Used or new forklift: how to decide (and what is often overlooked)

The question comes almost every week, and almost always in the same form: “We need a forklift, we have so much money – should we get a used one or should we borrow for a new one?” The answer you hear depends on who you ask. A new machine salesman will tell you that the used cat is in the bag. A used seller will show you the price and let it speak for itself.

We sell both, so we have no reason to push you to one side. So here’s the honest math: when a used machine really saves you money, when that savings is just a deferred cost, and what three things are most often overlooked when shopping.

Content:

• Working hours are the mileage of the forklift
• How much cheaper is a used machine really
• When used is a smart choice
• When the new one returns the difference
• Battery: The most expensive item that no one mentions
• Three things that are often overlooked
• How it looks here

Working hours are the mileage of the forklift

The forklift does not have a kilometer-per-hour, but it does have a working hours counter — and that is the only number that tells the truth about the machine. Easy work or difficult, in the hall or on the lot, it all boils down to how many hours the engine or electric motor actually worked.

The landmark is simple. Quality machine yarn between 10,000 and 20,000 working hours before the repair becomes more expensive than the replacement. Anything over 10,000 hours in the profession is considered a high hourly rate. To translate that into time: in one shift, eight hours a day, 10,000 hours add up to approx. five years. A machine with 6,000 hours on the clock is therefore not old — it is halfway through its life.

That’s why the first question to the seller is never “how old is it”, but “how many hours it has and does the counter work”. The year tells you how long the machine has stood; the hours tell you how much she worked. As a rule, electric machines live longer than motor machines — fewer moving parts, less to fail.

How much cheaper is a used machine really

On average, a used forklift costs 25 to 50 percent less than a comparable new machine. That’s real, tangible savings, and there’s no point pretending it isn’t.

But price isn’t the only money that moves. The new machine loses 20 to 25 percent of the value in the first year, and about 10 to 15 percent of each subsequent one. The second-hand one has already passed the steepest part of the decline — when you sell it in two years, you will lose less dinars than on a new one. On the other hand, with a used machine, costs that are not visible on the price list come earlier: tires, brakes, hydraulics, hoses, chains.

The real comparison is therefore never “price against price”, but cost per working hour over five years: supply plus energy plus service plus parts plus what it costs the day the machine is standing. We will write about this calculation in detail in a separate text, but the principle is worth remembering right away.

When used is a smart choice

There are situations where a used machine is simply a better decision, and there is no need to play modesty:

• Seasonal work. Redemption, harvest, rush hour before the holidays — the machine works two to three months a year. For the rest of the year, the new one would just lose value standing still.
• Spare machine. When the main one goes for service, something is needed to transport the pallets for three days. For that role, new is pure luxury.
• Limited capital. If the choice is between a used machine now and a new one in a year, a used machine that works is worth more than a new one that is planned.
• Easy mode. A few hours a day, on a flat floor, close to a ramp — a machine with 8,000 hours in that kind of work has a lot of life left in it.
• Urgent need. The used machine is on the lot and goes immediately; the new one is sometimes waiting.

When the new one returns the difference

And there are situations in which savings on a used machine evaporate for a single day of downtime:

• The machine works every day, all day. In a full shift or two, a used machine gets to its 10,000 hours — and to its first major overhaul — faster.
• Process without reserve. If the truck cannot be unloaded without that forklift, the cost of standing is measured in people waiting, not in dinars for parts.
• Difficult conditions. Dust, frost, uneven land, ramps — the new machine can withstand it with a full warranty behind it.
• When the fleet is built. Five of the same new machines means one set of parts, one service know-how and predictable maintenance.

With new machines comes what is agreed with used ones on a case-by-case basis: guarantee for legal entities lasting 12 months*. With a used machine, the warranty should be expressly agreed upon and written down — it is not implied.

Battery: The most expensive item that no one mentions

This is the item that most people get burned on, and that’s why we’re giving it a separate section.

With a used electric forklift the battery is a separate machine within the machine, with its own shelf life. The traction battery lasts approx 1,500 charging cycles, that is, approximately five years of regular work. If you’re buying a six-year-old machine with an original battery, you haven’t bought a forklift with a battery — you’ve bought a forklift with a battery replacement soon to follow. And that replacement costs a third of the price of the machine itself.

That’s why you look for three pieces of information with every used electric machine: year of battery manufacture (written on the nameplate), number of cycles if the charger records it, i measured capacity after full charge. If the seller doesn’t have any of those three pieces of information, feel free to include a new battery in the price.

Three things that are often overlooked

First — availability of parts. An affordable machine from a rare manufacturer can become an expensive machine when waiting for a part that no one in the region has. Before buying, check who services that brand in Serbia and how long it takes for a standard part. With machines of well-known series, this is never a question.

Second — papers. A forklift is a work equipment, not just a machine. It is subject to regulation periodic review performed by a licensed legal entity, and you must have that inspection in your documentation regardless of whether the machine is new or used. Ask for the service history and the last inspection report — their absence is information in itself.

Third — the wear and tear of the fairies. The pitchforks are the parts that carry the load and wear out invisibly, at the root. A worn villa is a safety risk, and new ones are not cheap. If you’re only looking at the engine and tires when touring the machine, you’ve missed the most important part.

The full checklist—the twelve points we go through before a machine even leaves our overhaul—will be published soon, with a form you can take on the tour.

How it looks here

We offer both, and we’re happy to tell you which one is right for your business — even if it’s the cheaper one.

Used machines you can look by drive: used electric forklifts, used diesel forklifts i used gas forklifts, or all together on the page used forklifts. You get hours and condition data with every machine — no frills.

New machines are on the page new forklifts, and the current more favorable prices at action page. Prices are published in euros without VAT; the listed prices refer to registered economic entities, and payment is made in dinar equivalent at the middle rate of the NBS on the day of payment.

If you are not sure what you need, the shortest way is to describe the job to us — how many pallets per day, what is the maximum weight, how high is it lifted and what is the floor like. We recommend the machine based on that, not the other way around. Send it request for quotation, call 021/6040-505 (Monday–Saturday, 7:00–15:00) or write to info@viljuskari-jovic.rs.

Both solutions have their place. It’s not a mistake to buy used — it’s a mistake to buy used for a business that needs new, or to pay new for a business that works two months a year.

* The guarantee is contracted in accordance with the valid laws of the Republic of Serbia.