It can be tempting to grow your fleet with factory-fresh equipment. Forklift trucks are complicated machines, and managers often hesitate before investing in several pre-owned units. But buying used forklifts is the quickest way to bulk up your capacity and keep your annual capital budget intact.
Bulk buying used equipment presents two significant advantages that purchasing single units simply cannot compete with, as you’ll see. Let’s explore how to evaluate multiple used trucks and spot the exceptional values you can’t find elsewhere.
Understanding TCO and Depreciation Concerns
Used simply means that the depreciation has been slowed. When you purchase a pre-owned forklift, you’re essentially allowing the current owner to take that upfront loss of value. Just as trucks and equipment lose value when driven off the lot, lift trucks depreciate at an alarming rate during their first few years. Buying used lets you keep more capital in your back pocket for other pressing needs, like racking or telematics.
Maintenance and Fuel Costs
In many instances, buying used will cost less over the life of the unit than buying new. Because the industrial lifespan of a medium-duty machine often exceeds 20 years, purchasing a unit with 5k-10k hours on the clock still leaves plenty of prime lift cycles left. If you run a single-shift operation, your new battery and engine could take upwards of five years to pay for themselves. Compared with other options on the lot, quality used trucks offer your facility a higher return on investment overall.
Assess Your Fleet Mix
Consider how your existing fleet will operate with multiple makes and models working side-by-side. Mixing five different types of forklifts into your warehouse will create unnecessary challenges for your employees. Training multiple groups of operators on varying control schemes will introduce operator fatigue, which can lead to accidents.
Not to mention that adding five new units means stocking your shop with five times the amount of parts. When done correctly, limiting your truck types simplifies your maintenance needs and reduces dead time while you wait on that one obscure part for Unit #3.
30-Second Quiz | Is Your Fleet Ready?
- Can every unit in your fleet be operated by every employee?
- Do you have easily accessible service records for every machine?
- Can your fleet be worked on by any repair service?
If you can’t answer yes to the questions above, your next purchase should be all used trucks, or all sitdowns, from the same manufacturer.
Why Reconditioned? | Expect Dependability
When people think about buying a used forklift, there’s an inherent fear that you’re buying someone else’s problems. Fortunately, there’s a really big difference between “Used” and “Reconditioned.” While the former will sell as-is, a 4K Lifts reconditioned truck undergoes a rigorous multi-point inspection before it ever hits the lot.
Our inspectors make sure every electric truck has ample battery capacity and every internal combustion engine passes a compression test. We’ll also double-check the mast chain for elongation or wear, and verify every hydraulic ram is free of heat damage.
In high-volume facilities, there’s negligible risk between a new machine and a reconditioned one. If your warehouse is located in an area with severe environmental factors, you should also consider how weather impacts machine health. For example, the excessive heat in Dallas or salt-air corrosion in Miami can both eat away at o-rings and electrical connectors.
Tips for Spotting Trouble Quickly | Hydraulic Tips
Look for dry lubricant glazing on the rams throughout your inspection. If the metal appears tarnished or has a rainbow sheen to it, it has probably been overheated. Healthy hydraulic rams should be mirror smooth and free of vertical scoring.
Meet Immediate Demand
Buyers today face more manufacturer lead times than ever before. It’s not unusual for certain manufacturers to have a backlog of six months or more on new builds. But what happens when you land that big contract — to start in just 30 days?
The used forklift market means you can meet that demand today. Pick out your five units, inspect them, and you’ll have them up and running within the week. Don’t let your facility lose revenue because you didn’t have enough “lift” to keep things moving.
Partner With Your Local Specialists
You should always maintain your used forklift fleet with companies that specialize in older machines. Newer forklifts require dealer-level diagnostics software just to perform the smallest adjustments. Because many used forklifts were built before these programs existed, you’ll have an easier time sourcing parts from your local counter — not trying to secure a holding slot at the manufacturer’s warehouse.
There are several ways to be sure used forklifts perform optimally for years to come. Chain-link your maintenance strategy by performing bi-yearly inspections to head off major repairs before they become urgent.
Finally, don’t forget there are tax-advantaged ways to buy your used forklifts this year. Check out Section 179 and see how you may be able to write off the full purchase price at year-end.
Call On The Expert Team At 4K Lifts | We’ll Go The Distance
Buying used forklifts doesn’t have to be difficult or risky. With access to over 300 units and 35+ years of experience in the industry, 4K Lifts is Dallas and Miami Dade’s premier materials handling specialist. We know how stressful it can be to increase capacity while reducing dead time, and our reconditioned inventory is here to help.
Our 30-day exchange policy and thorough reconditioning reports take the stress out of purchasing a used forklift. Our multilingual staff is experienced and ready to help you find the right electric reach truck, LPG sit-down, or diesel-powered workhorse for your facility. Need a pallet jack? We’ve got you covered. Trying to pick the perfect narrow-aisle truck? We’ll walk you through your options.
Whatever you need from your lift truck partner, we’ve got flexible financing and expert maintenance to keep you moving forward.
FAQ
Q. What are some red flags to watch out for when considering a used forklift?
While every unit that hits our lot goes through a multi-point inspection, there are certain things you can look out for when buying any used forklift. Make sure to check the health of the powertrain, hydraulics, and mast. For electric lifts, ensure that the batteries are holding a charge and can be easily replaced when their cycle life is over.
Q. Should I buy a used forklift or rent one for my short-term project?
If you know for sure that this project will only last a few months and there will be no use for the forklift after it’s over, then renting might be a better option. Because used forklifts retain their value so well, many companies opt to buy a used forklift and sell it when they no longer need it for a lower cost than renting for an extended period of time.
Q. How do you handle delivery for large orders?
We take care of all of our customers’ logistics needs from start to finish. No matter where they’re located in Dallas or Miami, we’ll coordinate with you and our shipping partners to make sure your fleet arrives safely and is ready to work as soon as it hits your facility.