Buy heavy equipment: excavator, loader, mobile crane
Choose the machine for the job, not by its name
The same machine can be too much or too little depending on the volume of work. First decide what you will dig, load or lift, over what area and how often.
For earthworks there are excavators, bulldozers and tractors and the motor grader. On tight sites a mini loader helps, and for stacking and loading there are forklifts and loaders. The general choice for construction is collected in construction machinery.
Lifting, concrete, roads and municipal jobs
For work at height look at aerial platforms, mobile cranes and loader cranes. Concrete is delivered by mixers and concrete pumps. For roads there are asphalt pavers and road rollers. Municipal bodies will need municipal vehicles, garbage trucks and sewage tankers.
For quarries and forestry there are tipper trucks and logging machinery, and for boreholes a drilling rig.
What to put in your request
- type and make — for example, a crawler excavator, a wheeled loader;
- weight and power — operating weight in tonnes, hp;
- parameters for the job — bucket capacity, lifting height, boom reach;
- year and hours of use — running hours, not just the year;
- condition — working, after overhaul, for parts;
- attachments — buckets, hydraulic breaker, forks;
- papers — registration papers and the invoice;
- city and delivery — a low-bed trailer for transport is often needed separately;
- budget, if you want to state it.
How to judge condition and compare
The year of manufacture says little about a machine. Running hours and the state of the hydraulics, undercarriage and cab say far more. Ask to see the machine at work, and check for oil leaks, play in the joints and cracks on the boom. On tracked machines look at the wear of the track pads and rollers, and on wheeled ones at the tyres and axles.
When you compare offers, check whether delivery, papers and warranty are in the price. Ask about spares separately: for rare models they can be expensive and slow to arrive.
Compare offers on the full kit: with or without a bucket, with hydraulic lines for attachments, with the papers needed for registration. That way a price difference really reflects a difference in the machine. New equipment comes with a warranty and the dealer's service, used is cheaper but needs a closer inspection.
Think about how often you need the machine: for one project it is sometimes better to hire. If you buy, include delivery, servicing, insurance and an operator in your budget. Make sure spares and service are close by, otherwise downtime will cost more than you saved on the price.
Ask for photos and videos of the machine working: boom lift, turns, hydraulics, a cold start, and the maker's plate with the serial number. If the machine is in another city, agree on a video inspection first and then a personal check before you pay.
How BlaBlaPrice works
You describe the job in one request, and sellers and dealers reply in the chat with price, running hours, photos and terms. The platform shows the best-value offer first, and seller reviews are visible next to each one. You will not be flooded with calls: only the seller you choose gets your contacts. More on the “How it works” page.
