Gentleman, I am in the process of possilbly opening a used equipment dealership in the northeast. I am looking for opinions of you all who have used a non franchised place to do business, what is it good or bad? Did you get what you felt you paid for? Did it add value to your business? Was the pricing different from a franchised dealership? With the huge costs of new iron is there a benefit to purchase used equipment? What are the pros and cons of used equipment compared to new. What are your thresholds when purchasing used equipment under what hours? What types of equipment would you consider buying used? Do you normally buy bigger more expensive equipment used or the smaller more inexpensive. Any and all opinions are greatly appreciated and am looking for information on the construction companys point of view of getting what they need and being able to add value to their operations. Thank you for your input.
You are going to open a used heavy equipment business NOW?? I don't know if I could think of a worse business to get into right now? Wait, maybe I can....how about boat salesman on the moon? Seriously man, you need to conduct a market survey - you won't even be able to find enough of a market for a survey.
LOL, although I strongly agree with ST He has already said what I would have so I'll just stick to the OP. I buy most of my stuff used, we are a small outfit with less than 30 peices. I have brokers that I use and trust, I'll spend tons of money and never see the machine, but it has taken years to build that relationship and that may be something that happens with you as well. but as far as the origional Q' I dont mind if its NOT a cat dealer as I am looking for the best bargain. anyone tells you that they will ONLY buy Used equipment from a CaT dealer ask them how many peices they own, I bet the answer will always be the same lol Pj
Duplicate, sorry bout that Pj
rough to make a profit now with the prices I see on Ironplanet.com or machinerytrader.com The stuff it just so far below value in telehandlers that I see and know it is nuts. What over head would you have and what warranty would you provide when selling?
Yes guys I know that this is not a good time but the situation that i am in currently is that my family has sold 2 franchised truck dealerships back in May of 08 and we have a golf course also that we own. Being tied to a manufacture over the years I am not really keen on getting tied at the hips again with big brother choking you with unsaleable inventory and I really want to stock and service inventory that is suitable for my market area. Over the years we have aquired equipment thru the dealership and for the Golf course. So with that said I already have the equipment Cat D4 Cat 312Bl Deere 200CLC Tak TB135, Cat 287B Cat 235, John Deere 624h, Hanomag D55 Loader to name a few so our cash is alread tied up in those pieces we have worked them and in some instances rented them. But right now we just need to free up cash and deplete our inventory or "freshen" up my inventory now while the price is right and I an hoping that we are coming out of this economic disaster with in the next couple of quarters. That might give me a little of a jump start. Either way do not want it sitting any longer so the option of replenishment seemed more feasible than just dumping it and taking a loss on it with out a plan to recover some of it.. Over the years i have found that there is no perfect time to do something but standing and staring at it is not a option. Speed Pup in respect to warranty that is another good point that I need to find out what are you guys seeing out there I would obviously have to match it or beat it to be competitive and also put out a quality product. Again any info is appreciated.
I personally don't think we will be out of this bad sconomy for two or more years. Even with the bargins I see in equipment I am still leary of spending even 15-20 on a Lull it would just be parked next to the others. I would not bbuy anything with a payment involved. Trick is to beat the curve on the economy and buy while cheap. How much money to tie up on equipment is another question while waiting for a return. I see stuff on machinerytrader for months listed CHEAP and it hasn't moved. I mean 50% of what I think it would be worth in a normal market and it is still not moving. I would try and sell some of your stock now for a feeler before getting deeper. I guess it is all relative to how much money you have to gamble.
The issue on this coast is that the auctions have all but run the small curb stoners out of business. Everyone gauges what shows up sold on Machinery Trader and don't know if that stuff actually ran or was even useful. Your stuff gets compaired to that and unless you have a great reputation your stuff will sit. If your used equipment business is just going to supplement other endeavors you might have a chance. Get with some finance people and line them up first. You need to make that part of the sale as easy as possible. Your customer can walk in, submit some info and you can just hand off the financing to someone else. If you can't line that up before you start then I would be very surprised that you ever get off the ground. You also need to consider your philosophy on what and how you are going to make your iron retail ready. Remember, its "Used Equipment"! That doesn't mean the machine is going to have any warranty or that a customer can walk in and dictate what happens with the machine before he signs the purchase agreement. If you are going to service it you need facilites and arrangements for waste disposal and such. If you going to paint, there are state and federal regulations. If you are going to park and sell, you have to make sure people understand that. A lot of people think the hard part is in selling the iron. Everywhere I've worked the hardest thing was finding desirable iron at a price you can pay and then resell at a profit. If you want to do this now you better be able to sell snow to an Eskimo. Most of the sales people I know right now can't sell a canoe to a drowning man.
Lull dealer I know has sold 108 new machines as a high one year and usually sells 40-45 this year he sold two new ones.