Heavy Construction Equipment: Buying vs Renting

It's no secret to anyone that construction machinery is an expensive investment. Whether you plan to rent or outright buy a crawler crane, rough terrain crane, or any other large machinery, you are going to have to negotiate a high dollar deal. One of the hardest decisions companies have to make is whether it is a better investment for them to buy the machinery or to simply rent it for a period of time. RTL Equipment would like to provide some helpful insight to allow you to make informed decisions that will ultimately benefit your company.

Job Frequency & Project Length

The ultimate factor to take into consideration is how often you think you will be using this equipment. As a contractor, you'll need to think logistically about the frequency of a machine's use on a job site. For example, if you are renting a machine that is sitting at idle for long periods of time on the job site, you are throwing money away that could be put towards outright buying one. The amount of jobs you have lined up can also be a huge factor. There is no need to buy a crane if you don't have enough jobs lined up to payback your investment in the near future.

Inventory Control

One thing that people many people do not take into consideration with owning a piece of machinery is the 'forgotten' costs. Things such as maintenance, hauling, and parts, and storage are expenses that add up quickly. Over the long term, buying will be an option that pays itself back far more than it would with renting, given that you have enough work to keep the machines operating. It's also worth noting that job dates can extend, sometimes massively, depending on the weather. If you are renting, you will have a higher bill for a single job compared to a purchased item.

State of the Economy / Tax Breaks

Currently, renting is the most popular trend for contractors looking for heavy equipment. However, with the IRS Section 179 Deduction, businesses that own or lease machine equipment can write off taxes, interest, insurance, and depreciation for both new and used equipment up to $500,000 with a $2,000,000 capital purchase limit. Considering that cranes and trucks are such a hefty investment, current policies like this are bringing back consumer confidence in buying compared to renting. If you are looking to buy or lease, consider reading into more about Section 179 and other benefits available for you.

Crane Rental and Sales Distributor

RTL Equipment is based out of Iowa and has been selling, leasing, and renting heavy equipment machinery to companies around the United States since 1989. If you are looking for hydraulic excavators, hydraulic crawlers, truck cranes, rough terrain cranes, all-terrain cranes, lattice boom crawlers, or anything else from our diverse inventory, give us a call! We sell and rent equipment from big names like Terex, Kobelco, Tadano, Mantis, Doosan, and many more.