The comparison everyone runs on a napkin — done properly.
The napkin version (too simple)
“A used 19ft scissor costs about the price of X weeks of hire, so buying pays off after X weeks of use.” That ignores everything that matters.
What ownership actually costs
- Compliance: EWPs require periodic inspections and a major inspection regime (10-year teardown). These cost real money and downtime.
- Maintenance: batteries (the big one on used electrics), hydraulics, tyres, controllers. Used machines arrive with the previous owner’s deferred maintenance.
- Transport: you own a machine that can’t drive to the job. Trailer, truck or transport fees every move. (A Brian James plant trailer solves this for compact machines.)
- Storage, insurance, capital cost — all quietly accruing while the machine sits idle.
What hire actually costs
The weekly rate — with maintenance, compliance and a working replacement if something fails, all included. On 19ft electrics, from $80 per day when hired for a week or longer, the effective cost of “a machine when you need one” is hard to beat below roughly 40% utilisation.
The honest crossover
Buying used starts to win when the machine works most weeks, you have transport and storage sorted, and someone owns the maintenance schedule. Before that point, weekly hire is cheaper and lower risk. If you’re close to the line, read What to Check Before Buying a Used Scissor Lift — and note that Equip Hire takes buy enquiries on fleet machines, which come with a known service history.
Need a machine for this job? Get a hire quote — tell us the job and suburb and we’ll quote the right machine and delivery. Or use Help Me Choose. Call 0472 721 234.