We buy boom lifts
Sell Your Boom Lift
Boom and scissor lifts — priced on platform height, power type, battery condition and inspection records.
- Written offers
- Transport arranged
- Running or not
- California
On this page
MachineryBarn buys used aerial lifts — boom lifts, scissor lifts and articulating knuckle booms, electric and engine-powered, running or not. Aerial lifts are inspection-driven equipment: annual inspection records and a legible capacity and load placard do more for the value than cosmetic condition does, because a lift without them cannot be put to work until it has been through a compliance process. On electric units, battery condition is frequently the deciding factor.
What counts as a boom lift
An aerial lift, or mobile elevating work platform, raises workers to height on a platform. The two main families are boom lifts, where the platform sits on a telescopic or articulating arm that reaches up and out, and scissor lifts, where the platform rises vertically on a folding linkage. Boom lifts reach further and over obstacles; scissor lifts carry more and go straight up.
Lifts are described by working height, which is conventionally platform height plus about six feet for a person standing on it. A machine advertised as a forty-foot lift usually has a platform height in the mid-thirties. Buyers work in platform height, so quote that if you know it, and say which figure you are using.
Where these machines usually come from
- Construction, particularly interior fit-out and exterior finishing
- Facility and plant maintenance
- Electrical, HVAC and sign work
- Warehouse racking and lighting maintenance
- Tree and utility work, on specific boom configurations
- Rental fleet duty, which supplies the majority of used inventory
Boom Lifts we buy
Configuration changes who the next buyer is, so it changes the offer. These are the variants worth naming when you describe your machine.
- Telescopic boom lift (straight stick)
- Maximum horizontal reach. Preferred for outdoor work where the machine must stand back from the structure.
- Articulating boom lift (knuckle boom)
- Jointed boom to reach up and over obstacles. More versatile in congested sites, and generally the more sought-after configuration.
- Electric scissor lift
- Indoor machine on non-marking tyres. The volume category, and battery condition dominates its value.
- Rough terrain scissor lift
- Engine or battery powered with flotation tyres and outriggers. Outdoor construction machine with its own buyers.
- Towable boom lift
- Trailer-mounted, towed behind a pickup. Popular with smaller contractors and tree services because no transport equipment is needed.
What determines a used boom lift's value
Roughly in order of how much each one moves the number.
- 1
Inspection records and compliance history
Aerial lifts are inspected equipment. A machine with a current annual inspection and a documented history can go to work; one without has to be inspected and any findings rectified before it earns anything. That gap is substantial and it is the first thing a commercial buyer asks about.
How to check it: Gather annual inspection reports and any service records, and keep them physically with the machine.
- 2
Battery condition on electric units
On an older electric scissor lift the battery pack is frequently the largest single value component, and a tired pack can be the difference between a working machine and a project. Include the charger — a matched charger has value of its own.
How to check it: Look for manufacture dates on the batteries, check for swelling, corrosion or dry cells, and note how the machine holds charge through a full lift cycle.
- 3
Platform height and configuration
Height sets the buyer pool. So does platform capacity and whether the platform has a jib, rotation, or dual capacity ratings.
- 4
Power type
Electric machines suit indoor work with no emissions and non-marking tyres. Diesel and dual-fuel machines suit outdoor and rough terrain. A machine wrong for a buyer's environment is unusable rather than merely cheaper.
- 5
Boom, wear pads and structure
On a boom lift, the boom sections, wear pads and pivot pins decide whether it extends smoothly and safely. On a scissor lift, the scissor stack pins and bushings do the same job. Both are structural rather than cosmetic.
- 6
Capacity and load placards
Like a forklift data plate, the capacity placard is required for the machine to be operated. A missing or illegible placard means sourcing a replacement from the manufacturer against the serial number, and buyers discount for it.
- 7
Safety systems and interlocks
Tilt sensors, pothole protection, platform controls, emergency lowering and the ground control override must all function. These are checked on every inspection and any fault must be cleared before use.
- 8
Tyres and drive condition
Non-marking tyres on indoor machines and foam-filled tyres on rough terrain units are both real costs, and drive motor or hydrostatic faults are significant repairs.
How usage is measured
Engine or motor hours. Lifts spend a great deal of time raised and idling rather than driving, so hours accumulate steadily. Rental machines run high hours as a rule, which is normal for the category and usually accompanied by good service records.
What gets inspected on a boom lift
Knowing what a buyer looks at lets you describe the machine accurately the first time, which avoids the offer changing later.
