Forklift Rentals & Purchase

Forklifts, whether brand new or used, are not cheap. When buying one, there are a few common questions you should be asking the seller. Not only will this help put your mind at ease, but it can save money on forklift repair in the future.

Does it have a warranty?

A used forklift, even if only a couple of years old, would have seen much work no doubt. Depending on who you are buying the forklift from, try to find out if it is currently still under warranty or if you can include a warranty into the price. When buying a forklift from a reputed dealer, they may include one at your request. This will raise the price somewhat, but in the long run, it is probably worth it. This will help protect you if something goes wrong with the forklift, alleviating some of the repair costs. Unfortunately, when buying a forklift from an individual, incorporating a warranty is often not possible, but be sure to ask anyway. Warranties themselves insure parts of the forklift that often need replacing.

Should I be looking for a gas/diesel or electric forklift?

Gas and diesel forklifts are far more common, but electric forklifts are becoming more popular and more readily available in the used forklift market. No doubt, over time, the electric forklifts popularity will continue to grow. This stands to reason as it is a far more ‘green’ option, much smaller in size and are far easier to drive. But which should you choose? At the end of the day, it depends on the work you intend to do with the it, where it will be used and other environmental factors.

Consider the following:

• Electric forklifts’ batteries run down and need to be charged overnight
• They cannot operate on certain surfaces, for example, muddy ground or shale
• When working on an incline, their batteries run down faster
• Working outside in wet conditions can be detrimental to their electrical wiring and circuits
• Electric forklift repairs are not straightforward and fault finding can be complicated

Previous repairs

Trying to determine whether a used forklift has had previous problems or repairs is imperative before buying one. This will help you to decide if the purchase is worth it or not. In this regard, buying the forklift from a reputable dealer is the best plan of action as they will often have a complete history for each and every machine on their salesroom floor.

Other variables

There are a host of other variables that you need to take into consideration. Pay particular attention to the workload the forklift will be expected to do, what price range you are looking at and the overall value of the model you are looking at, particularly with regards to its expected lifespan.

Remember, when buying a forklift – new or used – you will need to keep up to date with regular maintenance – and at some point, repairs will likely be necessary. But by staying on top of the items mentioned above, you can expect to have much better overall experience.