This is defined as the price that equipment can be sold for at the time of its disposal. Used equipment rates vary widely throughout the world. However, in any given used equipment market, factors which have the greatest effect on resale or trade-in value are the number of hours on the machine at the time of resale or trade-in, the type of jobs and operating conditions under which it worked, and the physical condition of the machine. Whatever the variables, however, the decline in value is greater in the first year than the second, greater the second year than the third, etc. The shorter the work life of the machine, the higher the percentage of value lost in a year. In agricultural tractors for example, as a general rule 40 to 50 percent of the value of the machine will be lost in the first quarter of the machine’s life and by the halfway point of lifetime, from 70 to 75 percent of the value will be lost. The salvage value is often estimated as 10 to 20 percent of the initial purchase price.
