For anybody determine whether to purchase second-hand or new lift truck, it is a very big decision when confronted with the purchasing cycle. The best thing to do is to know the application requirements for the lift truck, when trying to choose between the two options. Like for instance, figure out the type of machinery that is required, the number of hours per year or per week you will use it and how long you intend to keep it.
Normally, an expensive forklift will hold its value longer over time. It is good to remember that a lower priced new forklift might not have the overall value, dependability and capability of a second-hand unit of an expensive kind.
When deciding whether or not to buy a brand new or used lift truck, there are 3 aspects of usage that you may want to take note of: utilization, duty cycle and seasonality. If you are thinking of utilizing your lift truck for 4 or more hours per day, it is recommended that you purchase a brand new unit, specially if you will have a high-duty cycle. A high-duty cycle means moving a lot of loads per hour which are near or at the capacity truck.
If you only need your lift truck for around 4 hours per day or on an irregular basis, a lower cost new unit or second-hand lift truck might be optimal. Some of the newer units are available at lower costs that are made for lower-duty cycles. What's more, if you think that you will expect to use the forklift only during particular times of year on a seasonal basis, then a rental program or a second-hand lift truck may best choice available and could potentially save you a lot of money.
It is important to know whether the machinery will be always used. This would mean determining the amount of uptime and dependability required for your particular application.