Heavy equipment: hunt brief

Equipment auctions move real money on thin information. The lab's edge is discipline: hours, condition evidence and transport costed before anyone falls for a low hammer price.

What we look for

• Compact and utility machines with verifiable hours: skid steers, mini excavators, compact tractors.
• Trailers: equipment, dump and enclosed, where title and tire-and-bearing condition decide the value.
• Shop and site equipment: welders, compressors, lifts, generators with test evidence.
• Surplus lots from municipalities and utilities, where maintenance records sometimes travel with the machine.

Where we look

Purple Wave and IronPlanet for catalogued machines, GovDeals and state surplus for public fleets, and regional consignment sales within hauling distance of Fort Wayne — distance is a cost line, not an afterthought.

How a find is scored

Hours and condition evidence first, price second. A machine with no start video and no hour photo is graded on the worst honest assumption. Transport is quoted into the score before a grade is given, and anything that cannot be inspected or verified stays a Look at best. The full method is on the method page.