Best Diesel Forklift to Buy or Hire in Newcastle

Diesel Forklift Truck for Sale in Newcastle Upon Tyne today!

If you are trying to save money and buy the best diesel forklift truck on the market in Newcastle. You should keep on reading the rest of this article if you want to learn more.

Are you like a lot of people who have searched on the internet and found that the world of forklift trucks is vast, especially here in Newcastle? Have you have contacted a few suppliers albeit manufacturers of independent distributors or dealers? You now know how competitive the forklift truck marketplace is in Newcastle. The purchasing options can be complicated, buy, hire, lease, rental, and buy-back and re-hire will leave a lot of financial managers with a headache.

Best Diesel Forklift Truck?

Well, a good place is to carry on reading and picking up some knowledge before you speak to a supplier in Newcastle or the surrounding areas. If this is your first forklift truck, then I recommend reading our Forklift Buyers Guide too.

There are many considerations to make when choosing your next diesel forklift truck. Below you will find my step-by-step guide on what I think are the key ingredients to making your final decision.

Diesel Forklift Truck Emissions

Now you may think this is not something you need to concern yourself with because the diesel forklift you are buying is going to be working in the yard outside and will never venture past your warehouse door. While that may be the case how about considering the forklift operator who is sitting on the forklift all day breathing in some of the exhaust emissions. 

I am sure your forklift operator cares about how many toxic emissions he is inhaling and we are not living in the Victorian era of smog in Newcastle.

Forklift truck exhausts are often mounted behind where the operator is sitting or underneath the counterweight but typically the former option is true. Now while the forklift truck is traveling along the emissions are being blown away but what about when it comes to loading and unloading? The forklift has to be stationary for that task and therefore the engine is running and the RPM’s increase when the mast is raised so emissions go up.

New diesel forklifts are a lot better than the black smoking hulks of a few years ago. However, are you buying new or used? An older used diesel forklift truck will certainly have a lot worse emissions control than a new machine. Apart from the fact, the engines were not designed as environmentally friendly as they are today the wear on the engine will also be a factor. Has the forklift truck services regularly? If not, no doubt it will be running a lot worse than a forklift that has been. Second-hand forklifts may seem cheap but they do have hidden costs.

Best Diesel Forklifts for Sale in Newcastle

Newcastle is a big place!

There are so many companies selling diesel, LPG, and electric forklifts that it’s difficult to know how to choose. Just do a quick Google search for “forklift trucks for sale near me” or “forklift trucks for sale in Newcastle”.

I am sure you will probably find 10 to 15 companies all based in and around Newcastle, Tyne and Wear as well as Northumberland too.

Deciding if you want a new diesel forklift truck depends on your budget etc so I will assume you are looking to buy from a manufacturer or an agent of a manufacturer. Both are good options, and you will find the service and backup support is usually fairly good. Making your purchase or decision near the end of the month will help you in the negotiation stakes. Salespeople have annual targets that are broken down into quarters and months. If a salesperson is having a bad month, they will be very keen to make a sale and offer you a higher discount. 

TRUST ME I USED TO BE ONE SO I KNOW!

Diesel Forklift Truck Demonstration

Not sure if the forklift truck will work in your application? Ask for a demonstration on your premises for at least 3 days. Manufacturers run demonstration fleets so this should not be an issue, perhaps the main dealer might struggle if they do not have one in stock but ask anyway.  Lots of Newcastle based forklift companies have 1 or 2 forklift trucks just for demonstration purposes. If you are based in the Tyne and Wear area perhaps the local forklift truck dealer can take you to an existing customer of theirs in Newcastle.

It is important that your forklift truck operator likes the forklift and enjoys using it to do his job, if not and you force them to use one, they do not like and you are in trouble. I have seen forklift operators deliberately damage a forklift they have been given over one they wanted, it is not good! If you are spending upwards of £20k on a 3-tonne diesel forklift you do not want an operator breaking it.

Your forklift truck operator will tell you if the machine is any good or not and this should be factored into your decision process. They are the one who is using it every day so at least listen to them.

Get multiple demonstrations in and do not take the cheapest price. If you can have a couple in at a time so you can run side-by-side trials. Keep notes and get feedback from all concerned.  As I mentioned earlier getting a forklift demonstration in Newcastle should not be difficult.

Oh, and watch the salespeople do not bribe your forklift truck operators, trust me it is a thing!

Best Diesel Forklift Warranty

Forklift manufacturers offer different warranties just the same way car companies do. If you are taking a diesel forklift on a 3- or 5-year contract hire then the warranty does not matter to you. However, if you have been looking for a forklift to buy then you need to make sure what you are covered and what is and how long for.

Some forklift companies offer a 3-year warranty on the engine and transmission as long as they have the service agreement for the period. If you take them up on this you can expect to pay more for your servicing than you would with an independent supplier. However, the benefit you get is that it will be a good quality forklift engineer who is fitting genuine service parts to your awfully expensive investment.

If the engine and transmission are covered, then what about the mast? This is an integral part of the FORKLIFT TRUCK as it lifts and lowers. Push for an addendum to cover the mast if the warranty does not already do so.

I wish you luck with your purchase and I hope this post has been somewhat useful to you.

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