When Long-term Forklift Rentals Win Over Leasing or Buying
A forklift is a pricey piece of equipment to purchase, and depending on your company’s cash position, there may be better places to park your capital funds. Long-term forklift rentals offer an option that preserves capital and provides both financial and operational flexibility.
Many facility managers think of forklift rental as a short-term thing, useful for seasonal capacity bumps, short-term surges, or temporary fill-ins for other forklifts being serviced. However, there are some operational and financial factors that can make long-term forklift rentals an attractive alternative.
Six Reasons That You Should Consider Long-term Forklift Rental:
- No Capital Commitment – As with leasing, long-term forklift rental avoids the capital commitment of purchasing a forklift. There are no financing documents to worry about, no credit checks, and no capital is tied up in your asset.
- Flexible Contracts – Unlike a lease, your forklift rental agreement often has built-in flexibility in terms of the duration of the contract and the vehicle rented. Depending on your agreement, you may be able to switch to a different forklift to accommodate changes in your material handling needs. If new technology becomes available, you can swap out your rental for a newer one with more bells and whistles. This is most often not the case with a long-term forklift lease.
- Savings on Used Equipment Rentals – You can save even more money by renting a used forklift. Again, depending on your needs, your forklift dealer may have the perfect forklift that came off lease or is part of the dealer’s rental fleet.
- No Maintenance Expenses – The equipment is owned by the dealer, and the dealer is responsible for keeping the vehicle maintained. Leasing agreements often require you, the lessee, to perform periodic maintenance and make the necessary repairs to keep the forklift in good working order. You can reduce the load on your facility’s maintenance staff and eliminate the need to store replacement parts, which can tie up more capital and take up potentially precious space.
- Tax Incentives – Rental costs are a business expense and are therefore tax-deductible – a nice advantage! Leases come in a few different flavors, like capital lease, operating lease, or conditional sales contract, and often require a higher level of finance department involvement and record-keeping.
- Eliminate Idle Equipment – A forklift sitting around and not engaged in moving a load is a capital asset soaking up cash. Renting may allow you to “right-size” your forklift fleet on a real-time basis.
Expert Support for Your Material Handling Equipment Needs
One of the key elements to a successful forklift rental program is having a trusted, well-stocked dealer as your partner. Your trusted dealer can give you access to new and used rental forklifts, provide top-quality maintenance of your rental fleet, and train your operators on how to use your rental forklifts safely and productively.
Whether you decide to buy, lease, or rent a forklift, the experts at Apex are at your disposal to select the right forklift for your needs and create the right type of financial arrangement. We stock a wide variety of internal combustion and battery-powered forklifts–both used and new–and we’re sure to have a vehicle that meets your needs at a price that’s within your budget.
In the Chicagoland area, Apex is your material handling and warehouse equipment superstore! Talk to our experts!