When you work in trucking, your equipment is your biggest investment, and at the same time, it's the one that tends to age the fastest and lose value. For that reason, appraising truck tractors and trailers is an important part of protecting those assets from loss due to theft, accidents and disasters. But what happens when your trucks are being valued by an outside company? Here's a quick look at the overall process and the nuances of tractor trailer appraisal.
Roll On: What's Involved in Appraising Truck Tractors and Trailers
Every day, tractor trailers cover hundreds of miles, adding up to hundreds of thousands of miles annually. Every minute, as these assets cover ground, their value is decreasing. How can you account for the change in value of this machinery to your insurance company, local tax assessor, finance company or court when you need to prove what your assets are actually worth?
Imagine a small trucking company that is run by a husband and wife team. During a divorce, the party who is leaving the business claims the value of the year-old equipment at purchase value, because it's the latest time that their tractor trailers were given value. But that doesn't account for the difference that several hundred thousand miles, accidents and damage that can happen while going down the road. When you have an equipment appraisal performed on your tractor trailers, it helps provide a third-party value for your machinery that is impartial to the proceedings.
Nobody likes dealing with property taxes, but when the same assessor is judging a wide range of assets including real estate, small cars, industrial equipment and semis, is it any wonder that sometimes they get things wrong? At the same time, tax assessment offices often demand that you bear the burden of proof when trying to fight a bad tax assessment. Having an appraisal performed is one of the best ways to immediately prove value of a piece of equipment when an assessment is wrong.
When you have your semis and trailers appraised, the appraiser looks at a wide range of issues that can impact your equipment's value. Unlike other machinery which stays in the same location and often ages in very similar ways, your trucks and trailers are often sent to very different areas that can change how they age. By using a certified equipment appraiser who has trucking experience, you know that they're not going to provide the same value to a semi in pristine condition that has done long-haul work in the Midwest and a truck that has had significant damage in the East Coast's inner cities, even if their mileage is similar.
A good appraiser will also look at the reason the appraisal is needed. There's a big difference between appraising for the value of replacing a truck that is currently in service compared to the value of a semi when a partnership is being dissolved or an ancient tractor finally bites the dust. By appraising truck tractors and trailers for your business, you're protecting your company's bottom line. It ensures you have the documentation needed to process insurance claims, secure financing for expansion or upgrades to machinery, deal with tax assessment issues or work through purchasing or selling a logistics company. Make sure that you work with a certified equipment appraiser who has experience in trucking, shipping or logistics to ensure your appraisal is as accurate as possible.