You may have heavy equipment that was put to use on your property or in a home-based construction or landscaping business. However, you no longer need the equipment as you plan to upgrade to other machinery. Instead of having the equipment take up space, you want to sell it in Vancouver or elsewhere in the lower mainland to get the best price possible.
Guide on How to Sell Heavy Equipment, Parts, and Attachments
Decide on How You Want to Sell the Equipment
There are many ways to buy and sell equipment. You first need to think about how you want to approach the selling process. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you want to place a sign on your Bobcat John Deere on the edge of your property that says “For Sale by Owner” to entice people driving by to stop in and check it out?
- Do you want to sell heavy equipment online?
- Are you just interested in giving it away as you are willing to sell the heavy equipment free?
- Do you want to go through professional sellers to cut down on the time, effort and marketing work?
Once you decide on the selling approach, you can narrow your tasks down to focus on the best methods to reach interested buyers and attract them to the construction equipment and parts. Basic selling methods include private sales, selling to dealers, auction sites, and equipment brokers.
Inspect Handling Equipment Before Marketing It
Thoroughly inspect the mini excavator, wheel loader, and other construction equipment before placing up flyers and writing online ads. Unless you are selling heavy equipment parts and letting people scavenge what they want from the machine, you should evaluate the equipment for any major issues that prevent it from being used in a safe and specified manner. In addition, fixing minor issues will also help you sell heavy equipment for a higher price. Check local sites offering heavy equipment for sale in Langley, Vancouver, and Abbotsford to find comparable machine prices before you begin repairs.
Items to check and repair include:
- topping off fluids
- inspecting hydraulic hoses and systems
- making sure all controls and electronic systems work appropriately
- Fixing broken lights and checking light systems
- Repairing cab windows
- Repairing the operator’s seat
- Repairing or replacing tires and tracks
- Cleaning up the cab and machine
Determine a Sales Price
Now that you’ve inspected the heavy equipment, you can create the appropriate price range based on its current condition, make, model, year and industry pricing standards. You’ll need to perform research regarding current equipment pricing and industry trends. One way to get a price range is to visit platforms that sell heavy equipment online and look at the prices of other comparable equipment. Then you can adjust the pricing based on how much you want to make from your heavy equipment and how quickly you want to sell it off.
Marketing Your Heavy Equipment
Buyers will want to see specs and photos of the heavy construction equipment. You want to be as transparent as possible regarding the condition of the heavy equipment to build trust and to not waste the buyer’s time, or yours, on negotiations that will fall through because the buyer discovered an issue that wasn’t brought up. When placing the equipment’s information in your listing, you can focus on these general specs:
- Make/Model/Year
- Engine
- Fuel operation: Gas, diesel or electric
- Horsepower
- Heavy Equipment’s Weight
- Dimensions of any trailer
- Operation log (hours or miles logged, if possible)
- If it has air conditioning and/or heating
- Type of work the machine performed (so buyers understand possible wear-and-tear to certain parts)
You’ll also want to go into the specifics for certain types of heavy duty equipment. For example, you want to list the dump height as well as the lifting capacity for used Bobcat skid steers while buyers will also want to know the maximum lift height, maximum lift capacity and turning radius of pallet forks. You can find this information in the owner’s manuals and online spec sheets.
When it comes to visual media to place with the ad, photos and videos can help seal the deal. The more photos you can provide will be for the best, yet always make sure to include pictures of the undercarriage, the cab’s interior, the engine and its components, and the hydraulic system. Also, try to record video of the machine in action as buyers can get a better idea on its uses and how it operates.
How to Sell Heavy Equipment Online
There are numerous sites to sell heavy equipment online based on whether you are doing a private sale or going through a reserved/unreserved auction site. Sites to sell heavy equipment include:
- Kijiji local classifieds
- Craigslist
- Ebay
- AutoTrader.ca
- RitchieBros Auctioneers
When listing your items, you want to make sure you place the heavy equipment into the appropriate category based on its industry use or equipment types. You don’t want to list your compact track loader in with loader backhoe listings. Or when you have used heavy equipment attachments for sale, you want to list your spreader attachments separately from excavator attachments.
Negotiate the Right Way
How you negotiate with buyers will depend on how quickly you want to sell the heavy equipment and how low of a price point you are willing to take. Research the background of all buyers who place a bid to ensure they are legitimate, and respond to all inquiries in a professional manner.
Let us know if you’re looking to sell used heavy equipment, or if you need to buy anything by using our contact form.