Independent machine condition reports · Hyderabad corridor
MACHINEGRADE is an independent inspection desk for business-owned construction and earth-moving machinery. We are paid to tell you the truth about one specific machine — engine, hydraulics, undercarriage and structure, measured and graded, before you pay for it.
01 · The product
A grade is worthless if it is an opinion. Ours is tied to two measurable quantities — remaining life on the worst major system, and deferred cost as a percentage of what the machine is worth.
That is what makes it repeatable. Two different inspectors, on two different days, reach the same letter. Repeatability is the entire product; without it you have bought a man’s mood.
The overall grade is the worst major system. Never the average.
A machine with an A engine, A hydraulics and a D undercarriage is a D — not a B. Averaging is how dishonest reports get written without anyone intending dishonesty, and it is the easiest way in the world to produce the one false report that ends a business like this.
Engine & cooling · Hydraulics · Undercarriage · Structure & welds · Swing & slew
Cab, electricals and documentation are graded and reported, but do not cap the overall grade. A broken air conditioner is not a broken machine.
02 · Calibration
03 · Method
No instruments are needed for most of this — a stopwatch, a steel rule, a torch, a magnet, and a mechanic who knows what he is listening to. What follows is the method, written out, so you know exactly what ₹6,000 buys.
Measured, not eyeballed.
Grouser height against new spec, link height, bushing condition and rotation, roller and idler flange and tread wear, sprocket tooth profile — hooked teeth mean the chain has stretched. Every item is expressed as percentage of life remaining, never as “good” or “worn”. On a tracked machine this is usually the largest single deferred cost, and it is the item most often guessed at.
Timed against the OEM specification.
Each function timed at full throttle at operating temperature and compared to spec for that model. A consistent 15–25% degradation across all functions points at pump wear; degradation on one function alone points at that circuit. Then the drift test — boom raised, machine still, rod extension loss measured over five minutes with a steel rule.
Cold. You get one start.
A pre-warmed engine conceals hard starting, start smoke, blowby and injector behaviour — which is precisely why sellers warm them. We arrange the visit so nothing has run that morning. Oil filler cap off at idle to read crankcase pressure and vapour. Start smoke colour, and how long it takes to clear. If the machine is warm when we arrive, the report says so and says start condition could not be assessed.
Where fraud hides.
Welds at the boom foot, boom mid-section, cylinder mounting ears, stick nose and track frame. Grinding marks, filler, paint that does not match the age around it. A magnet will not hold on body filler. Pin and bush play checked at every joint by working the function and watching the joint. Anything doubtful is photographed twice — close, and in context.
Verified, not transcribed.
The displayed reading is cross-checked against service records, fuel logs and physical wear — pedal rubber, seat bolster, joystick grips, paint wear at the entry step and grab handle. A machine claiming 9,000 hours with 20,000-hour pedal wear is telling you something. We report the reading and the verification opinion separately, because merging them is how reports become worthless.
Done first, because it can end the visit.
Chassis and engine numbers physically stamped and matching the paperwork. The purchase invoice chain. Hypothecation status, and whether the financier’s NOC can actually be obtained. Insurance validity. Form 29/30 readiness. Any court attachment or lien. Mechanical condition is irrelevant if the machine cannot legally transfer.
04 · Stop conditions
Grinding marks and fresh paint at a high-stress weld. We report it, we do not grade past it, and we recommend NDT before purchase — no matter how good everything else is.
If the wear pattern does not match the claimed hours, that finding becomes the headline. Every other number in the report is then unreliable, and you are told exactly that.
Chassis number mismatch, unreleased hypothecation, no financier NOC available. Mechanical condition is irrelevant if the machine cannot legally transfer.
05 · Free and paid
We would rather tell you plainly than have you ask. Send six photographs and you get a real answer at no charge. It is genuinely useful, and for some machines it is all you need.
The report is released on payment — free summary before, full report after. No exceptions, including for people who seem trustworthy. It is the same rule for everybody, which is the only reason it is worth anything.
06 · Who this is for
The fastest, most useful thing we do. You have already decided to spend; the only question left is whether you spend it wisely.
Pre-purchase report →Graded and ranked in one afternoon, with a disposal and repair priority list. ₹4,000 a machine, and you will know before your next renewal.
Fleet audit →We screen buyers and handle the NOC, the lien release and the transfer — the part everybody hates. Nothing upfront. 2.5% if it sells.
Sell a machine →07 · Before you ask
₹6,000 for a full pre-purchase condition report within the Hyderabad corridor, and ₹8,000 beyond 100 km. A fleet audit of five or more machines at one site is ₹4,000 per machine. The fee is paid before the visit. On a ₹25 lakh machine that is a quarter of one percent of what you are about to spend.
Bring him — he will see things we do not. The difference is that you will have it in writing, with measurements and photographs, which is what you negotiate with. A verbal opinion does not move a price.
Not on a machine we are inspecting for you. If we ever had an interest on the other side, we would tell you in writing before the inspection, not after. It is written into our engagement terms.
The report states exactly what was checked and what could not be checked without dismantling. We do not certify anything and we do not predict the future. Where we cannot tell, the report says we cannot tell — that is the part most people leave out.
08 · Start here
You do not need to decide anything today. Send six photographs and we will tell you the grade band for nothing — then you can judge whether the full report is worth the fee.