Buy a Forklift

Do You Really Need To Buy A Forklift?

The decision to invest a substantial amount of money in capital equipment is never an easy one to make. In the current highly fluid business environment, every expenditure must be carefully weighed with the pros and cons carefully considered. Many organisations with in a number of diverse commercial and industrial fields will at some point or another have to make the decision whether or not to purchase a forklift or even a fleet of forklifts. The decision to buy a forklift usually involved expenditures in the hundreds of thousands of Rands, purchasing more than one forklift can involve sums running into the millions, several millions if the larger seven ton models are required, perhaps a little less if lighter models like the 1,5 ton workhorses are required.

When considering whether to acquire a forklift, the alternative should also be considered – leasing the unit. Full maintenance leasing is becoming extremely popular for a number of different reasons. The first of these is a simple matter of purchase price and the associated ongoing running costs of any forklift. Outright purchase of capital equipment means that the ownership of the asset is reflected in the company’s accounts. Many companies prefer to lease because they will then have greater access to finance from various financial institutions when ownership of the forklift is not reflected on the books.

Another reason that militates against the decision to buy a forklift occurs when the company that wishes to make the purchase is involved in project work where the forklift will not be in continuous use, as opposed to warehousing and logistics operations where the forklift can experience 24 hour a day use. If the forklift is not in continuous use it means that a valuable and expensive asset will be sitting idle for some of the time. This is not an optimum return on investment. A full maintenance lease on the other hand means that the forklift can be used for only that part of the project where its services are required. Forklifts can be leased for periods as short as a single day or for extended periods as long as 60 months. Full maintenance leases are available for the longer lease periods.

If the decision is made to buy a forklift then the buyer needs to be assured that professional expertise is available to service the forklift at regular intervals. The company purchasing the forklift should also make sure that the seller is able to provide service personnel that are qualified to undertake regular servicing of the forklifts in order to reduce downtime to a bare minimum. Care should be taken to ensure that only genuine parts are fitted as replacements in the event of breakdowns and that genuine lubricants and other consumables approved by the manufacturer are used during regular servicing. Failure to use genuine parts or consumables can result in a warranty being invalidated.

Once the decision to buy a forklift has been made the company purchasing the unit must decide whether a diesel, petrol or electrically powered forklift best suits their unique requirements. The professional supplier of forklifts will be able to advise the buyer on which unit best suits their needs. Most companies that offer forklifts for sale will be able to supply the forklifts to the organisation that has chosen to purchase a forklift. Using specialised delivery vehicles the forklifts can be delivered to the point where they will be used.

If your company wants to buy a forklift first make sure that you are dealing with a forklift supplier that has a reputation for excellent customer service and prudent advice as to which forklift best suits your business, for more information, contact us.

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Rent A Forklift

Forklift rentals from 1 day to long term rentals at competitive rates.

Buy A Forklift

We supply a full range of new & refurbished forklifts for sale.

Maintenance

We offer service packages to keep your forklift in top running order.

Tyres

Professionally fitted on your site at no additional cost.