Heavy Equipment Forums Heavy Equipment Community

Buying equipment at auction.

nedly05 · 2012-01-14 15:26

I've never been to an auction, and I'm wondering how you go about making your purchase. Do you need to get pre approved from a bank and have a letter to present to the auctioneer, or can you get financing on site. I'm going to Kissimmee in february and just might have to buy something.

Replies23
  1. #1Colorado Digger2012-01-14 15:46

    e mail me i can write you an e mail if you wish, on this subject. regards, bob

  2. #2nedly052012-01-14 16:10

    That would be great, thanks Bob.

  3. #3roddyo2012-01-14 16:48

    You need to contact the Auction Company in advance and tell them what sale you want to go to and ask them what they require.

  4. #4ILLICEMAN2012-01-14 16:51

    Get everything in order with auction co. before you go.You can wire money from your bank with prior approval.You will need a sales tax exemption from your state or you have to pay sales tax. NEVER buy anything you can,t start and run.I always went before and rated each unit I thought i was interested in.I used a 10 scale. The auction is very fast so be on your toes.Good luck.I always thought it was alot of fun. Make sure you shop around for hauling.Alot of differance in prices.

  5. #5nedly052012-01-14 16:56

    Good info, thanks guys!

  6. #6dirty4fun2012-01-14 19:21

    I have been to a few of Richie Bros. sales. Sign up went pretty fast, I had a letter of credit from the bank, and proof of tax ID. Took less than 5 minutes, they have all the machines running, so you can operate them. They run them through the auction pretty fast, so be sure you know which machines you want before the auction starts. Good luck there are all kinds of machines at an auction, some good ones and some that have been patched up enough to run for a while.

  7. #7Randy882012-01-14 20:25

    Which kissimmee auction? Just call and see what they want for info, most of it should be able to be done over the phone, even if you get there and don't have it, it shouldn't be a big deal to do with fax or email or even wire transfer, just make sure your banks on your side and knows about it and have a good time, its been about 15 years since I was last down to one of those auctions, came home with some nice toys back then. There are plenty to go to there, I'm thinking brown ranch is still going, ritchie brothers, alex lyons, and about a dozen other smaller ones, it'll take all month to see and go to them all unless things have changed a lot since I was there.

  8. #8caterpillarmech2012-01-15 09:08

    I work a small farm and ranch aution for my wifes uncle. Buyer beware. Make sure you look real good at the machine you are interested in. You operate it personally to check functions. I have driven many a machine though that could limp around and look good but should have been headed to the scrap pile. Just be on your toes. I had a buddy buy a hammer from ritchie brothers that had no guts when he got it home. No piston or a or b sleave. He only gave 7500 for it but had to by 20,000$ in parts. He also sold it for $80,000. His deal worked out but yours might not.

  9. #92stickbill2012-01-15 11:13

    Look for welds and patchs.If it is a dozer with a ripper check it real good.I tried a D6D at richie with the ripper pockets on the blade.Looked good new paint engine sounded good but when I put in gear you could feel lots of free movement before it moved.The yoke was welded and patched.So some times a new paint job is when you need to look at it real good with a fine toothed combMost auctions will let you have a machanic look it over.But all said and done a used equipment dealer will allso hide problems but you will pay more.

  10. #10buckfever2012-01-15 16:47

    When you find a machine your interested in get a idea what market prices are. I'v seen more then one machine go at auction for more then you could buy outright on the open market. Also remember your takeing a chance on a machine you cann't demo in the dirt so make sure it's a pretty good deal. Have fun nothing gets your heart pumping when your trying to win a machine.

  11. #11nedly052012-01-16 05:23

    Lots of good pointers here, thanks guys. I might just go to watch...

  12. #12dblaneyfan2012-01-19 12:50

    One suggestion for you, when you get your sale catalog and get a chance to inspect the equipment go ahead and write down your top price by the lots that you want and stick to it. It gives you a solid point to look at when the numbers start flying and that equipment is looking pretty and shiny. You can rationalize a couple of thousand dollars more if you don't have something definite in mind, getting caught up in the moment and all. Which auctions are you looking at and when will you be down there?

