Forklifts & loaders

Forklifts & loaders for sale and hire in South Africa

Updated 4 November 2026

A forklift or loader in South Africa costs from about R 89,000 for an electric pallet stacker to more than R 1,100,000 for a large telescopic loader. Most telehandlers with a 3 to 3.5 tonne payload are listed between R 463,500 and R 695,000. For the price of your exact machine, send a request on BlaBlaPrice: the AI looks through sellers' websites and price lists here and shows what it finds.

Warranty and service terms to check

Warranty terms vary widely between brands. One South African distributor now offers a five-year warranty on its Doosan 7 Series forklifts, which the trade press calls the longest warranty ever offered in the local industry. Mitsubishi's standard warranty is 12 months or 2,000 hours, with an extended powertrain cover, and Jungheinrich's service contract runs for 12 months or 1,200 hours of operation on electric models. A machine on a busy site can use up 1,200 or 2,000 hours within a year, so ask which limit applies first.

Operator training and inspections

The Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations include a code of practice on training operators of lifting machines. A recognised unit standard for operating a counter-balance lift truck also requires pre-use and post-use inspections. Forklift and tractor requirements in public tenders name the SANS 10388:2019, SANS 476 and SANS 477 standards, so if the machine is for a public tender, ask the seller to confirm compliance in writing.

Seasons and delivery between cities

Summer runs from December to February and winter from June to August. If the work starts during the summer months, ask for delivery dates now. Give the city where the machine must stand: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria or Gqeberha. Distance changes the delivery cost of a large telehandler, so name the city first. Measure in metric: lift height in metres, payload in kilograms or tonnes, and engine hours as a count.

What to put in your request

Say whether you want to buy or rent, and the lease term if you rent. Name the loader type, the payload you need in tonnes and the lift height in metres. For a used machine, add the model, the year, the engine hours and a budget in rand. Ask whether delivery and operator training are included in the price.

You get offers through BlaBlaPrice for free. Describe the machine in your own words in the chat and add a photo if you have one. Sellers registered on BlaBlaPrice receive your request and reply in the chat with their price, terms and delivery. Your contacts stay hidden until you decide with whom to exchange them, and you can also send the request link to a supplier you already know. For related machines see heavy equipment, mini loaders or excavators, or create your request on the home page.