How to sell a forklift?

If you have a spare forklift lying around in your construction yard, you might want to find a way to convert this valuable machinery into some additional capital that can benefit your business. After all, there’s no use in having a forklift that you won’t use, and the generated revenue can be used to benefit the business through further investments, or even bonuses for staff who have worked so hard for the company over the years. Read on to learn all about how to sell a forklift, and why selling your forklift is likely to offer you the best financial prospects possible.

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Sell or rent?

As a forklift owner, it can be difficult to decide whether to rent your forklift out or sell it on. However, there are a few factors that you need to take into account in order to establish which of the two is most likely to offer you a greater profit. The first is the remaining operating life of the forklift – if your forklift is old and has a shorter lifecycle, you may get more money from selling it as opposed to earning rental income.

The next factor to consider is the type of forklift you have. For example, electric forklifts are likely to play a significant role in the future compared to fuel-powered forklifts, so keeping hold of an electric forklift to rent out could see you net more profit. Also, there’s no reason why you couldn’t sell it down the line when demand is higher. On the other hand, if you have a fuel-powered forklift, selling it now could be more advantageous.

Furthermore, you need to consider the maintenance costs if you were to keep the forklift. Although you may be able to make substantial revenue from renting out your forklift, it can be difficult to keep on top of the maintenance costs and make a profit from your forklift. If you want to make a guaranteed revenue with minimal deductions, selling your forklift is almost always the best option to choose. However, you might not know how to do so, whether that’s finding the right buyer or the act of actually selling your forklift. Below are the steps you should follow when selling your forklift.

1. Get a valuation

The first thing you need to do is get a valuation for your forklift from an independent source. This is potentially the most important part of the process, as an inaccurate valuation could lead to potentially thousands of pounds of value lost by you and your company. An accurate valuation by a trusted source means that you know exactly how much to advertise your forklift for in order to drum up interest whilst still ensuring that you can generate enough revenue from the sale to achieve all of your goals. Too high and nobody wants to buy, whereas too low and you run the risk of ripping yourself off.

2. Generate interest

Once you’ve established a price point, you should aim to generate some interest. This can range from posting your forklift online and hoping that people see your advert or even discussing the matter with some of your existing contacts within the industry. Once you’ve generated a good amount of interest, you know that the amount you’re charging is in the right area, and you may even be able to consider increasing the amount that you’re charging for your forklift.

3. Think about how you're selling

There are a few ways that you can sell your forklift once you’re sure you have enough demand for it. The first of these options is making an agreement with a single party to sell your forklift for a set price. The clear benefit of this is that you know exactly what you’re going to get, with the slight drawback of limiting your own potential to improve your income.

The alternative is putting your forklift up for auction. This is also a risky strategy to undertake, not least because you are far from guaranteed the same level of income as you’d receive from a direct sale. You are reliant on several parties wanting the forklift and driving the price up, which is far from guaranteed. However, if you know you have plenty of demand, you may find going to auction extremely rewarding.

4. Finalise the sale

Once the sale in principle is complete, you will need to complete a range of paperwork. This includes transferring the registration and having a receipt of payment in case of future disputes. Having a copy of documentation from the forklift’s most recent test is also advisable, as this offers you protection from any future action that may be taken if the forklift truck’s condition deteriorates under the new owner. By keeping thorough documentation, you can remain guarded against litigious buyers that are looking to do you harm.

5. Talk to the buyer

Once the purchase is complete, it can be beneficial to stay in touch with the buyer. This can be done for a range of reasons, including the fact that strong business relationships can be built from the sales of individual pieces of equipment. Once you’ve sold your forklift, you can benefit from many more business transactions with the buyer.

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How we value used forklifts

We take care to value every forklift correctly based on its specification, age and condition. We pay the best prices in the UK.

Battery/Charger

If you have an electric forklift, the battery and charger should be included when the forklift is sold to us.

Mast Specs

Large mast Specs can be make a fork truck more desirable, altough forklifts with a very large mast are harder to transport.

Accessories

A used forklift that comes with popular accessories such as side-shifter or fork positioner can be worth more.

Maintainence

A forklift with a record of routine maintenance is more valuable than one with an unknown or sporadic service history.

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Completely straightforward experience!

Completely straightforward experience, emailed photos and a short description, received a quote within a hour or so, accepted and arranged a collection date. Forklift was collected on day arranged, no problems. It was helpful that our forklift was still in a drivable state for collection and must remember to supply with battery charger otherwise couldn't be simpler.

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Goodwin Electronics, Wirral

Smooth and efficient transaction!

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Co-ordSport, Birmingham

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DKE Ltd, Waterlooville

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Great service and very efficient. Our forklift, which was pretty old broke down, and new parts are now obsolete. Not knowing how much repairs would cost and not willing to have an open budget we decided to cut our losses and get rid of it. We were offered £150 p/t by one company, plus we would have to transport it ourselves! Contacted Forkliftbuyers.co.uk - sent them details and they came back to me within 24 hours with a much better price including transportation. The whole process was easy and the truck was paid for and collected within a couple of days. Would highly recommend!

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Brochure Holders International Ltd, Ipswich

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Cambridgeshire Hydraulics Ltd, Soham

On the money

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Ladymoor Foods Ltd, Stoke-on Trent

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Nagel-Langdons, Bridgwater

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Aston Martin, Gaydon

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Aquatronic Group Management PLC, Colchester

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Paragon, Redruth

Claires Head office

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Alec Wadsworth

Claire's Accessories, Birmingham

Piggotts Flags & Branding

Reasonable quote received within a couple hours of requesting, collected our old fork lift 2 days later and paid on time. Very happy with this service! Easy Peasy, Hassle Free, Fair Price!

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Piggotts Flags, Witham

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Cash and Carry, Dagenham

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The Next Stage, Bedforshire

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ELTA Automotive, Coleshill

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Flying Firkin Distribution Ltd, Colne

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I sent them a few photos of my forklift. They made me an offer within a day. I accepted, they made an appointment to collect and turned up on time, hauled my truck onto the back of a lorry and was gone in 30 mins. So good to deal with a company that simply does what it promised to do.

Dave Simmons

Simmons Innovations Ltd, Suffolk

Quick payment

sold our broken forklift at a good price, got excellent service by Dean who sorted the quick payment over to our accounts department and a quick collection of the truck. Very happy with the professional service received.

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Kigass Aero Components Ltd, Warwick

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CMT Services Ltd, Bodmin

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Alison Handling Services Ltd, Kirkham

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A B Graphic International Ltd, Bridlington

Excellent communication and came within…

Excellent communication and came within 24 hours of contacting them.

Al-Haarith Ali

Private Sale, Birmingham

First class friendly service.would…

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Brian Arnott

Private Sale, Redditch

Very friendly and easy to speak with

Very friendly and easy to speak with - completed the sale and collected the truck super quickly. Would highly recommend.

Anna Reed

E O Group Ltd, Redhill

Overall

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Global Broadcast Installations, Solihull

Forklift buyers.

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A Ross Motors, Milton Keynes

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