New vs Used Terex RT780: Four Dimensions That Cost Me $146,000 to Learn

Why I'm Writing This (and What It Cost Me)

I've been handling heavy equipment procurement orders for 9 years. In that time I've personally made — and documented in a shared spreadsheet my team now calls "The Wall of Shame" — 7 significant buying mistakes totaling roughly $146,000 in wasted budget. The biggest single chunk came from one used Terex RT780 in September 2020.

So when I say I've stared at the phrase "terex rt780 for sale" on six different dealer sites at 11 p.m., I mean it literally. That search bar has cost me more money than any other two words I can think of.

This isn't a sales pitch. I don't work for Terex, and I don't work for any dealer. I'm the guy on the other side of the desk who's supposed to catch problems before they ship — and I didn't always catch them.

The Comparison Framework: Four Dimensions

Here's the frame I wish someone had handed me in 2020. When you're choosing between a new RT780 and a used one, the decision really comes down to four dimensions:

1. Sticker price vs. total cost of ownership
2. Warranty coverage vs. "as-is" risk
3. Delivery time vs. actual time-on-site
4. Resale value vs. depreciation curve

I'm going to walk through each one with the same question: which side actually wins, and where does the conventional wisdom fall apart? I'll spoil the ending — it's not the side you probably think.

Dimension 1: Sticker Price vs. Total Cost of Ownership

Let's get the numbers out of the way. A used Terex RT780 typically lists between 55% and 70% of a new unit's price, depending on hours, year, and configuration. That's a meaningful gap — usually $90,000 to $120,000 depending on what else is in the deal.

On paper, that spread is hard to argue with. It was definitely hard for me to argue with in 2020.

"I signed a purchase order in September 2020 for a 2016 RT780 with about 4,200 hours on it. The spreadsheet said the 5-year total cost of ownership gap was roughly $22,000 in favor of used. My gut said something was off. I went with the spreadsheet."

Here's what the spreadsheet missed. The listing said "excellent condition." The seller — a private party, not a dealer — said they'd "done the maintenance recently." When I pressed on what that meant, we were using the same words but meaning different things. To them, "done the maintenance" meant the oil was changed. To me, it meant the hydraulic system had been inspected.

It hadn't. The pump failed in month 3. The repair, plus the down weeks, came to about $46,000 in repair costs and another $31,000 in lost utilization on a project we'd already committed to. The $98,000 sticker gap closed to about $21,000 of true savings — and I still had a machine with a story behind it.

Verdict: Used wins the first 24 months. New wins months 25–60. If you can't reliably predict what your machine will look like at hour 6,000, used isn't the discount you think it is.

Dimension 2: Warranty Coverage vs. "As-Is" Risk

This is where the comparison gets less emotional and more mechanical.

New RT780: standard warranty (typically 12 months / 2,000 hours on the whole machine, with extended coverage available). Used RT780 from a dealer: sometimes a limited 90-day powertrain warranty. Used RT780 from a private party: nothing. As-is means as-is.

One thing worth knowing if you're buying from any licensed dealer — not just in equipment, but across any B2B purchase. Per FTC advertising guidelines (ftc.gov), claims like "refurbished" or "ready to work" must be truthful and substantiated. That's not a warranty. It's a floor. If a dealer's ad says "fully serviced" and the machine shows up with a leaking cylinder, you have grounds to push back — but only if you documented the claim and the condition.

Here's what I got wrong the first time I bought used: I treated the warranty question as a price question. It isn't. It's a risk allocation question.

My rule now: if I'm buying used at a discount of 40%, I want at least 8–15% of the purchase price set aside for the first 12 months of unpredictable repairs. If that reserve eats the discount down to nothing, I walk.

Verdict: New wins outright. The only used machines I'll take today come from dealers who'll put a 90-day powertrain warranty in writing. "Handshake warranty" is how I lost $2,800 on a hydraulic pump in 2017 — my first year in the role, and the mistake that made me start the checklist.

Dimension 3: Delivery Time vs. Actual Time-on-Site

Here's where the conventional wisdom gets flipped.

Everyone assumes used is faster — no factory lead time, no build slot. In theory, a used RT780 from a nearby seller could be on your site in 2–3 weeks. A new one might be 6–14 weeks depending on dealer stock and configuration.

But in practice, the time-to-site on used is loaded with dependencies: bank or lender approval (3–7 days), transport permits (5–10 days), title transfer (2–5 days), pre-commissioning inspection (3–7 days), and whatever surprise the inspection turns up (another 2–4 weeks if parts are scarce). That's how a "two-week" deal became a 41-day elapsed timeline in my Q3 2023 attempt.

New Terex RT780 from a dealer with stock on the lot: sometimes 2–3 weeks from PO to delivery. That's the counterintuitive part. New isn't always slower. It's slower when you need a custom configuration; it's often faster when a dealer has one spec'd and sitting there.

Verdict: New wins when you buy from dealer stock. Used wins when you're not on a schedule and the private-party seller is within 200 miles. Anyone telling you used is reliably faster is comparing a best-case used against a worst-case new.

Dimension 4: Resale Value vs. Depreciation Curve

Conventional math says used is the smart move on depreciation — the first owner eats the steep part of the curve, and you buy in on the flatter section.

That math is true on paper. It is not always true at exit.

I tried to sell a 2014 RT780 in 2022. It was a solid machine, well-maintained, 7,800 hours. I listed it in March. I had 19 inquiries and zero offers at my asking price for 4 months. When I finally moved it in July, I settled 11% below what I thought was already a fair listing price. Depreciation is a straight line on a spreadsheet. Liquidity is not.

What I learned: the resale value of used equipment isn't just the number on the curve — it's the number of buyers active in your region, at your spec, at the moment you want to sell. A new machine from a branded, dealer-supported line has a broader resale audience by definition. A used machine with an ambiguous service history has a narrower one.

Verdict: Used wins on depreciation if you can hold until the market comes to you. New wins on resale liquidity. If your exit timeline is fixed, price that liquidity premium in.

So Which One Actually Wins?

There's no universal answer, and anyone who gives you one hasn't been on both sides of the invoice. Here's the version I'd actually trust:

Buy new RT780 if:

• You need 5+ years of predictable uptime and the warranty is part of your operating assumption, not a bonus.
• You're financing or leasing — terms are much cleaner on new units.
• You need a specific configuration (custom boom, counterweight package, additional camera kit).
• You want an exit that doesn't depend on the local used-equipment market in 2030.

Buy a used RT780 if:

• You have a trusted independent tech who can do a pre-purchase inspection before money leaves your account. Not after.
• You're reserving 8–15% of the purchase price for first-year repairs, and the discount still clears that number.
• You're not on a timeline — you can walk away from any deal that shows even one red flag.
• You've done this before. Very few people I've worked with pull off their first used heavy equipment purchase cleanly, myself included.

If you skimmed all of the above and only remember one thing: the sticker price is the least interesting number in the deal. Every dimension in this article is a way that number either held up or didn't.

The $146,000 I've burned over 9 years bought me a lot of things. This frame is the only one I'd call worth the price.