Tips on buying used construction machinery? -

[millais]

I have some experience shopping for used industrial equipment, but construction machinery is new to me. Are those slick online auctions or sales totally untrustworthy? Is it solely a matter of finding a good local surplus yard where you can inspect and test the goods in person? Is delivery standard or do they usually expect you to drive halfway across the country with your own RGN trailer to pick up the goods?

I'm specifically looking at scissor lifts and telehandlers. Equipment rentals have been ok for me in the past, but there's a big job coming up that I don't think will be practical for rental, since it may take months to finish instead of days or weeks.

 

[Murmur]

You are going to be hard pressed to find someone to sell you used equipment and deliver it at the same time. You are going to have to source transportation separately from the purchase.

 

[Mal0]

Only piece of advice I know is that if the owner doesn't look like he'd be the kind of guy to own that piece of equipment, it's probably stolen.

For example if you have to drive to the ghetto to buy a wet stone cutter from a skinny nog wearing baggy pants and chains, he most likely doesn't own a paving business.

Though this is basic common sense I suppose.

 

[HeyItsHarveyMacClout]

You're building a kill dozer, aren't you.

 

[Jaded Optimist]

Can you theoretically maintain/repair it on your own? Then it's probably fine. If not, I wouldn't buy without looking at in in person first, and even then you probably need to know how to repair it (or have a friend to). Mechanics for that stuff are expensive AF.

 

[millais]

You are going to be hard pressed to find someone to sell you used equipment and deliver it at the same time. You are going to have to source transportation separately from the purchase.

Good to know. For used industrial machinery, sellers have usually been good about giving me freight quotes, either through themselves or through their preferred freight company, even for big stuff like cooling towers. All I had to worry about was providing the crane at the delivery site to offload.

Can you theoretically maintain/repair it on your own? Then it's probably fine. If not, I wouldn't buy without looking at in in person first, and even then you probably need to know how to repair it (or have a friend to). Mechanics for that stuff are expensive AF.

I should be able to handle the electrical stuff, hydraulics not so much. Of course, I much prefer to look and test in person, but I see a lot of these online auctions have very detailed "inspection report" style descriptions of the machinery documenting just about every system and core component, as if they have already tested everything themselves. Kind of looks too good to be true.

 

[Jaded Optimist]

very detailed "inspection report" style descriptions of the machinery documenting just about every system and core component, as if they have already tested everything themselves. Kind of looks too good to be true.

Trust your gut. Don't buy sight unseen.

 

[Ol' Slag]

As everyone else has said, if you can see it and test it, that is the way to go.

If you can rent and get the amount low, that would be the way to go. Companies will either send mechanics to fix the shit if it breaks down or send a new one. Saves a headache halfway through a job and shit breaks down.