Used Boom Lift Financing

Sixty feet of working height, a good service history, and a price that's 40 percent under new list. That's what a late-model used boom lift off a major rental fleet looks like, and it's why experienced fleet buyers target rental-company dispositions before they ever call a dealer about new iron. A four-year-old Genie S-60 telescopic boom with 1,200 hours from a national rental company that ran it on commercial accounts doesn't owe you much. It's got most of its service life left and a fraction of the new purchase price. We fund those units, and every other category of used boom lift, from $50k on up with a two-week close.

Used boom lift financing covers the full class: electric slab articulating and telescopic booms, diesel rough-terrain units, and the larger format machines at 80, 120, and 135 feet. The underwriting on a used unit looks at the asset, the cash flow of the buyer, and the deal structure. Credit that's seen better days doesn't automatically stop the deal if the other factors are solid. Three months of bank statements and a signed application are what we need to start on deals up to $400k.

Hours alone don't tell the whole story on a used boom lift. A diesel rough-terrain unit that's run 2,500 hours on a large construction project may be in better shape than an articulating boom with 900 hours that spent its life in a demanding steel erection application with inadequate maintenance. The questions that matter are: what kind of work did the machine do, who maintained it, and is there a service history to back up the answers?

Rental-company fleet units are the cleanest used buys because the service records exist, the maintenance was performed on schedule, and the operating conditions are documented. National rental companies publish their fleet disposition schedules, and buyers who track those cycles can pick up late-model articulating and telescopic booms at consistent price points. A used JLG 800AJ articulating boom from a rental-fleet sale in good condition will hold its value better than a comparable-hours unit from an undocumented private party.

Key inspection points on a used boom lift include: upper structure hose condition, telescope or articulation cylinder seals, battery or engine condition depending on drive type, outrigger pad and pin condition on rough-terrain units, and platform control function. None of these require a dealer inspection to evaluate, but having one done on a private-party purchase over $100k is worth the cost. We don't require it to fund the deal, but it protects you on asset condition.

• Rental-fleet dispositions with documented service history (best used source)
• Dealer-certified used units with inspection and any remaining warranty
• Auction purchases on IronPlanet, Ritchie Bros., or similar platforms
• Private-party buys from contractors or smaller operators cycling their fleet

The used boom lift buyer pool is broad. Equipment rental companies are the largest buyers in volume, building or expanding their fleet with used units to keep the per-unit cost low enough that the rental rate generates real margin. A rental company running a 60-foot articulating boom at $350 per day earns that unit back faster at $70k used than at $120k new, and the rate card doesn't change because the machine is used.

Contractors who have consistent enough boom lift demand to justify ownership rather than rental are the next major buyer group. An electrical contractor working steady commercial construction in a metro market who rents a 60-foot boom for 120 days a year is paying $40,000 to $60,000 annually in rental. That math works until ownership makes more sense, and for a lot of them it makes sense after year two or three of consistent rental volume.

Niche buyers also drive used boom demand: telecom and tower crews that need consistent reach without paying new-iron prices, bridge inspection contractors looking for 120-foot-class telescopic booms at a fraction of new cost, and municipalities and utilities building their own fleet rather than depending on rental availability. All of these buyers have the same funding path through us.

Does it matter if the used boom lift I'm buying is diesel versus electric?

Not for the financing process. We fund electric slab booms, diesel rough-terrain units, and dual-fuel machines. The asset type affects the residual value calculation but not the basic deal structure or timeline.

The boom lift I want is at an IronPlanet auction. Can you finance it before the auction closes?

Yes. Give us the auction listing details and we can pre-approve the deal based on the machine specs before the bidding opens. Post-auction financing is also available, but the timeline is tight since most auction platforms require payment within a few business days.

We're buying a used 120-foot telescopic boom. Does that change the application requirements?

Larger-ticket deals over $400k require tax returns and an interim financial statement in addition to bank statements. A used 120-foot telescopic boom at current market prices typically puts the deal in that range, so plan for the additional docs.

Can I trade in an old boom lift and finance the difference on a newer used unit?

We don't do trade-in programs directly, but we can do a cash-out refinance on your existing unit and then fund the purchase of the newer machine. The net effect is similar: you access the value of what you own and apply it toward what you want.

Is there a minimum condition requirement for a used boom lift to qualify?

There's no specific condition checklist we require before issuing a term sheet, but the asset value has to support the loan amount. A machine in poor mechanical condition or with major deferred maintenance will have a lower appraised value, which limits what we can fund against it.