Construction and heavy equipment appraisals.
A construction equipment appraisal from Lukes & Lukes is an independent, USPAP-compliant opinion of value for the fleet: excavators, loaders, dozers, graders, cranes, compaction equipment and off-highway trucks. We value each machine by make, model, year, meter hours, condition and attachments, then test the number against auction and dealer sales of comparable machines. Hours and undercarriage drive the figure, and emissions tier can limit where a machine can be sold. Built to withstand lender, SBA, IRS, audit and legal review.
What we appraise
The fleet, machine by machine.
We appraise single machines and full fleets, and we anchor every value to public auction and dealer sales. Attachments that convey are valued in their own right. For fleets, we account for location and transport cost, which bear on what a buyer will actually pay.
- Earthmoving: excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, graders and skid steers.
- Lifting and cranes: rough-terrain, crawler and truck cranes, telehandlers and boom lifts.
- Compaction and paving: rollers, pavers and milling machines.
- Off-highway trucks and hauling: articulated and rigid haul trucks and water trucks.
- Attachments: buckets, thumbs, couplers, hammers and specialty tools that convey.
What drives the value
Hours, undercarriage, and a market built for comparison.
Meter hours and undercarriage or wear-item condition come first. Then make, model and configuration, attachments, documented maintenance, and emissions tier, which can restrict where a machine may operate or sell. Because so much construction equipment trades through large public auctions and dealers, the sales comparison approach usually leads and an inflated number is easy to disprove. Heavy equipment is mobile, so transport and de-mobilization cost reduce net recovery, especially for a multi-unit fleet under a liquidation premise.
Read the full breakdown: what construction equipment is worth →
Which value applies
The right premise for the situation.
The same machine carries different numbers depending on why you need the appraisal. We determine and defend the premise your situation requires.
Common questions
Answers, up front.
What do you need before a fleet inspection?
A unit list with serial numbers and current meter readings, and where each machine will be standing that day. Machines out on a job are inspected on site where access allows. Anything that cannot be reached is labeled in the report as valued without inspection, rather than quietly averaged in.
Can you inspect machines spread across several job sites?
Yes, and the route is planned before the fee is set rather than billed afterwards. Attachments are recorded against the machine they travel with, and location and transport are carried into the liquidation conclusion, because net recovery depends on where the iron actually sits.
Which value premise is used?
It depends on why you need the appraisal. Equipment loans, asset-based lending and recovery usually call for orderly or net orderly liquidation value. A purchase or sale uses fair market value. Insurance uses replacement cost. Estate matters use fair market value as of a specific date.
Will a lender monitoring a borrowing base accept this?
Asset-based lenders are the most frequent readers. Each unit is scheduled with serial number, hours and attachments, and values come from completed auction results rather than listings, because that is the evidence a monitoring review tests. USPAP-compliant, signed by a CMEA.
In one minute
Three things that decide the value.
Hours and history outweigh calendar age, the market that sets the value is national rather than local, and condition is verified on site. One minute, before you buy, sell, or finance heavy equipment.
Related specialties
Also under general machinery & equipment.
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