Thank you TXForklifts for your response. We will be opening bids tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. We are only buying one and it will have to last us about twenty years. During this bid process I had to respond to a Daewoo Dealer regarding the acceptance of an approved equal and after much research, I did not accept the request. He wanted to know why I did not accept his request. When I explained the various reasons why, he became upset. Your response certainly validates the direction my decision is starting to lean to. I simply cannot ignore some of the information I have received regarding the procurement of a Daewoo and our particular needs/circumstances. For other companies the Daewoo may be the perfect selection but it just is not the right one for us right now. I would like to thank the creators of this site and individuals, such as yourself, that share their forklift experiences and knowledge with others.

Sharon,

I work for a company that is a major forklift supplier in the state of Texas. We carry Cat/Clark/Mistu/Daewoo/Nissan/Linde and other brands throughtout the state.

First off, Yale is far from the premier forklift in North America. I am not saying it is a bad truck but I wouldn't call it the premier truck by any standards.

Being a Daewoo dealer and having competed against other brands using this forklift, I can tell you that it is not comparible to other first class tier forklifts being sold.

I would stick with the Cat or Toyota and try to figure out which dealer has a better reputation in your area. Go to their location and look around and see what type of operations they are running. There are several brands of good forklifts out there that are being supported by sub-standard dealers. The dealer is who you will be dealing with for parts, service and warranty. Base your decision on who does the best job.

In the area where I live that are only two dealerships in town and they are not submitting a Yale for the bid. Not quite sure why. There is a Toyota and a Cat dealership. The Toyota company submitted the Daewoo and asked to approve the Daewoo as an approved equal. They will also be submitting the series 7 Toyota lift for the bid.

I did some research and basically found out what you stated. But I also heard that it would be worrisome to receive the parts for repair in a timely manner.

Thank you so much for your time and information.

I represent Yale in Queensland Australia, and I am very surprised you have not included North America's premier forklift brand, Yale, in your request. From the Australian perspective the products you mention will all function OK, but with significant variations in reliability and maintenance costs. Of the brands you mention the cheapest truck will cost the most to maintain and so on, suggest you contact your local Yale dealer who will be able to offer you the lowest whole of life product cost from a brand that has its heritage in the USA. Toyota and Caterpillar forklifts are of Japanese heritage and Daewoo is of Korea, nothing wrong with that, but.