If you've ever had a $200 "savings" turn into a $1,500 problem, you know how I think about procurement. I'm a procurement manager and cost controller at a 60-person contractor that builds and maintains power and construction projects—coal fired electric plant upgrades, cement concrete batching plants, mobile cement silos, and the heavy equipment that comes with them. I've managed a buying budget of roughly $180,000 a year for the last six years, and I've tracked every invoice in our cost system.
This FAQ covers the questions I get asked most, plus a few I wish someone had asked me before I spent the money. The answers come from real orders, real invoice lines, and at least one mistake I'd rather not repeat.
Questions this post answers:
My default answer: it depends on how critical uptime is, and how well you can verify the unit's history. I've bought both new and used. In Q2 2023, we picked up a 1.5 MW diesel generator from a 2nd hand generators for sale listing for $180,000—about 40% below new. The initial inspection looked fine. At roughly 200 hours, the alternator failed. Repair cost: $27,000, plus nine days of schedule slip. That wiped out the savings.
If you're considering a used genset for a coal fired electric plant, add 15–20% to the sticker price for immediate repairs. Get a thermography scan and a load bank test before you hand over the money. And check emissions compliance—a unit that doesn't meet current local rules can cost more in fines than you saved upfront.
According to used equipment listings on MachineryTrader.com and IronPlanet (accessed March 2025), 2nd hand generators range from about $15,000 for small units to $250,000+ for MW-scale units. Don't fall for the lowest number; find out which inspections and repairs the seller actually did.
I used to think the mobile option was just a markup for convenience. It took me four years and about 20 site builds to realize that mobility matters when the schedule shifts—and it always shifts. We had a five-month job where pouring a foundation for a fixed silo would have taken two weeks and $12,000 in concrete and rebar. Renting a mobile cement silo cost us $1,100 per month, and we sat it on an existing concrete pad. Total: $5,500—less than half the foundation cost.
But this worked because we already had a pad. If you're starting from bare ground, the equation changes. (Should mention: the rental rate didn't include delivery or setup, so that was another $1,200.) Read the fine print before you compare it to a purchase.
I can't speak to every model, but I can tell you how I evaluate any major rotating equipment: lifecycle cost, not sticker price.
Last year, I went back and forth between a Siemens turbine package and a lower-cost alternative for a combined heat and power setup. The Siemens quote was 18% higher. On paper, the cheaper unit made sense. But when I modeled fuel efficiency, maintenance intervals, and the local service rep's response time, the Siemens package came out ahead on cost per MWh over 10 years. My gut said the service network would matter, and it did—the cheaper vendor quoted a six-week lead time for spare parts.
That's not a universal rule. If you're near a service hub for the other OEM, the math might flip. Run the model before you judge the price.
I've reviewed eleven batching plant quotes in six years. The one that looks cheapest on paper is rarely the cheapest once you add installation, setup, calibration, and the cost of waiting for spare parts.
I built my own TCO spreadsheet after getting burned twice. A "budget" cement concrete batching plant came in at $220,000 versus $285,000 for the established option. Then the budget plant needed $33,000 in site modifications and a three-day calibration delay that pushed our whole pour schedule. That's a $60,000 swing—more than the price difference.
When you compare quotes, make sure each includes: foundation or anchoring work, electrical hookup, operator training, first-year spare parts, and warranty conditions. If a supplier won't put those in writing, treat it as a red flag.
This one comes up more than you'd think. A Central Machinery cement mixer is a consumer-grade tool. For a small repair job or a one-off pour, it might be fine. But for continuous batching or structural concrete, it won't hold up.
Early in my career, I approved a $180 Central Machinery mixer for what was supposed to be a light job. It seized mid-pour, and we spent $1,200 in labor cleaning out hardened concrete. The cheap option ended up costing seven times its purchase price.
If you're producing real yardage, rent an industrial mixer. The rental buys you uptime, and uptime is the only thing that pays the bills on a pour day. Bottom line: match the tool to the job.
I've had this conversation more times than I can count. The numbers said buy the cheaper generator; my gut said the vendor's silence meant trouble. It did. Their "slow to reply" turned out to be a preview of "slow to deliver."
The way I get buy-in is by showing total cost, not price. Last year, I presented a purchase that was $8,000 more than the alternative, but the alternative had a higher failure probability based on our maintenance records—I want to say 30%, but don't quote me on that. I framed it as: "If that unit fails once, we lose $20,000 in downtime. Paying $8,000 more reduces that risk." It got approved.
Don't lead with "it's higher quality." Lead with "here's the cost of being wrong." That's the language budget owners understand.
Ask about the cost of waiting. When a part fails, how long until the supplier can get a replacement to your site? Power plant and construction equipment sit idle when parts are slow.
For our Manitowoc crawler crane, the dealer network usually gets a critical part to us within 48 hours. For some imported equipment we bought on price alone, the wait was eight to ten weeks. The part price didn't matter; the downtime did.
If you're buying a 2nd hand generator, a batching plant, or even a small mixer, ask the seller: "What's your typical lead time for emergency parts?" Then write that number into your decision matrix.
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