in the mat-
ter, of course, but they also have some critical
elements working in their favor. Most of the
used trucks that dealers sell are former rentals
or lease equipment that they purchased new
and have been servicing all along. In addition,
the manufacturers they represent usually have
mandatory protocols for reconditioning and
certifying used vehicles. As a result, dealers
know the history of each of the used trucks
they sell, have the parts and the expertise to
repair them if needed, and will stand behind
the truck and their work if there’s a problem.
“It’s important for us to make that ‘used’ expe-
rience as good as the new truck experience,”
Rawson says.
Dealers aren’t the only ones selling used
equipment. There are plenty of independent
equipment brokers, wholesalers, and auction
houses, as well as owners who want to sell
directly to a buyer. You can also find used lift
trucks through a number of online markets.
One example is Australia-based Forkliftaction.
com, which offers lift trucks for sale worldwide.
There are even listings for used equipment on
Craigslist.
“If a buyer is looking for a specific brand,
they will go to an OEM dealer, but if they’re
just looking at price, then they might go to an
independent [dealer or broker],” says Rawson.
Price-conscious buyers may also seek out auc-
tions, which are usually advertised online and
in weekly “for sale” flyers and newspapers.
But there are drawbacks to buying through
such venues, the dealers say. Auctions sell “as
is, where is,” so it’s hard to know whether a
truck meets safety standards or has some other
major flaw, Rawson says. “You don’t know
where that truck has been or what its histo-
ry is. And once you leave with it, there’s no
going back or recourse or guarantee.” For that
reason, he says, buying at auction “is proba-
bly the riskiest thing for an end user to do.”
Furthermore, as Sponza points out, you may
end up having to bring the truck to a dealer for
unanticipated but costly repairs.
The Internet has certainly made locating
well-priced used equipment faster and easier. “An individual buyer can literally scan
the globe online,” says Hansen. “They can
potentially buy the same piece of equipment
as we can for the same wholesale price.” But
that approach also has greatly raised the risk
