Hire or buy? It's less about the machine and more about your workload. Here's how we walk customers through the decision.

When hire is the smart move

Short-term or project work. If the need has an end date — a fit-out, a contract, a construction phase — hire is almost always the answer. You pay for the weeks you need, and the machine disappears when the job does.

Seasonal peaks. Plenty of our customers own a core fleet and hire extra units for harvest, Christmas or end-of-quarter surges. It keeps the owned fleet sized for the quiet months, not the busy ones.

Uncertain or changing requirements. New warehouse, new racking layout, new product line? Hire while the operation settles, then buy exactly the machine the workflow proved you need. It's the cheapest product trial you'll ever run.

Cash flow and balance sheet. Hire is a clean operating expense — no capital outlay, no depreciation schedule, and servicing is built into the rate. For growing businesses, keeping capital free for stock and staff often outweighs the long-run economics of ownership.

No workshop of your own. Every Lift Equipt hire machine is maintained by us. Breakdowns, scheduled servicing and compliance checks are our problem, not yours.

When buying wins

High utilisation, year-round. If a forklift works most of every working day, all year, ownership is nearly always cheaper over a 5–10 year horizon. Hire rates include flexibility you're not using.

Specialised spec. Unusual mast heights, custom attachments, cold-store builds — if you need a machine configured specifically for your operation, buying (new or used) gets you exactly the right tool.

Long-term cost control. Owners with a stable duty cycle can plan servicing, tyres and eventual replacement precisely. Add fleet telematics like LiftTrace and you'll know each machine's true cost per hour.

The middle path: quality used. A refurbished ex-fleet machine can deliver ownership economics at a much lower entry point — a strong option when the workload justifies buying but the budget is tight.

A simple rule of thumb

  • Needed under 12 months → hire
  • Needed 1–3 years or utilisation still unclear → long-term hire, review annually
  • Needed 3+ years at steady utilisation → buy new or quality used

Run your numbers with us

Bring us your workload — hours per week, lift heights, load weights, site conditions — and we'll quote both paths side by side so you can compare like for like. Call 1300 44 44 22, explore hire or request a quote.