Boom or scissor stack
Section straightness and wear pads on booms; pin and bushing play through the scissor stack; cracks at pivot points on either.
Platform and controls
Platform floor and rail integrity, gate function, upper control operation, emergency stop, and cable or harness condition through the boom.
Safety systems
Tilt alarm, pothole protection deployment, ground control override, emergency lowering, and legible capacity placard.
Power system
On electric machines: battery age and condition, charger presence and function, controller faults. On engine machines: cold start, fault codes, and fluid condition.
Hydraulics
Platform drift when raised and held, lift and steer cylinder condition, and hose condition through the boom or stack.
Chassis and tyres
Tyre condition and type, drive motor noise, outrigger function where fitted, and frame damage.
Wear items that dominate cost on this class
What we need to price your boom lift
You do not need all of it to start. The more of it you have, the closer the first number is to the final one.
- Make, model and serial number
- Year and hour meter reading
- Machine type — telescopic boom, articulating boom, scissor, towable
- Platform height, and whether you are quoting platform or working height
- Power type — electric, diesel, dual fuel — and battery voltage if electric
- For electric machines: battery age, and whether a charger is included
- Whether the capacity placard is present and legible
- Date of the most recent inspection, and whether reports are available
- Tyre type and condition
- Whether it starts, drives and lifts through full range
Common situations
The circumstances that come up most often when someone sells a boom lift, and what each one actually means for the sale.
The batteries are dead on an electric scissor lift
Extremely common and not disqualifying. A structurally sound machine with a failed battery pack is bought regularly, with the offer accounting for replacement. Say whether the charger is included and whether it is the matched original.
The annual inspection has lapsed
Normal on a machine that has been parked. It affects the offer because the next owner must complete inspection before the machine can work. Gather the historical records anyway — a documented history is worth considerably more than none, even if the current certificate has expired.
The capacity placard is missing
Tell us up front. Like a forklift data plate, it is required for legal operation and has to be replaced through the manufacturer using the serial number. Workable, but it changes the number.
A rental company reducing its fleet
Send the list with models, platform heights, hours and last inspection dates. Rental lifts usually come with the best documentation in this category, which makes them straightforward to price as a group and to collect in batches.
The machine has been outside for years
Say how long. Weather is hard on lifts specifically — control harnesses, platform decking, hydraulic seals and batteries all degrade. It does not stop the sale, it just needs pricing as what it is rather than as a parked machine.
Moving a boom lift
Most lifts travel on a deck-over or lowboy trailer depending on size, and towable units simply hitch up. The usual consideration is stowed height and length rather than weight. Machines that will not drive are winched on, which matters more on lifts than most categories because a lift stuck in a raised position is a different collection problem — tell us if the platform will not come down. Transport is arranged and paid for by us and is inside the offer.
Ownership and paperwork
Aerial lifts are not titled in California, with the exception of towable units that are registered as trailers — if yours has a trailer registration, say so. Otherwise ownership transfers by bill of sale against the serial number. Inspection records should physically stay with the machine; on this category they are part of what is being sold rather than an administrative extra.
Attachments and extras
Chargers, platform jibs, pipe racks, panel carriers, welder packages and non-marking tyre sets all count. On electric machines the charger is the item most worth confirming, because an unmatched or missing charger is an immediate cost to the next owner.
Makes and model families we see most
We buy boom lifts from manufacturers beyond this list. These are the ones that come up most often, with the series a seller is likely to recognise from the machine.
| Manufacturer | Model families |
|---|---|
| JLG | Boom lifts 400S, 600S, 800S; scissors 1930ES, 3246ES |
| Genie | S and Z boom series; GS scissor series |
| Skyjack | SJIII and SJ scissor ranges, strong in rental fleets |
| Snorkel | S and TB series |
| Haulotte | Compact and HA ranges |
| MEC | Scissor and boom ranges |
| Niftylift | Towable and self-propelled articulating booms |
Get a cash offer
Get an offer on your boom lift
Tell us what you have and what shape it is in. We come back with a cash figure in writing.
- A written offer, not an estimate
- Transport arranged and priced into the offer
- Running or not, any make
Prefer to talk it through?
(916) 740-7755Get a Cash Offer
Any brand, any condition, any hours.
- Written offer
- Transport arranged
- No Spam
Where we buy boom lifts
We buy across California. Our published town-level coverage is concentrated in these counties.