  13. #13JDOFMEMI2012-01-22 13:05

    Here are a few more pointers: Do your research ahead of time and know what to pay for what you want. Use Machinery Trader or sign up at Ritchie Brothers and use the auction results to compare prices. Learn how to frill into the results by age, auction location, etc. If you can, attend a few live auctions prior to going to one with the intent on buying. It is a very fasxt paced environment, and a lot of buyers are experts at it. It can be very intimidating the first few times. As mentioned, test run what you want to buy in advance. Look hard at it, and know what to look for in any given machine. I have bought a lot at auction, and have had winners and loosers. If you can, find out where the machine came from, and any history you can. If it is from a total liquidation, then you could have anything from great condition to poor, but if it is a partial selloff, it may be likely to be the dog of the fleet. I know anything I have put in the auction I would not want a friend to buy. If there are multiple pieces of the same thing going to sell, and the auctioneer gives choice, the best advice is to be the first buyer, and take the best machine of the group. Many times the best machine sells first, and the price climbs on the others, so the lesser machines sometimes bring more money than the best one. This only happens if there are more buyers for that machine than there are machines available. It takes experience to learn this. The number one rule is do not get caught in a bidding war and end up paying way too much for a machine. That goes back to your research, and setting a price in advance. Sometimes if it is close, 1 bid over your max is OK, but no more. Good luck

  14. #14snick2012-01-22 13:14

    bonjour les gars je voudrais savoir si je peux prendre autre que huile hytrans

  15. #15d9gdon2012-01-22 13:24

    Where's the translate button?

  16. #16Tinkerer2012-01-22 16:12

    Snick said ; Hello Guys i would like to know if I can take other than oil hytrans

  17. #17Randy882012-01-22 23:34

    Huh, its now in english but, I'm still confused, I'd like to help but not sure what it is snick is asking, anyhow welcome to the forum Snick

  18. #18spitzair2012-01-23 22:10

    Ou est-ce que tu veux utiliser cette huile? Qu'est-ce que c'est l'application ou la machine? Mon francais n'est pas tres bon mais je vais essayer de t'aider. Peut etre quelqu'un qui est meilleur en francais va lire ce ci et nous aider... Guys, he's asking if he can use an oil other than hytrans, I've asked him where he wants to use this oil, what machine and what application. Also if there's someone who speaks/reads/writes better french than me hopefully they can help.

  19. #19Randy882012-01-24 05:52

    I think he needs to be in another thread, not this one, or post his question in its own thread, give details as to what application it's in and what he's needing for information or a comparison of oils, there's a lubrication section here on the forum, maybe post it there. Sorry I never took french in school and my kids are not very good at it either, he'll need to post it in english for us to help him.

  20. #20nedly052012-01-25 05:11

    It should be interesting, we're going to 2 different auctions, I'm going with my father in law who is familiar with the auction scene. Not sure that I will buy anything, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes!

  21. #21dirty4fun2012-01-25 05:53

    nedly, It is always a good time seeing and being able to climb in a bunch of different machines. You can't dig or put them to work, but you do get to pull a few levers. You will enjoy yourself I bet.

  22. #22roddyo2012-01-25 10:24

    Be carefull while you are down there......there can be a lot of other people pulling levers also and not all of them know what they are doing It would be a shame if you got run over at the auction.

  23. #23Tinkerer2012-01-25 15:27

    Snick est à la fois, nous pouvons vous aider avec vos questions. Mais vous avez besoin de poser vos questions dans la section qui parle de votre type de machine. Comme un bouteur ou excavateur. I am not going to highjack this thread. But this post will hopefully get Snick some help in the proper equipment category. This is what I told him (Snick, We can help you with your questions. But you need to put your questions in the section that talks about your type of machine. Such as a dozer or excavator.)