Major auction finds two to five year-old machinery prices strong

A total of almost 4,200 lots went under the hammer at the Euro Auctions three-day sale.

Over 2,000 UK and international bidders registering interest for this sale; one in ten of whom were first time bidders, further demonstrating the growing appeal of auctions.

The final hammer total was also over £33 million, with around half of all tractions being completed online. Bidders were attracted from right across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East with additional interest being shown by bidders in North and South America, Asia and Australia.

Jonnie Keys, Euro Auctions’ operations manager, said: “Shrewd buyers are increasingly looking to acquire low hours machines that have all the functionality and ‘bells-and-whistles’ they need but at a significantly reduced cost of a new machine,” stated “This means they gain all the operational benefits of an ‘almost new’ model but at a much-reduced cost. What’s more if they run the machine for a few years, and then sell it on through an auction, they minimise their exposure to depreciation and potential servicing costs. At the last sale we saw some popular models go for a premium of as much as 20%; reflecting the desirability of these machines and what operators are prepared to pay for hassle free operation.”

“Taking a CAT 308E as an example; the list price of a new machine, depending where in the world it’s being bought and its exact specification, is around £100,000. However, a machine that’s two to three years old and with about 1000 hours on the clock can often be secured for around £70,000. If this is then well maintained and excessive hours are not added, it could realise after three to four years of productive service a sale price of around £50,000. That means the excavator could cost just £5,000 a year to own and doesn’t tie up a huge chunk of operating capital.

“In today’s economic climate when margins are being squeezed, value for money is vital, so bidders are increasingly prepared to pay a premium to secure a quality machine that meets all their operational requirements but has lower lifetime operating costs and therefore represents better overall value for money,” continued Jonnie Keys. “That’s why we are seeing two to five year-old machines commanding a real premium.”