If you are in the market for a forklift, you might be unsure of how much your average forklift purchase should cost.
Equipment that is used for tough jobs in your daily business practices needs to be perfect for your needs and it should also hold up to lots of hours of use. On top of this, you really want to invest in a forklift that will not break the bank.
A Toyota forklift will cost you between $20,000 and $40,000. The cost might be increased if you need to buy a battery and charger for it. These will typically add $2,500 -$5,000 to your total cost.
There are many variables that can add to the total cost of your forklift purchase, and the size and power of the forklift can be among these variables.
If you are ready to learn more about Toyota forklift pricing, read on!
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Toyota Forklift Pricing
These are the average amounts that you can expect to pay for different models of Toyota Forklift. You should consider the uses that you have in mind for your forklift when you are choosing the right model for your business or home use.
| Model of Forklift | Sales Cost | Added Costs |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 lb electric forklift | $18,000-$25,000 | $2,000-$5,000 for battery and charger |
| 5,000 lb Internal combustion forklift | $16,000-$30,000 | $800-$1,000 fuel per month |
| 10,000 lb Diesel forklift | $30,000-$45,000 | $600-$800 fuel per month |
| 35,000 lb Diesel forklift | $80-$100,000 | $2,000-$2,500 fuel per month |
These costs are averaged and your area might charge more for fuel for the forklifts that are powered with diesel and propane.
Fuel prices also fluctuate, so these estimated fuel costs could be too high or too low for your area at any given time. It is always best to estimate high when considering fuel prices and be pleasantly surprised when you save money.
The cost of fuel is why many companies are attracted to electric forklifts. It is also easier to use electric forklifts indoors as they are not going to create fuel fumes that might make the air quality inside a warehouse unacceptable. They are also quieter, although this can sometimes lead to accidents when people are not aware of the forklift driving near them.
Types of Toyota Forklifts
Toyota produces an array of forklift models, with the 3,000, 5,000, and 8,000-pound models being the commonest of them all.
The models meant for indoor, light-duty use are fitted with cushion tires while forklifts for outdoor, heavy-duty use have pneumatic tires.
The various forklift models by Toyota may be grouped into two broad categories based on their power source.
Internal Combustion Forklifts
These are the Toyota forklift models that run on liquid propane, gas, or diesel fuel. Most of the models within this category are suited for outdoor heavy-duty applications.
Such units include Toyota’s 7-series IC forklifts that have a lifting capacity of between 8,000 and 17,500 pounds.
The diesel-powered forklifts that have a capacity of about 10,000 pounds are priced between $30,000 and $45,000. The diesel lifts with 35,000-pound or higher capacities might sell for $100,000 or even more.
Electric Forklifts
Almost all electric forklifts by Toyota are powered by batteries and are mainly meant for indoor applications. Such forklifts are available in 3-wheel, 4-wheel, and stand-up models with either pneumatic or cushion tires.
Such include the Toyota 7-series forklifts that have lift capacities of between 3,000 and 4,000. The 8-series forklifts by the provider are capable of lifting between 4,000 and 6,500 pounds. The 5,000-pound capacity electric forklifts sell for about $18,000-$25,000.
You will also be required to pay an additional $2,000 to $5,000 for the charger and battery depending on the model you are buying. You should expect to pay between $16,000 and $30,000 for an internal combustion Toyota forklift of the same capacity.
Used Toyota Forklift Cost
If you happen to be working on a limited budget, you should consider buying a used forklift by Toyota. As compared to new models of the same capacity, used Toyota forklifts are comparatively affordable. So, how much does a used Toyota forklift cost?
Here are a few examples of used Toyota forklift model costs:
8FGCU15 Toyota Forklift
These forklifts have a capacity of up to 4,000 pounds and run on propane. You can get a used one, less than five years old for just $15,000. In such a case, you should expect to get a model that has been used for 500 to 2,000 hours.
