Your construction company must carefully consider and calculate each large purchase or they risk going out of business. Financial health is fragile, and not considering the hidden costs of boom lift ownership can take your business out in one blow. Before you decide to purchase construction equipment rather than renting it, it is imperative that you compare the benefits to the cost—all of the costs. There are many unanticipated costs of owning a boom lift that you should be aware of.
Owning equipment deems you responsible for any and all maintenance and repair. If you rent equipment, one call usually brings a person to your site to repair your boom lift, free of charge. If you own the equipment, you will have to hire someone to repair it if any damage occurs. This can be very costly. Another thing to consider is the cost of checkup inspections. If you do not check your boom lift for scheduled maintenance or updates frequently, someone on your crew could suffer injury.
You will also need to consider the price of a facility where your equipment will be stored and a subcontractor that will move your equipment from site to site. Renting the equipment makes both of these a nonissue, as the rental company usually takes care of transportation and storage for you.
When owning equipment, you must comply with all codes and ANSI standards. If you rent, this is taken care of by the rental company. This saves you the time and money it takes to meet the codes and standards.
Purchasing equipment ties you to that one piece of machinery. If you rent equipment, you can choose a different type of boom lift for each project, depending on what they require.
Purchasing a boom lift also ties your money up when it could be used to grow your core business. Renting equipment frees your capital and also gives you access to tax benefits.
It does not matter if you keep your boom lift in excellent condition. The value is going to depreciate over time. The equipment you purchase may be obsolete by the time you wish to sell it. This is due to constant improvements in the technology of boom lifts. Renting equipment allows you to have the newest equipment without purchasing a new boom lift each time one is released. You are no longer stuck struggling to sell an old, forgotten boom lift.
Training is provided by most rental companies, but if you own your own equipment this will be your responsibility. You may have to pay someone to train your employees. This can be a waste of valuable money and time, but cannot be avoided as each employee must be able to safely operate the equipment.
When it is time to get rid of a boom lift, you will have to go through the hassle of selling it. We do take trade-ins and so this is one issue you can avoid.
The hidden costs of boom lifts might not seem significant, but they add up overtime. In order to avoid these extra costs, consider renting boom lifts instead.