Why Contractors Are Skipping New Machines, Even When They Can Afford Them

It’s a belief that has been ingrained in people’s minds that you should purchase equipment when you can afford to, but when you can’t, you should use used equipment. If you visit a job site in 2026, it will be quickly shown to be incorrect. Many contractors who still have sufficient funds in their bank accounts and credit lines continue to stroll past the new equipment lot and in the direction of the used equipment. 

It’s Not About the Sticker Price

The obvious answer is money. The cost of a new large excavator is in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars, while a similar used excavator may be 30-40% less. That difference is important but doesn’t necessarily drive most experienced buyers to switch. If you ask a fleet manager who’s been at this game for fifteen years why they would purchase used, the price tag doesn’t come up as the first answer. What comes up are math-related applications.

What a contractor needs for a highway project that takes 14 months is an appropriate machine, not one that will be needed 20 years from now. They require a machine that will run without any problems for 14 months and then be sold on or moved to a smaller piece of work. 

A new machine will lose its value most dramatically in year one (and usually 15-20% in the first year before the first oil change is necessary). A machine that has been on the market for 3 or 4 years and is documented as used heavy equipment has already taken that measure. Whoever buys it next isn’t paying for that depreciation curve. They are on the cheap side of it.

No one discusses the issue of wait times enough!

The part that forces even well-funded contractors to turn to used stocks is lead times. Some of the major OEMs have reported that the time for ordering new equipment has increased to up to 9-18 months. If a contractor is awarded a bid today, he shouldn’t have to wait more than a year for a machine to arrive; he needs it today, not next spring. You can’t solve the availability problem with money alone with used inventory. All the money in the world and still not having enough manpower to run a bid.

This is sneaking its way into how bigger contractors are designing their fleets. This is subtly changing the way that bigger contractors design their fleets. Rather than having to order new equipment a year ahead of work, they are maintaining a “rotate” of well-used equipment that can be deployed as soon as the project is confirmed, and they source new orders only for longer-term assets anticipated to be in use for 10 years or more.

Consumers are starting to understand what “used” means

Ten years ago it was a handshake, a logbook, and a paint job when purchasing used equipment. That’s changed. Decision makers today can check a used machine as carefully as a new one and, in some cases, more carefully since they know the machine’s service history, can access the telematics data, and can also see how it’s been used in the field, as opposed to a spec sheet.

It’s a major reason used-car ownership has become less taboo for serious players. This 5-year-old wheel loader that’s received a full service schedule and regular telematics data is no longer a gamble. Well, it is a known thing. On the other hand, a brand-new machine is just as much an unknown, as it has no proven track record and you can’t know if it will live up to the expectations on the spec sheet.

When New Still Wins

All this does not mean that new equipment has been supplanted. Contractors with plans to operate a machine for 8-10+ years or for the newest emissions compliance, warranty, and manufacturer financing terms still favour “new.” The answer is NOT “used is always better. It’s because the calculation has become more purposeful: project length, resale plans, availability, and the complete cost of ownership all come into play before a contract is signed.

That’s the important change. Purchasing used was a last-resort option. Now, however, it is just another cost that these growing numbers of contractors must consider when running numbers, and more often than not, the numbers come out in their favor.

Ready to stop waiting on lead times? Browse verified used excavators and used wheel loaders with full service history at MY Equipment, available now. Contact our team to get full assistance throughout the process, from finding the best machine to finally getting it in your yard.

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