Materials Handling UK

Looking to buy a second hand forklift but not sure what to look out for to get the best deal for your money?

Gary Millar, Managing Director of Armill Lift Trucks Ltd, has kindly provided the following guide on what you should look out for when buying a second hand or refurbished fork lift truck.

It has been clear that when the major companies / manufacturers supply used machines the level of refurbishment isn’t what it should be as they are more interested in supplying new forklifts. You will often find that they will promote the age of the truck rather than what has or has not gone into a refurb, whereas the smaller and mid size independent suppliers look at the hours and the level of work that has gone into the machine.

For example - What is better, to buy a 2005 machine with 8000 hours serviced checked and painted for £7000 or a 1999 machine with 5000 hours with new chains, forks, seat serviced repainted where the mast back axle and brakes have all been thoroughly tested for £7000. Age of the machine is not always the number one indicator of condition or price.

This is the most common scenario encountered when buying used machines, the customer will look at the age of the forklift over it’s hours and also what work has been done to the truck.

The other main thing to look for when buying a refurbished truck is the lead time quoted by the dealer. Every lead time tells a story, if a company quotes two weeks from date of order two things spring to mind:

They are not overly busy so they have fork trucks ready to go all refurbished.
They are not thoroughly refurbishing the truck. Any engineer will tell you in a busy workshop environment to strip a mast, back axle, brake system, replace chains and any other unserviceable part takes time, and this is before the truck is ready to be sanded and repainted.

It is difficult for the customer to know whether or not they are getting value for money but my advice is look to the independents when buying used as they take more time and it is their name on the truck and reputation on the line. Always ask to have some referrals from other customers.

Many thanks to Gary for providing this helpful guide.

Armill Lift Trucks are an Essex based company covering sales across the UK as an importer of the Clark range of Diesel, Gas and Electric powered fork lift trucks. As well as new Clark forklifts, Armill also offer used and refurbished forklifts which can be supplied as direct sales, contract hire or lease.

Looking to buy a second hand forklift but not sure what to look out for to get the best deal for your money?
Gary Millar, Managing Director of Armill Lift Trucks Ltd, has kindly provided the following guide on what you should look out for when buying a second hand or refurbished fork lift truck.
It has […]