Refurbishing – transform your equipment, and your returns

Let’s face it, even in the “best” working conditions, heavy equipment – dozers, excavators, and wheel loaders to name just a few –  gets dirtier faster than a three year old with an ice cream cone on a hot day. At worst, gear gets dinged, dented, bashed, and bruised like a boxer defending his heavyweight title.

But looks aren’t everything – obviously. These powerful machines – despite often looking a little worse for wear – have years of work in them if they’re well-maintained. Appearance can make a difference to potential buyers, though. Two machines of the same make, model and age with the same hours on the meter and the same mechanical condition can sell for radically different prices based on how they look. It’s no surprise really, that the one that looks like it’s newer or in better condition will sell for more than the one that’s a bit beat up.

Something old to something new again.

Before you sell equipment, consider having it refurbished. It’s a small investment that typically helps net better returns on auction day. Most of our 40+ auction sites around the world have full-service, state-of-the-art refurbishing facilities where we can do everything from simply cleaning your equipment to doing welding, metalwork & light mechanical repair to get it ready for selling.

We can assess your equipment to determine if it needs any work, and how much it will cost, and we’ll only recommend refurbishment if it’s within your budget and the potential returns outweigh the cost. If you decide to go ahead with refurbishing, the onsite professional refurb staff can perform glasswork and upholstery repair, welding, metalwork and light mechanical repair.

Equipment starts off with a thorough cleaning inside and out, and is prepped for painting. Nothing like an exterior pressure wash to remove months or even years of dirt, dried mud, grime, old paint and whatever else is baked on to a machine.

After cleaning, we’ll properly mask equipment and sandblast it down to the bare metal, before professionally painting it to match your fleet or to the original manufacturer’s specs. And with final touches like decal replacement, an old machine can look like new again.

It’s a one-stop shop.

Having Ritchie Bros. refurbish your equipment also takes the hassle out of the process – you don’t have to negotiate with different vendors or move your equipment twice; we do it all and put it all on one invoice.

Check out the video below for an overview of Ritchie Bros. refurb services.

Refurb isn’t just for sellers.

Refurb has advantages for buyers too. You can treat a refurbished piece of equipment as a depreciable cost; work done after the purchase is just an expense that comes out of your pocket. And, because appearance can help maintain your business’s professional image, it makes sense to keep your fleet looking good.

Contact us today and ask about our paint and repair services.