The used market for telescopic boom forklifts, what specs drive value, and why non-running units still command strong offers.
Telehandlers depreciate more slowly than nearly anything else in material handling. A ten-year-old warehouse forklift is an ordinary used truck; a ten-year-old JLG or SkyTrak with a good boom is still a working asset that contractors actively want. The reason is demand structure — construction activity, rental fleet churn, and the fact that a telehandler does jobs no other single machine does.
For sellers, this means the number is usually higher than expected, and it means a mechanical fault hurts less than it would on a comparable forklift.
Capacity and reach are the first two variables: an 8,000 lb machine reaching 42 feet and a 10,000 lb machine reaching 54 feet serve different jobs and price differently. Brand liquidity matters — JLG, CAT, Genie, SkyTrak, Lull, JCB, and Manitou all move well, with parts support everywhere.
Then come the specifics: hours, tire condition, whether the boom has been damaged or repaired, outrigger and frame-leveling function, cab versus open ROPS, and emissions tier, which affects where the machine can be resold.
Telehandler attachments are worth real money on their own. Standard carriages and forks, buckets, truss booms, jibs, work platforms, and lifting hooks all add to a package. Contractors frequently sell a machine and forget the attachments sitting in the yard — those should be in the photos and in the deal.
If you have a platform with current certification paperwork, mention it. Certified work platforms are harder to source used than most sellers realize.
This surprises people. A telehandler with a blown engine, failed hydraulic pump, or transmission fault still carries strong value because the boom, chassis, axles, and outrigger structure are the expensive parts and they are usually intact. Engines and pumps are replaceable line items.
We buy non-running telehandlers regularly and handle recovery ourselves, including machines with the boom stuck extended, which requires specific transport planning.
Our most common sources are rental fleets retiring older units on a schedule, contractors downsizing after a project wraps or a division closes, and dealers clearing trade-ins that will not retail. All three are volume relationships, and all three value the same thing: a firm number quickly, payment upfront, and freight handled without a coordination burden.
Send photos and the data plate. We price it and send a written offer with freight included the same business day.
A practical breakdown of how used forklift values are actually calculated — capacity, fuel type, hours, mast, tires, brand liquidity, attachments, and condition.
Read guideWhy scrap weight pricing leaves thousands on the table on used forklifts, and how machine-level valuation works differently.
Read guideThe exact shot list professional forklift buyers need, and the four photos sellers almost always forget.
Read guideFour things get you an accurate number: the make and model from the data plate, the capacity, the hour meter reading if it still works, and photos. For photos, take a shot of each side, one of the mast and carriage, one of the data plate, and one of the tires. Then tell us whether it starts and lifts. If you have attachments, a charger, or an LP tank, mention those too, because they add to the offer.
No. Freight is entirely our cost, in every state. Our carriers handle loading and hauling, including units that will not drive onto the trailer under their own power. For heavy capacity forklifts and container handlers we arrange lowboy and step-deck transport with rigging. You never book a truck, never pay a fuel surcharge, and never see a deduction for transport on your payment.
Before the truck leaves. Payment goes out once you accept the offer and we confirm pickup details — wire, company check, or cash depending on the size of the deal and your preference. We do not work on consignment, we do not pay after resale, and we do not renegotiate at the dock. The number you accept is the number you receive.
Both. One forklift sitting behind a shop is a perfectly normal transaction for us and we treat it the same way we treat a forty-unit deal: firm offer, payment upfront, freight on us. Fleets are where the largest dollars are, but a single unit is never too small to be worth a call.
Yes. A dead or missing battery changes the number, never the willingness to buy. Lead-acid packs carry core value even when they no longer hold a charge, and the truck itself is what most buyers want. If you still have the charger, include it — chargers add real money and we will take them in the same load.
All of them. Toyota, Hyster, Yale, Crown, Raymond, Caterpillar, Clark, Mitsubishi, Nissan, UniCarriers, Komatsu, Linde, Doosan, Hyundai, Jungheinrich, TCM, Daewoo, Taylor, Hoist, Kalmar, Combilift, Landoll, JLG, Genie, SkyTrak, Sellick, Big Joe, EP Equipment, and the obscure and discontinued names too. Older or off-brand iron is often worth more than sellers expect precisely because parts support has dried up and used units are the only source.
Yes. Side shifters, fork positioners, rotators, carton clamps, paper roll clamps, drum handlers, extended forks, and man baskets all have their own market. So do battery chargers, spare battery packs, and racks of forks. If you are clearing a maintenance area, tell us what is on the shelves — we regularly buy attachments and chargers in the same transaction as the trucks.
A scrap yard pays by the pound for steel. We pay for the machine as a machine — its make, model, capacity, hours, mast, attachments, and rebuildable components. On a running truck the difference is frequently several thousand dollars, and even on a dead unit our number generally beats scrap because the drivetrain and mast retain resale value that a shredder ignores. You also skip paying a hauler, since our freight is free.
That is our specialty. Mixed lots of any composition — propane sit-downs, reach trucks, order pickers, a wall of walkies, a telehandler, scissor lifts, racking-adjacent equipment — priced as one package with one payment and a coordinated pickup schedule. We work with facility managers, liquidators, and auctioneers on deadline-driven closures and can stage removal around your last day of operations.
Constantly, and many dealers keep us on standing call. Trade-ins that will not retail, aged inventory tying up floor space, units taken on allowance that do not fit your mix, and rental retirements. We buy them in bulk, pay upfront, and clear your back lot without you having to retail or auction anything.
