Used electric pallet jacks

Buying a used or refurbished electric pallet jack is a great way to acquire capital equipment without paying full retail pricing.  You can purchase pallet jacks through a dealer, or you can save additional money by purchasing the directly from the end user.  You can do this by contacting some of the larger firms in your immediate area (speak directly to the warehouse staff), and find out if they have any immediate plans to update their material handling equipment.

Before you purchase a used pallet truck, obtain the service records if possible.  Checking the previous PM records is a good way to assess whether or not the unit may have been taken care of by the former owner.  Check for whether or not the previous owner diligently performed previous service checks.  This is also a good way to identify if there is any costly maintenance which may be coming up as well.  The electrical system, hydraulics, and mechanical systems can also be self-serviced if you have in house staff.  Certain parts, such as wheels should be carefully examined. Inspecting the wheels on the forklift can give you a good idea of whether or not the pallet truck was misused or abused.

If the electric pallet truck is purchased from a dealer, be sure to check if the forklift comes with an extended warranty/guarantee. You do not want to be surprised with unknown issues such as leaky hydraulics or neglected battery maintenance.

If the unit is no longer under warranty, you may want to consider a third party warranty/maintenance agreement for your used pallet truck. This is a good way to accurately budget your maintenance costs for your equipment. Another way to save on costs is to consider using aftermarket pallet jack parts instead of purchasing OEM parts for your Hyster, Clark, Mitsubishi, Caterpillar Toyota, Yale, and Crown pallet trucks.

Financing or leasing your forklift(s) may be a good idea if you cannot afford the upfront capital expenditure.  Speak with your accountant to find out what your best options are (i.e. financing vs operating lease vs capital lease).  You can lease equipment through a 3^rd party, and it does not have to be the same company as you purchased the pallet jack from.  New pallet trucks may be financed through the manufacturer in certain circumstances, however you should always shop around for the best rate.  The financing of equipment is a good way to spread the costs of your machinery through the expected useful life of the equipment.  Should you decided to lease or finance your pallet truck; it is a good idea to check your D&B Credit Score beforehand.  Depending on the size and total revenue of your company, the lending institution may require a personal guarantor.

Regardless of the financial instruments used to acquire your machinery, purchasing used or refurbished electric pallet jacks is an excellent way to save on costs.  Before purchasing pallet jacks it is extremely important that your staff is properly trained. 

Many accidents in warehouses are caused by accidents which occur when fork lift drivers accidentally bump into pallet shelving units.  This can happen because of drivers who are inattentive to their surroundings.  You can mitigate this risk by purchasing special protection which can protect the base columns on your racks.