I am in the market for a used excavator, track skid steer, and dump truck. I am new to this industry and am just wondering where you guys find used equipment. I have looked on craigslist, which is good but hard to search the entire state and I have a feeling the vast majority of stuff for sale is not on there. Obviously dealers are an option although I find in my area the prices they ask are certainly a premium. Machinerytrader.com seems to be mostly the same dealers. Are there any websites that are for sale by owner? I know auctions are an option, although I hesitate to go to a big huge auction since I think that is somewhat of a gamble. If I have looked all the right places that is fine but if there is any website or method of searching that I have not been exposed to please let me know!
http://www.ironplanet.com/
This whole lifestyle is one big gamble jump in and lets go
dealerships will certainly always be the highest price. most offer some type of warranty on used eq. (especially their own brand) i see so many customers that get a great deal at an auction, and dump an equal amount of money into a used POS just to get it/keep it running. unless you are familiar with what you are buying, have the knowledge and tools to work on it yourself, you're probably dependent on a local dealer. labor rates have been on a steady climb over the past 10 years, along with computers and advanced electronics theres a reason why most equipment is at the auction i have one sitting in the shop right now that was a "great deal" at the auction. it made it off the trailer at the customers yard and moved 20 feet it's been a "push/pull/drag" ever since. he will be looking at close to what a GOOd running machine would cost by the time he's finished with the electrical repairs. no bucket, cracked boom in several places, and needs tires as well :drinkup
Since you are new to the industry a dealer would not be the worst choice. A "deal" is always a risk as you could inherit somebody elses issues. Not everything on auction is that way. Not every dealer is great to deal with, but often times a local sale they are going to at least try to make sure you are happy for the first few months. Many will get rid of machines they know are troublesome too so that they don't have to deal with selling them. If you want to figure out a starting price on something, average the prices on machinery trader, then average the prices on auctiontime and other auctions. Providing you have a large enough sample group, the asking prices on machinery trader are the high side, the auction prices are the low side. Price machines at various dealers and use the other deals to leverage a better deal out of a different dealer. You don't need to get every last penny out of them, but want to make sure you are getting a fair deal in the process as well.
That is good advice. I knew a lot of that, but just wanted to make sure there wasn't an autotrader.com or cars.com for excavators that I was missing. My preference would be to find a nice piece of equipment from a private owner and pay the dealer or a mechanic to look it over. I don't like the lack of an opportunity to have things gone through by a mechanic a the auction and the dealer prices are often pretty steep. I do like the idea of pricing on machinerytrader and auction sites to get a range. That is another thing I struggle with is finding the true value of equipment. It isn't like a car where you can look tons of places and have lots of prices to choose from. Sounds like I am looking the right places, just there are pros and cons to everywhere you look. Someone needs to start a "for sale by owner" heavy equipment website!
true value of equipment - sign up to ebay, ironplanet, ritchie broths, and check out what stuff has sold for, not what folks ask for it. try wegolook.com for an independent third party evaluation. go stop by local landscaping/contracting businesses, etc. and inquire if they would be upgrading soon. Leave your contact info.. Try auctionzip.com and search for small local auctions - you'll find a few original owners selling their machines at these auctions...ask away with specific questions. Don't be in a hurry to buy.
Rental yard could also be a consideration. Person at counter or local store initial contact should be able to direct you to the responsible person in that company for sales. Maybe you could rent it for a week or a month, then purchase. Would not expect perfection just try to improve your knowledge of the machine to prevent buying some major goof up.