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UPDATED: Inspecting equipment before purchase

UPDATED: Inspecting equipment before purchase

Is it time for you to upgrade your company’s heavy equipment? Across the country, Lyon Auction provides large construction equipment auctions to give companies and contractors an opportunity to purchase quality used equipment at a great price. However, it’s important that you are properly inspecting the equipment before purchasing from a large construction equipment auction. Below, we explain why this is important as well as provide some tips!

Inspect the seller

The first thing to do before any auction is to check out the seller. The internet makes it so easy for you to shop online and check the history of the auction company or person selling used heavy machinery equipment. The best way to do this:

  • Check out what other buyers are saying about the auction company.
  • Check out the machine they’re selling and do your own research. Is the price fair? Is the machine the right year? Is everything there?

The machines history

The next step is to check out the history of the used heavy machinery you plan on buying! Before investing a significant amount of money into this piece of equipment, make sure there are no liens against it and that it isn’t stolen! How can you find this information out? Check for a title. The ownership can’t be transferred from the buyer to the seller if the equipment is not paid in full.

Then, it’s important that you make sure all the documentation is present. You can call your bank to ensure the organization is trustworthy and that there are no liens on the company itself or the person.

Inspect the machine

This can be hard to do with an online auction; however, if you’re present in person this is an important step. It is important to inspect and even test drive all used heavy machinery equipment before making the final purchase. These are the items to check when looking over your potential new piece of equipment:

  • Fluids: It’s important to check the fluid levels in the oil, transmission, coolant, hydraulic fluid. If the fluids are low or there are none, then this piece of equipment has not been properly maintained!
  • Signs of wear: You understand that there will be day-to-day wear and tear on a piece of used heavy machinery equipment, it’s natural. It would almost be weird if there wasn’t any! However, large gashes, scratches, cracks and other damage is not normal.
  • Weld marks: This will give you a telltale sign of how many times this piece of machinery has been pieced together by previous owners.
  • Records: It’s important to know the history of all maintenance work done on the piece of used heavy machinery you’re about to purchase. From the last oil change to the most recent tires, make sure the owner has a full list of maintenance work that has been completed on the vehicle.  A look at this list helps you understand if the machine has been maintained at all.

Before making a final purchase at your next equipment auction, it’s so important that you thoroughly inspect the machine and seller to ensure you are making a wise investment. Use these tips at your next large construction equipment auction!

Lyon Auction offers a wide variety of heavy machinery at all of our equipment auctions. Check out our upcoming auctions on our website today!