When it's time to buy an expensive piece of material handling equipment, most decision makers are going to weigh the pros and cons of purchasing new vs used. In fact, when you plan your annual budget, you've probably included a line item for additional needed forklifts and other material handling equipment like stackers, order pickers, reach trucks, utility carts, aerial lifts, yard ramps, jacks and more. Perhaps you had the discussion about the advantages of buying new vs the advantages of buying used at that time. It's just good business sense to plan ahead and buy the big items on a planned schedule when you can take advantage of sales and tax breaks. One thing is for sure, though. You don't want to get caught with serious downtime while you debate the pros and cons of new vs used.
Obviously, a used forklift is going to be less of a hit to the bottom line - at least at first. Therein lies the caveat. The advantages of buying new material handling and distribution center warehouse equipment boil down to cost and features. Let's take a closer look at how these items can affect your purchase decision.