A factory in Thailand needed a steel building. New steel: $200,000. Used structural steel from China: $100,000. Same load-bearing specs. Factory-certified welds. Full inspection before shipping. The building is still standing.
That’s the math of used equipment from China. But get it wrong and you lose the savings — plus whatever it costs to fix a machine nobody knows how to repair.
Where the Used Equipment Comes From
Chinese factories upgrade. They relocate. They close. Their equipment is sold — often well-maintained — at a fraction of new cost. The secondary market is enormous. But condition varies wildly.
A CNC lathe with 3,000 operating hours and full maintenance records is a different machine than the same model with 20,000 hours and no records. Both are listed as “used.” One is a bargain. The other is a liability.
What to Check Before You Buy
Operating hours. If the seller can’t tell you — walk. A machine with no usage history is a machine that hasn’t been maintained. The hour meter is the first thing to check, not the last.
Maintenance records. Ask for the logbook. A factory that maintained the machine kept records. A factory that didn’t won’t have them. Simple.
Why it’s being sold. Factory upgrading? Fine. Factory closing? Fine — but move fast, they’re liquidating. Factory says “no reason, just selling”? Suspicious. Equipment is sold for a reason. Find out what it is.
Spare parts availability. A five-year-old Chinese machine still has parts available. A fifteen-year-old machine from a defunct brand might not. Ask the seller: “Can I buy replacement parts today?” If they can’t give you a contact, that machine becomes a paperweight the first time something breaks.
Inspect before paying. Photos aren’t enough. A video call isn’t enough. Someone needs to run the machine, check the maintenance records, verify the serial number matches the paperwork. I do this →
What It Costs
| Category | Used Price (% of New) |
|---|---|
| Heavy machinery (CNC, presses) | 40-60% |
| Steel structures | 30-50% |
| Textile equipment | 40-60% |
| Vehicles (trucks, forklifts) | 50-70% |
| Packaging lines | 40-55% |
Export Documentation
Used equipment needs additional paperwork: proof of ownership from the seller, de-registration for vehicles, fumigation certificates for certain categories. A freight forwarder experienced in used equipment exports knows this. A general forwarder finds out when your container gets held.
Related reading: