hey all you old timers when do you start to up grade, on your equipment this probaly a question for smaller companies , I have several pieces of equipment all in good shape but getting older and dosent look as good as new some times i feel im losing jobs to the new equipment most of my stuff is paid for and not looking forward in spending money on new iron but want to look good out there
Do it right now! New equipment never goes down in price, it always goes up. Looking back 5 years from now, you'll say "Dang, why didn't I upgrade back then?" I don't think you'll regret it.
Well a couple of questions first - How old is your equipment and how reliable is it? Is it in good shape and not costing an arm and leg to maintain it and down time? Is your iron costing more in repairs and downtime (be honest with yourself in what downtime actually costs you) than the cost of a new machine payment? If your equipment is paid for and in good shape, I would say stay with what you got. The payment for a new machine comes every month, whether you have work or not. eek: OMG I sound like Canada's leading business man ) On the other hand if your equipment is costing more in repairs and downtime in a month than the monthly payment of a new one - then it is time to replace it. Also I would look at the productivity of the machine as well. Do you keep a weekly log of how many hours each machine works? I started this about a year ago and it will really tell you what machine is making you money and what machine you can do without - or not upgrade. Example: I have a 325DL a little more than a year old with 2300 hours on it, a 725 artic less than a year old with 1500 hours on it and I have put another 2200 hours on my older 725 that now has over 5000 hours on it (it had 3000 hours when I bought it a little over 2 years ago). These machines are producers that rack up at least 40 hours a week of usage. On the other side I have an '04 533E compactor (that I bought new) with 1800 hours on it. The compactor only racks up 15-20 hours per week, but you gotta have a roller and it is cheaper to own than rent. If my main hoe and artic's start having problems - like my older artic is now:Banghead - then I would seriously look at replacing them. They are the money makers. My compactor on the other hand will be around for a while because I cannot justify a new one. Of course you have to look at the cost of new compared to the repair costs you will ultimately face. This is a crap shoot in the dark - at best. Take for example my older artic: A new one is $300K and I owe $100k on an '01 with 5ooo hours. I have had $6k in repairs in the last 3 months and nothing substantial up to 3 months ago. The payment for a new one is roughly $1K more per month than the old one. The problem would be that I set the clock over at 48-60 months of $5k per month payments with a new one. So the conundrum is; do I hedge my bets on the older truck that it will not take more than $24K in the next 2 years to keep it running before it is paid off or go sign up for 48-60 months worth of $5k per month payments? Ultimately all of these factors and many more play into your decision. I would not let the fact that you have older equipment than your competition sway your perception of yourself in the business world. Your work ethic, character and quality of work speaks much more of who you are as a business person than whether or not you have new or older equipment.
Sometimes people look at equipment and compare it to the quality of work, which is not always right. I know my cousin has the rattiest equipment around, but he does some of the best work. I know some other guys around town who have all shiny, fancy equipment who are hacks. If he have employees and a machine is down for an hour or so then your losing money. I'm not saying a new machine won't break down, but a new machine is less likely to.
I think I have an idea of who your talkin about....Shiny clean as can be equipment....lol
In addition to the other comments regarding costs and such, if you find a substantial amount of work being lost due to customer perceptions, then just get it painted. If it still works and doesn't cost a ton to keep up, there's no reason to buy new. If it does the job and would look nice with a good paint job, then I wouldn't want the unnecessary cost of new.
If you are worried about the way your iron looks, then paint the darn thing. Go to a RB auction and see how they can make a old piece of iron look good. If you piece of iron is paid off and is still productive without breaking your wallet, then why get rid of it ? We had a PC150-3 that we had a long time and it made us money. We rebuilt the motor and the last couple of years we had it, the pumps were getting weaker and weaker. We decided to dump it and upgrade.
My thoughts would be if your machines are working and still doing a good job,with very little down time your doing okay. The only time you might loss out to other guys with newer equipment would be if your broke down all the time,then it would be double,losing money from work and then the repair bills. Might give the equipment a face lift with some new paint and decals.You would be surprised how they will look.Not new ,but customers will think nice equipment. I gave my stuff a facelift and glad i did.It's not new ,but helped too make the machine appearence wish nicer.Plus several customers commented how good they looked. If things are going okay and no forseable problems ,just start saving back some money,let draw interest ,then set back and want for the time to come to replace. It can then be at your terms,not the bankers or the dealers.It doesn't have too be a new machine upgrade,watch for a late model low hour machine with a good mantience history. There is deals if you have cash ,so might want to think of that option.I do think the younger you are the new or nearly new is a good approach.The older you get the more caution you will be,your working down are more numbered then. New you can take the deprecation off,which is over a longer period,where parts and repairs are deductable,but they have to paid before the 10th of every month.Unless you do it the last of the year then you can flip ,flop expenses. Deprecation can be all in the first year if it is needed ,or over several years depending on how the busniess is making money.The deprecation on the new stuff worked the best for me,because of getting to spread it over several years time. Good luck!:usa
If your equipment is presentable and productive and as said, not costing you money......... I would say you have the advantage opposed to other contractors. You dont have their payments.
up grade Thanks Fellows For the knowledge , i think i saved some money on that question KMS
Everybody seems to be worried about how good the equipment looks. I'm thinking more on the reliability side. I know I chuckle a little bit when I see an older machine sitting on a job with the hoods off and a trail of oil or parts behind it. It's not making money sitting there. As you put more hours on a machine no matter how good your maintanance is stuff wears out. You also have better resale or trade-in value if your machines are still in decent shape. If all your worried about is your image, than go ahead and paint. Most people can't tell or don't care about the age of a machine anyway, just as long as it has a shiny paint job. It's going to be a lot harder to play catch-up as the years go by and your equipment gets more obsolete.