Plant is the one category where the catalogue tells you the least and the viewing tells you the most. A digger, a telehandler or a forklift is bought on condition, hours and paperwork — none of which a photograph can settle. This is what to look at, what to ask, and what the machine actually costs once the hammer has fallen.
What you are buying
Almost every plant lot is sold as seen, with no warranty and no returns. The auctioneer's description is an opinion, not a guarantee. If the catalogue says "runs and drives", that is a statement of what was observed at the time of cataloguing — not a promise about the day you collect it.
That is not the trade being difficult. A used excavator is a used excavator; the seller is a business, the buyer is usually a business, and the risk passes to you once the lot is yours. The protection you have is the viewing, the paperwork and your own inspection — so use them.
Reading a plant catalogue properly
Four things in a plant entry carry most of the risk, and each is worth checking:
- Hours — the single biggest driver of value on earthmoving kit. Compare the hour meter against the age and against the condition of the pins, tracks and tyres. An eight-year-old machine showing 2,000 hours has either worked very little or been interfered with.
- Year of manufacture — which decides the emissions standard, and therefore where the machine can legally be used and what it is worth to a buyer on a regulated site.
- Serial or PIN number — take it down at the viewing. It is how you check for outstanding finance, a recorded theft, and the true age.
- What is missing — a machine is worth less without its buckets, its quick-hitch, its forks or its key. Attachments are often sold as separate lots, and the catalogue will not always join the dots for you.
Before the sale: view, and view properly
Most plant sales have a viewing day, and for machinery it is not optional. If you cannot attend, send someone who can, or ask the auction house what it will and will not confirm on your behalf. A house will usually tell you honestly what it has seen; what it will not do is warrant a machine it has not stripped down.
At the viewing, work through the same list every time:
- Cold-start it if you are allowed — a machine that starts easily cold is a different proposition from one that has been warmed up before you arrived.
- Check for leaks under the machine and around rams, hoses and the slew ring. Fresh cardboard or a clean patch of ground under a machine can be deliberate.
- Look at the undercarriage on tracked kit: track wear, sprockets, idlers and rollers. Tracks are a four-figure bill.
- Check the hour meter and the serial plate actually agree with the catalogue.
- Check the paperwork: V5 where a machine is road-registered, service history, and the emissions/Stage label.
- For anything valuable, check the serial against theft registers. Machinery theft is common, and a stolen machine is not yours however much you paid.
The costs that sit on top of the hammer
The hammer price is not the price. Budget for these before you bid, because they do not disappear if you forget them:
| Line | What it is |
|---|---|
| Buyer's premium | A percentage of the hammer charged by the house. Commonly 10–20% on plant; read the sale's terms. |
| VAT | Commercial plant is usually sold with VAT on the hammer as well as the premium, unlike much second-hand goods. If you are VAT-registered you reclaim it; if you are not, it is a real cost. |
| Online or commission bid fee | A separate charge, often around 3%, for bidding live online or by telephone. |
| Loading and transport | A 13-tonne excavator needs a low-loader. Get a transport quote before you bid, not after. |
| Repairs and servicing | Assume something needs doing. A machine that has sat for months will need a battery, filters and fluids at least. |
The plant shelf on this site groups the categories so you can see what is coming up: browse plant and machinery before a sale to compare lots across houses rather than one catalogue at a time.
How the bidding works on plant
Plant sales are usually either a timed online sale, where lots close one after another and a bid in the last minutes extends the clock, or a live salewith an auctioneer taking bids online, on the phone and in the room. In both, you can leave an absentee or proxy bid — your maximum — and the system bids on your behalf up to that figure, usually at the lowest increment needed.
Two practical points. First, a proxy bid means you may win at less than your maximum, so setting the true maximum you are happy with is better than bidding in round numbers. Second, on timed sales the clock extends when a bid lands near the close, so a late bid does not necessarily end it — there is no point leaving a snipe to the last second on a sale that will simply extend.
After you win
Payment is due promptly and usually by cleared funds. Collection windows are short — often a few days — and storage is charged after that. The risk in the machine passes to you when the lot is knocked down or the timed lot closes, so insurance from that moment is your responsibility, not the house's.
Turn up with the right transport and, for anything heavy, a banksman. Ask the house in advance whether it can load, and whether there is a charge. A machine that cannot be moved on the day you turn up is an expensive afternoon.
The traps worth knowing
- Emissions standards. Older machines may not be permitted on certain regulated sites. If the machine is for a site with rules, check the Stage rating before you bid, not after.
- Attachments sold separately. The excavator and its three buckets can be four lots. Check what is actually included.
- "Non-runner" and "no key". These are honest labels and they are priced in — but they also mean you are buying blind on the engine and hydraulics.
- Clock and plate discrepancies. If the hours, the year and the serial do not line up, ask before the sale. An answer you get in the viewing is worth more than an argument you have afterwards.
- Finance and theft. A machine with outstanding finance can be repossessed from you even after you have paid. Check the serial.
Buying as a business
If you are VAT-registered, plant is one of the cleaner categories at auction: the VAT is recoverable, the invoice is a proper business record, and the machine goes on your books at cost. Plant is also financeable — many buyers arrange hire-purchase or leasing against a specific lot before the sale, so the funds are ready on the day. Speak to your lender before the auction, not after, because settlement windows are short.
Questions people ask
Can I inspect a machine before bidding?
Yes, at the published viewing. For plant it is the most valuable half-hour you will spend. If you cannot attend, ask the house what it can confirm, and bid accordingly.
Is there a warranty?
Almost never on used plant. You are buying as seen, and the description is an opinion. That is why the inspection matters more here than in almost any other category.
Do I pay VAT on the hammer price?
On commercial plant, usually yes — VAT on both the hammer and the premium, unlike much second-hand goods sold under a margin scheme. The sale's terms will say.
What if the machine does not start when I collect it?
It is yours. The risk passed when the lot closed. Assume a machine that has been standing will need attention, and budget for it.
Can I bid without attending?
Yes — online, by telephone, or by leaving an absentee bid. On plant, though, bidding on a machine you have not inspected is the single most expensive shortcut there is.
The short version
Go to the viewing. Take the serial number and check it. Read the hours against the age. Add the premium, the VAT, the bid fee, the transport and a repair budget before you decide what the machine is worth to you. Then set your maximum at the total you would still be pleased with once it is on your yard.