How do I assess equipment condition before buying?

A walkthrough tells you whether equipment looks clean and runs. It does not tell you how many years of useful life remain, what it will cost to keep running, or whether it is actually owned free and clear. That evidence comes from records, not a site visit.

Maintenance and service history

Ask for service and maintenance logs for major equipment, not just the equipment list itself. Regular, documented maintenance is a good sign; equipment with no service history at all, or with a recent cluster of repairs, tells a different story than the same equipment with a clean record. Where logs do not exist, treat the equipment’s remaining life as unknown rather than assuming the best case.

Confirm ownership and encumbrances

• Which equipment is owned outright, which is leased, and which is still being financed
• Outstanding balances and payout figures on anything financed
• Registered security interests against specific equipment
• Whether any equipment is actually owned by the seller personally rather than the business

Get an independent view on anything material

For equipment central to how the business operates — production machinery, commercial kitchen equipment, specialized tools — a qualified independent inspection or appraisal is worth arranging rather than relying on the seller’s description. It establishes both condition and a defensible value, and it can surface deferred maintenance the seller may not think to mention.

Industry-specific records worth asking for

Where equipment is regulated, its own compliance history is a useful proxy for condition. A business that operates commercial vehicles will have a registration and safety history maintained provincially; a used-vehicle dealer’s registration confirms its inventory is being sold through a properly licensed channel. Ask for whatever equivalent record exists for the equipment your target actually relies on.