Preparing for the Equipment Appraisal

Preparing for the equipment Appraisal / Information:

Note: This is your option - Obviously dirty, rough looking machinery will bring a potentially lower value. We just wanted you to have all the info in case you ever wanted to get an appraisal that needs higher values. And a good equipment appraiser will see past it anyway.

Note: Here are also some ways to improve value in case you need to sell the equipment.

Now that you see how important an asset list in the process, let’s move to the machinery / information. It makes sense that the better your equipment looks, the more it seems to be worth. Why is this? Simple…better looking equipment equals a higher perceived level of maintenance. Let’s look at some basic tips to make sure your equipment receives the highest appraisal value it deserves.

Dupont overhaul – Yes, a simple paint job can drastically impact your appraisal result. This is true for 2 reasons (1.) The appraiser knows that a better looking piece of equipment has a higher auction value and can therefore justify giving better forced liquidation values. (2.) Appraisers are not mechanics or technicians – the appraiser has to rely many times on what they see as well as what they hear. If you say “I just rebuilt this machine” and it looks like a rusted piece of junk, you will have a harder time convincing that appraiser.

Clean the work area – A cluttered mess of tooling and paperwork makes the appraiser have a harder time justifying ancillary and support items later when they are unable to review the picture and easily see the support tooling. Oftentimes, this picture is the only thing to trigger an appraiser’s memory about what they saw, or to help their researchers establish what to research. While you are at it replace a few light bulbs, I can’t tell you how many times my pictures have turned out poor due to a “cave like” lighting scheme.

Have maintenance records available – A simple fix to this problem is to have a plastic see through document holder attached to the machine with the maintenance schedule written in and signed off by the maintenance personnel. Or have a good maintenance schedule documented and a copy ready for the appraiser. This instantly tells me I am dealing with a company who maintains their equipment.

Check the Tires – Remember the old rule of thumb that says you can tell how well a person is doing by their shoes. Guess what – an appraiser can tell how well you are doing by your tires. This is a secret industry gauge as to your maintenance, therefore a sanity check on what your maintenance schedules may be like. If you’re risking a breakdown and expenses due to tires…what must your machinery maintenance schedules look like? If you don’t have time to do the maintenance – how will you possibly have time for a machine to break down?