Commercial Catering Equipment - Should you buy new or go for a used?

Running a restaurant requires not just passion for food, but also quite a lot of technical commercial catering equipment as well. This equipment can cost you quite a big chunk of money.

There’s always the option to buy second-hand catering equipment to escape from spending too much money. But it’s not as easy as it might sound. Not only do you need to find the right place to get that second-hand equipment, you need to also understand certain key aspects of the purchase before buying second-hand commercial catering equipment.

What are those key aspects; let us have a look at them one by one –

Keep the Catering Equipment brand in mind

As it is with buying new catering equipment, you must always prefer a branded product than a non-branded one. The logic is simple, a good brand holds repute for offering long-lasting and top-quality products. This can be the key factor in determining the life of the equipment you are going to bring to your restaurant. Therefore, choosing from the top brands is one of the first factors that you need to consider. After all, you would not want to end up looking for a replacement after a few months. Would you?

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Prefer gas over electric

Most of the catering equipment is available in two varieties – electric and gas.
The biggest reason behind this is the fact that electric equipment has a complicated structure when compared to gas equipment. These parts are prone to damage and often quite hard to repair. In fact, in many cases, the damages are too difficult to be traced, whereas in gas equipment there is no such problem. So, it becomes a smart choice to go for gas equipment as the chances of damage are less. And, even if some damage occurs you can easily get it repaired.

Don't buy commercial catering equiptment that is too old

Make it a rule of thumb to go for equipment that has been gently used and is not too old. There are a couple of reasons behind it. Firstly, the older the equipment lesser the life it has left in it. Secondly, the warranty of the equipment and its parts is also reduced. So, you cannot take the risk making such an investment that is not even under warranty. Keeping these things in mind, it is always a good idea to search a little and find equipment that is not too old or has not been used too harshly.

Look before you leap

This is something that makes sense automatically. You cannot buy commercial catering equipment simply by looking at the advertisement for it. You need to first have a closer look at the equipment by visiting the place.

Once you visit do take a look at the equipment in operation, if possible. Also, ask for the operation manual to know the actual capabilities of the machine. Plus, the manual is going to be your Bible during the times of using the commercial equipment in the kitchen especially when not functioning properly.

Most important of all, it will also give you a clear picture as to whether the equipment is in good physical shape or not? i.e. it does not have any scratches or dents in it!

Buy only from a reliable Commercial Catering Company

Last, but not the least thing to remember here is to make the purchase for your used commercial equipment only from a reliable resource. For instance, you can go to Caterquip – a leading place to buy reconditioned catering equipment.

You can eventually find almost everything you need for your commercial kitchen here with these experts. Known for their quality products, they have emerged as one of the top names in the industry in the UK.

So, getting in touch with such reliable suppliers can eventually be a good idea rather than going for any Tom, Dick and Harry out there.

Conclusion

There you have some of the top things to consider before buying commercial catering equipment for your restaurant. As tempting as it might sound to go for new equipment because of their lustrous appearance, it is always a smart investment to look for used equipment, save some money and use it to add another element to your kitchen.

Rather than spending lavishly on the equipment, you can eventually use the amount to give your kitchen a makeover, invest on its looks so that you can easily rope in more customers. Or, maybe invest the same in marketing your business that can drive more traffic and more sales, and can eventually bring more profits to your business!

After all, that’s the ultimate goal of your business. Isn’t it?