7FGCU18 Toyota Forklift
This is another unit that’s less than a decade old that you can buy for under $10,000. Toyota has 3,500 lbs. of load capacity. It is propane-fueled and has less than 10,000 operating hours. To be a little more specific, you can get a 2006 model that has been used for 6,000 to 8,000 hours for between $7,000 and $9,000.
7FGCU45BCS Toyota Forklift
You may also get a 2006 forklift that is propane-fueled at a rather discounted rate. Most of the 7FGCU45BCS Toyota forklifts come with a lifting capacity of up to 10,000 pounds. Such a forklift will be priced at about $12,650.
FGCU15 Toyota Forklift
If you are looking for the best blend of power and affordability, a 2002 Toyota forklift with a lifting capacity of 3,000 pounds will suffice. Such forklifts with an average use of 500 to 700 hours are priced at $14,000 to $16,000. The unit is likely to be propane (LPG) powered.
Pneumatic Toyota Forklift
Though old, a 1985 pneumatic forklift will save you a lot of money in buying costs. For instance, a propane-powered unit with a lifting capacity of 5,000 to 6,000 pounds is likely to be sold for less than $3,000.
What Factors Change the Cost of a Toyota Forklift?
Your forklift purchase can be impacted by these factors that might increase the cost of your total purchase. You should always consider these factors when you think about how much you should be spending on your forklift.
Capacity
The overall capacity and size of the forklift can greatly increase the cost. You will find that a bigger and more powerful forklift will almost always cost more than basic models. You might also need to look at the potential for increased maintenance costs for a larger machine over the duration of your ownership of this item.
Manufacturer Parts
Not all manufacturers are made with quality parts. Toyota is a great brand because its overall cost is affordable and they offer the highest quality for this value. You will find that other brands may not deliver as effectively on this promise.
Common Failures
If the model or brand of forklift that you are thinking of buying has some common issues that can lead to expensive repairs that might need to be done periodically, you should consider this an added cost related to your purchase.
Operating costs
Check that you know what the operating costs are for your Toyota Forklift before you buy. This should be included in your overall purchase considerations and overall budget for the price of your forklift purchase.
Warranties
Sometimes warranties can add cost to your purchase, but the value of the warranty is usually well worth the investment. You should always find out what a warranty will cover before you commit to investing in it.
Benefits of Buying New
Buying new forklifts can be a great decision for a variety of reasons. You will get access to a new machine that has not been used and abused by anyone else and you can work with a dealer to find the perfect blend of options as well as load capacity for your needs.
Ordering your own forklift can sometimes actually save you money when compared to buying one that is on a lot since you will get exactly the options that you want and not have to pay for other perks that you do not need.
The other major benefit to buying a new machine is that you will gain access to a great set of warranties that will protect your forklift from being rendered useless by damage or failure of parts.
While Toyota is a very reliable brand, things can still go wrong when you are using machines for heavy-duty work, and having warranties in place to protect all the major components of your new forklifts can be a great way to have peace of mind with your purchase.
When you are ordering more than one forklift, you might also get a discount on your order. This is not always the case, but some manufacturers will give you a discount for buying more than one unit new.
You should always inquire about this potential benefit for your purchasing process before you decide how much to spend on new versus used machines. There are often many more benefits to buying new and this can be a big saving for your business overall.
The last benefit of buying new is that you will likely have a forklift that is going to offer you the best efficiency with regards to fuel or battery use.
You will be much less likely to waste propane or diesel when you are using a new machine and the battery technology that runs newer electric models is far superior to what was available even 5 years ago.
New forklifts can save you a lot of money overall, and they can be more reliable than an older model or machine that has a lot of running hours on it with a history that you are not certain of.
You can trust most forklifts to run well even as they age, so you will not be likely to have to replace your new forklift anytime soon so long as you take good care of it and make sure that the maintenance that is needed gets done.
Buying Used Forklifts
Forklifts actually hold value relatively well over time and you will find that you will not save a significant amount of money on a used forklift unless it has a lot of operational hours logged or it is in a condition that requires repairs of some kind. Used forklifts can be well-cared for, but often they have been treated quite roughly and might not really be in serviceable condition despite assurances that they still run great.
