For anyone determine whether to buy second-hand or brand new forklift, it is a really big decision when confronted with the purchasing cycle. The best thing to do is to figure out the application needs for the lift truck, when trying to decide between the two options. For example, figure out the kind of machine which is required, the number of hours per week or per year 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 know that an inexpensive brand new forklift might not have the overall dependability, capability or value of a second-hand unit of an expensive model.
When deciding whether or not to purchase a brand new or second-hand lift truck, there are 3 aspects of usage which you may wish to take note of: duty cycle, seasonality and utilization. If you are thinking of using your lift truck for 4 or more hours a day, it is recommended that you buy a brand new model, specially if you would 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.
However, if you expect to utilize your lift truck for less than 4 hours a day or on an intermittent basis, than buying a lower cost brand new model or a used forklift might be the right option. Some of the newer units are available at lower costs which are made for lower-duty cycles. In addition, if you think that you would expect to utilize the forklift just during specific times of year on a seasonal basis, then a used lift truck or a rental program may best alternative available and could potentially save you a lot of money.
It is important to anticipate if the lift truck is going to be in nearly constant use or not. This would mean knowing the amount of uptime and dependability needed for your particular application.