If you’re considering whether to purchase or rent construction equipment or other heavy equipment it is important to evaluate the pros and cons of each.  Owning your own backhoe rather than a backhoe rental may make sense if you know you will be operating it for many years to come.  However, there are some costs associated with owning construction equipment.  Below are some points to consider before you make that hefty purchasing decision.

1. Avoid the Initial Cost

Purchasing construction equipment is a steep expense.  Of course for some buying that Skid Steer makes more sense than acquiring a temporary skid steer for rent.  The reason can only be if you know your contractor business will be utilizing it time and time again.  For others, renting is a much easier financial investment.

2. Rental Construction Equipment is Proven on The Field

Stealing this from the Sonsray Rentals slogan, a heavy equipment rental house serving California and Washington (and coming soon to Oregon).  They live by their slogan, “Proven on The Field”, which means the construction equipment they rent is broken in, up-to-date on maintenance and ready to work for you.  Buying new heavy equipment can take hours to fully break in.

3. Stop Paying for Construction Equipment When Not In Use

Just like any construction business, operators have their favorite or preferred machines they like to work with.  When you rent heavy equipment like a bulldozer, for example, you don’t have to worry about your machine(s) sitting idle.  Let the rental company worry about finding other users.

4. Enjoy the latest technology with renting heavy equipment

A good construction equipment rentals company updates their fleet frequently to stock the newest models released to date.  The heavy equipment rentals industry is a competitive market, so for this reason, companies like, Sonsray Rentals, offer the latest and greatest with all the technology capabilities you need to help you complete your projects more efficiently.

5. Achieve Worry-Free Compliance

To stay in the heavy equipment rentals business, rental houses must ensure all their equipment is up-to-date and in compliance with emissions regulations.  No company would ever want the status of its compliance into question, so you can rest assured that all equipment from a heavy equipment rentals business meets emissions and other safety standards.

6. Avoid Maintenance Costs

Maintenance can be expensive for any type of construction machinery, even if it’s a compact machine like a forklift.  Unexpected breakdowns cost even more.  When you rent heavy equipment, even if it’s a forklift rental, all maintenance is conducted by the fleet owner.  They are responsible for making sure their equipment is running and maintained properly.  The best rental companies spend a significant amount on preventive maintenance and recruiting master certified technicians to repair and keep the machines operating smoothly.  For a construction business owner like yourself who opts for renting heavy equipment, you save yourself the money from any repairs, breakdowns, and staffing technicians. 

7. Say Goodbye to Storage Fees

When you own your own construction machines you must have storage solutions.  Whether your machine is being operated daily or not in use, there’s only so long that a construction vehicle can sit outdoors exposed to the elements.  When you have heavy equipment sitting idle, and you don’t have the space to store the machine, construction business owners must resort to renting warehouse/storage space.  Renting construction machines only as you need them will save you the hassle of transporting machines back and forth to and from a jobsite, plus you won’t have added monthly storage fees either.

8. Trim Transport Costs

Coordinating the transportation of your construction equipment from where it is parked to the job site can be a headache and cause downtime.  By renting heavy equipment, all you do is simply make 1 phone call.  The rental company handles all of the logistics of drop-off and pick-up; plus many of them calculate delivery into their rental price so it doesn’t feel like an extra expense.  This is also important for a company who is based on the East Coast, but has a contract project on the West Coast, renting locally would save you money rather than transporting your heavy equipment across the US.

9. Project-Specific Rentals

Different contractors have their specialized business they prefer to focus on.  Some specialize in landscaping, others in residential construction, and others in commercial construction, etc.  Every now and then, you will find a new business opportunity; and rather than turning the business down, you will embrace this unchartered territory.  Growth is always a great thing, but rather than committing to purchasing new equipment solely for that specific project; a contractor may be better off to rent construction equipment to pursue this new opportunity, expand its horizons, and still remain profitable.

10. Have Some Wiggle Room

Purchasing new heavy equipment adds up quickly, and can put you in debt.  If you’re not profitable from the get-go, you may simply be working to pay off your financed construction machines.  Getting too deep into debt could cost you other future opportunities, as it can stunt your growth.  By keeping your options open to renting heavy equipment rather than buying it, this will allow you to access available capital more freely and pursue further growth opportunities.

These are just 10 benefits to renting heavy equipment vs buying; it is definitely not a solution for everybody.  Obviously, if you need a construction machine in which you know you will be operating it daily, then buying may still be the better option.  Tune in later in July, for part 2 of this article, where we will share 10 additional benefits to renting heavy equipment.

Sonsray Rentals is a division and sister company of Sonsray Machinery specializing in offering rental equipment solutions for the construction industry.  With access to the dealer network, Sonsray Rentals leverages the factory trained, Master certified technicians to maintain their equipment rentals.