On average, you will save about $3,000 on used electric models and about $5,000-$10,000 on fuel-powered models. You will generally find that used forklifts are not as common as you would expect either, as most businesses will hold onto their forklift until it simply can’t be repaired any longer or it has lost all value that makes repairs worth doing.
When you start looking at models that are about 10 years or older, you will be able to get an electric model for about $10,000 off the new model price, but fuel-powered models might actually come down fairly significantly. You could expect to save about $12,000 to $15,000 on a used fuel-powered model that is around 10 years old and might even save more if there are repairs that need to be done to bring the unit back to full operating condition.
The question when buying used is mostly about how much you think that reliability will be affected by purchasing a unit that has many operating hours in its history. Depending on your own needs, you might be better off just biting the bullet and getting a new model to save yourself the heartache of a forklift that is out of service all the time due to problems that are related to its age.
Most Affordable Forklift Options
If the bottom line is the most important factor for your needs, there are a few models of forklifts that will save you lots of money overall. The most cost-effective option is usually an older pneumatic model from the 80s. These will be propane-powered and have a capacity of about 5,000 or 6,000 pounds. You can get this kind of forklift for about $3,000.
If you want a newer model forklift that is still sold at a great price, you can also look into something from the early 2,000s. These models will probably be smaller overall if they are still in good operating form. You will be able to find models that handle about 3,000-5,000 pounds that are run with propane for around $14,000-$16,000.
Cost of Maintenance for Forklifts
You might be wondering what the cost of maintenance for your forklift is going to be. The costs of fuel were discussed earlier in the article, but what about the maintenance costs that will crop up each year and need attention? Machines like this are built for hard daily tasks, but they will still need attention from time to time for necessary upkeep.
An electric forklift will likely cost about 1/3 of what it will cost to take care of a fuel-powered model. This means that if you have a propane-operated forklift that costs you about $1,500 a year, you can expect to pay around $500 for the electric model.
| Electric Forklift | Diesel forklift | Propane forklift |
|---|---|---|
| $500-$1,000 per year | $2,000-$3,000 per year | $1,500-$2,000 per year |
These costs are why it is so important to pick a reliable brand that will not suffer a lot of breakdowns over the course of the year.
While you might have a warranty in place that takes care of the cost of components, you still cannot run your business efficiently if you have a forklift that is always down for repairs. This is doubly true if you only have one forklift and it is always letting you down.
The average forklift will operate for five years and about 10,000 to 20,000 work hours without needing major repairs.
During the first 10,000 hours of use, most estimates say that they cost on average around 75 cents per hour, but this excludes fuel and possible accidental damage. You should also exclude operational costs like worker wages.
If you want to be sure that you are going to get a good value for your money when you buy a forklift, a Toyota forklift will almost always come out on top as far as reasonable purchase price, low annual operating costs, and reliability.
As an additional point, the smaller models of forklifts generally have a longer usable life than larger models, so it can be worth it to diversify your purchases so that you have the right number of small and efficient models compared to big and powerful ones in your fleet.
Buying a Forklift Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank
Buying the right size forklift for your business does not have to break the bank or injure your pocketbook beyond repair.
There will of course be operating costs associated with having this machine at your disposal, but depending on the model of forklift you buy, these costs will be minimal compared to the amount of money that you will save by having this tool on hand.
Forklifts are a very valuable part of many business functions and you will be glad that you invested in this necessary tool for most industrial workflows.
Make sure that you consider carefully how much you want to pay for a new forklift and also do the math on potential added costs to invest in a used and older model. You will need to be sure that you are ready to take care of all of the repairs that a used forklift might need before you go that route.
Buying a forklift can be an easy process if you know exactly what you can afford to spend over the course of each year for this helpful tool. If you prefer renting a forklift, read our forklift rental cost guide. We also put together a forklift lease guide if you need a longer-term solution.
