If you have plans to carry out a construction project which will probably take a few months to complete, you might be thinking about purchasing, rather than renting a forklift. However, in almost all cases, it is better to get a forklift truck hire instead of buying it outright. Read on to find out why:

It may save you time and money

A lot of people who carry out construction projects opt to purchase forklifts and other machinery instead of renting them, with the intention of selling this equipment on at the end of the building process.

However, this often results in these individuals suffering significant financial losses. The reason for this is that the value of a forklift usually depreciates rather rapidly. After several months of heavy usage, the equipment simply won't fetch anywhere near its original sale price.

As such, if you buy this item outright, you should do so with the understanding that you will probably end up losing money, even if you manage to sell it.

Another point to consider is that the process of selling the forklift truck on at the end of your project might be quite time-consuming and costly; you may find yourself waiting several weeks, or even months, for a buyer. During this waiting period, you will need to pay to store the forklift on another construction site or at a storage facility.

The cost of renting this equipment from a forklift truck hire company is likely to be far less than the cost of buying it and then paying to store it when the time comes to try to sell it on. It will also spare you from having to spend your time advertising the equipment for sale and arranging viewings.

It can make the process of sourcing spare parts much easier

One of the biggest advantages of hiring a forklift truck is that it makes the process of sourcing spare parts far easier.

If for example, one of the forklift's components gets broken during the course of the construction project, you can simply get in touch with the rental company and they can either provide you with the required part (most forklift hire companies keep a supply of spare parts for their machinery in stock at all times) or put you in touch with a company that you can purchase the part from. In most cases, this is a very quick and simple process, and as such, won't cause any major disruptions to your construction project.

Conversely, if you own the forklift outright and the component you are looking for it rare or quite old, you may struggle to source it quickly and easily. This, in turn, could cause delays to your project.