In the latest posts, we have talked about all sorts of auctions ranging from arts, the type of auctions done to dine with celebrities and many other topics. What we haven’t focused on a lot (and there is a reason for that) is the auctioning of heavy duty equipment: your excavators, bulldozers, cranes etc. The reason we haven’t done so is basically because more people would be interested in the arts that are being auctioned or some piece of technology used in our every day lives, than equipment used by these professionals only.
However, because I do want to cover everyone and all topics, I will dedicate this post to the construction companies and workers that need a voice for the auctions in this field. There has been a lot of discussion about the quality of the equipment being sold. You will see a lot of this on heavy equipment forums where people will find some kind of excavator made in the 60’s and he is wondering if that would be a good idea for a purchase. As with anything, construction equipment tends to wear out so people need to make sure they won’t be buying just tons of steel and that they’ll be buying something that will actually help them in their job. It is funny because in one of these forums, there was a demolition expert that was so opinionated on people not buying from auctions. He has his own little company and basically is the kind of person that believes in the idea of getting the best type of equipment in the market. In fact if you click here you will find the type of construction tools he personally uses. So his mindset was: if the product is good why is the contractor offering it for grabs, selling it?
That is a fair point: unless of course it’s someone that simply wants to settle and retire, or is looking to upgrade and needs some quick cash etc. I guess there are no rules that can be applied across the board for all cases, but what we can say for certain is that people need to level the situation. So first question that should come to mind is “why is he selling?” Then, “how old is the equipment?” And after you go through a bunch of different thorough questions (just hammering away the questions as if this is the most important decision in your life) you can arrange to meet with the guy that is selling to go look at the equipment yourself. I know that most of you guys are not naive, but never buy something just because it looks good in the pictures. That picture could have been taken ten years ago, so you will be getting a ten year older crane from what you are seeing in the image. If the contractor is not willing to let you look at it in person, or is causing you problems with setting up a meeting, then you understand there is something fishy going on there, and you would want to get the hell out of there.
The good thing about these auctions, is that there is such a great variety in product that you don’t need to wait for months until something good comes your way. Honestly, there are so many construction companies that are under performing this period of time (or some are going out of business) which means that there are a lot more tools in the market looking for a new owner. Some of them will be “expired” while on others you will get a bargain and one hell of a tool. As I said before, you need to level these things out so that you don’t be the one holding the bag with a few thousand dollars down the drain. I am pretty sure there are some people on this site that have an idea about construction that you would be able to address your concerns and questions regarding the matter. Feel free to use the comment box below to start conversations. Or even better if you like, you can message me directly and I should be able to guide you to the person that can help you. In any case, be careful of the type of opinion you listen to on the Internet. Many people that would love to sell an excavator in bad shape for a truck load of cash (so they can vacation.) You don’t want to let your emotions kick in and if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t real. Meeting with the contractor is probably your safest bet. This way you aren’t obligated to buy anything until you are 100% certain this is worth the price tag he gave it, or eve worth the purchase at all.
If you need to go in and starting upgrading the machinery, doing repair work etc: then why not go by something that is brand new from the shelf? There you don’t need to worry about people taking advantage of you etc.
Anyway, it’s obviously up to you, but all I’m saying is: be careful!
Hopefully you found some value here. Take care!