Five Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Used Turf Equipment

Buying used turf equipment such as mowers, sprayers, and UTVs can be a great way to save money, but if you’re not careful you could end up with the turf version of a “hangar queen”.  Avoiding the following mistakes when purchasing pre-owned turf equipment will help make sure you get your money’s worth.

Buying Without Testing

Never buy a piece of pre-owned turf equipment without testing it out.  At the very least, start it up and drive it around, and if possible test out all the various functions as well.  If the maintenance records for the piece of equipment are available, review them to make sure it has been properly maintained.

Buying a fixer-upper

You might be tempted to purchase a piece of used turf equipment with a deeply discounted price knowing that it isn’t fully functional or is in need of repair.  This is probably not a good idea.  It may very well take more time and money to fix the equipment than you expected, in which case you’ll have to decide whether to fix it anyway or lose your original investment in the equipment.  You’re taking at least a small risk buying used equipment to begin with, but if you’re buying broken used equipment you might as well try your odds playing the lottery.

Buying equipment that doesn’t exactly fit your need

When it comes to turf maintenance, there are many kinds of specialty mowers and other types of equipment designed for very specific tasks.  Don’t buy equipment that is “pretty close” to what you really need just because you’re getting a great deal on it.  In the long run this will end up costing more in lost time and hassle than simply paying for the right equipment.

Ignoring obvious warning signs

Sometimes when you think you are about to get a great deal, you can convince yourself to overlook quite a bit.  That puddle of fluid under the machine is probably just water, right?  And that funny noise the engine is making is probably just your imagination…

This is one of those times you should trust your gut.  If something feels wrong, it probably is.  Better to be safe than sorry—avoid purchasing equipment that you don’t feel really good about.

Purchasing a model that is out of production

Eventually, you’ll probably need to replace some parts on your piece of turf equipment.  If it’s an older model that is out of production, sometimes those parts can be hard to find.  If you are purchasing an out-of-production model, make sure that you can fix it using currently available parts.

The bottom line is that as long as you use common sense when purchasing used turf equipment, you will be able to get some great deals.  Speaking of great deals, be sure to check out Kenney Machinery Corporation’s next turf equipment auction coming up on October 27th in Indianapolis—see our Facebook page for details.