Buying a Rental

[RidgeHiker]

I posted this in the general buying section earlier but this may make more sense.

My son and I are looking at a late 90's L35 with 1200+ hours that for the first 1000 hours was a rental unit. I am, like many of you, concerned with abuse as a rental. I have a few questions:

1. I know the L35's are very heavy duty. Is rental abuse less of a concern with a tractor like this, especially if it checks out OK?
2. Have any of you bought rental units? What was your experience with them?

Thanks!

 

[Unregistered2013]

price?

 

[ITHINKICAN]

I watched a guy mow an overgrown school field with a rental one time - wfo the whole time - and he ran over anything and everything curbs and all (sparks everywhere) - it would have been a scary youtube video. I doubt I'm the only person (when I was a kid) who used to use the parking brake to power slide my Hertz rental car through every corner. :laughing:

Who knows - maybe the dealership was more dilligent with regular maintenance - possibly more regular vs a private owner.

But at the same time - maybe the people who rented the unit may have driven her hard and put her away wet - possibly more abuse vs a private owner.

Good luck either way!

 

[lakeside]

You have two sides to the argument. One the one side are those who wouldn't touch a rental with a barge pole, and on the other those who say rentals get routine maintenance and get lubed every time they come back from a rental.

I bought a B26 two year ago with 313 hours on it. Apart from some dings on the hood; likely from rocks falling out of overfull bucket, everything seems to be OK.

I guess it comes down to price and how comfortable you are with the dealer. I don't know if equipment dealers are like car dealers but car dealers get rid of their dogs. They only keep good cars on their lot to keep up their reputation. Let's hope equipment dealers are the same.

 

[RidgeHiker]

price?

We are still working on that part....

 

[Reg]

Interesting possibilities re its previous use.

Chances are SOME renters took it out with the express intention of saving wear and tear on their own equipment, knew they had harder jobs to do than their equipment could handle, etc.

Others with little/no experience MIGHT have taken it out and been too scared to do any REAL work with it.

My guess is it probably balances out - more or less...
Any SERIOUS breakages have been repaired, heck it could have so many replacement parts on as to be a wonderful deal.... who knows ? I don't.

 

[CurlyDave]

More than 50% of the time I rent anything, it breaks down before the day is over.

If this is any indication of average maintenance, stay away.

 

[PHILIP8N]

Can you rent it for a few days without buying it? If it is a good dealer, will he let you use it for a few days with the intent to buy if nothing goes wrong? I know how I use rented equipment, like it is not my own!!! I doubt if any rental yard maintains and services equipment like I do, or any other personally owned equipment. I would be very cautious. Good luck. Philip.

 

[RidgeHiker]

Can you rent it for a few days without buying it? If it is a good dealer, will he let you use it for a few days with the intent to buy if nothing goes wrong?

It is owned by a 2nd owner now - not the rental company.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I would really check it over. There are a lot of things to be looking at with a rental unit before purchase.

 

[grsthegreat]

this really depends on the rental outfit your buying from. there are a few places here where i live where its 50-50 you will make it thru the day without a breakdown.

there is this one place i rent from now that maintains their stuff 100% clean, greased and tight. ive never had an issue with their equipment and id like to buy a Kubota mini excavator of theres if it ever goes up for sale. its a great machine......i rent it alot and love it.

in my business its always better to rent in town and only have to transport it a few miles to jobsite instead of driving mine 30 miles to the job. but id make an exception for this excavator :laughing:

 

[crazyal]

Can you find out the name of the rental company? If so you can take a trip over to it and look for yourself how well they maintain their equipment. You can also ask about it but you may or may not get a good answer as they may want to sell you something. But around me you can tell the rental companies who take care of their equipment and ones who run it then sell it once it gets too beat up sell it while they still can.

 

[RidgeHiker]

I would really check it over. There are a lot of things to be looking at with a rental unit before purchase.

We have friends that are very capable around tractors / heavy equipment that will check it out for us.

 

[PHILIP8N]

It is owned by a 2nd owner now - not the rental company.

Ok, will the 2nd owner let you use it for a few days with the intent to buy if nothing major breaks or no serious issues? It cost nothing to ask. If he is not hiding anything, he may agree. Philip.

 

[Buster57]

Stay away...
I would never buy a rental. People try to wreck them.

 

[MarkV]

I bought a rental. Kubota B21 with 400 hours. It now has 1500 hours and is 10 years older. Never has gone to the shop.

I agree that it would be nice to know the rental agency and how they maintained their equipment. I bought from one of the national chains and they gave me maintenance logs when I bought. I believe I may have gotten less documentation and true maintenance from many private owners so I would consider a rental again.

MarkV

 

[RidgeHiker]

Interesting how dramatically different the various perspectives can be.

 

[Big Wave D]

I've held this conversation on several occasions with friends of mine.

One school of thought that has been presented to me was that if the piece of equipment had any weak spots, they've been found and addressed. Sort of like the people that swear the only power tools to buy are the ones that are reconditioned but sold with the new warranty.

Their thinking is that if someone has gone through the tool, top to bottom, it was, in a way, built to a higher standard of production. I can see their point.

The rental agency who owned it first and how they conduct their business and their adherence to good maintenance would play a HEAVY factor in whether I'd pull the trigger or not.

Yes, the equipment has usually been ridden hard, but not necessarily put away wet.

I wouldn't rule it out, but I'd bring to bear all the 'magnifying glasses' I could. If you're not such a good horse trader, then you'll definitely want to find someone who'll go with you, or certainly pay to have a knowledgeable mechanic check it over for you. Could be the best $100 or so you've ever spent.

Best luck, which ever way you go.

 

[RidgeHiker]

Thanks for all your help.
Our friends felt the tractor was OK but the price turned out to be higher than we were willing to go.
We'll keep looking!

 

[marks146]

I posted this in the general buying section earlier but this may make more sense.

My son and I are looking at a late 90's L35 with 1200+ hours that for the first 1000 hours was a rental unit. I am, like many of you, concerned with abuse as a rental. I have a few questions:

1. I know the L35's are very heavy duty. Is rental abuse less of a concern with a tractor like this, especially if it checks out OK?
2. Have any of you bought rental units? What was your experience with them?

Thanks!

I watched a guy abuse a rental tractor/brush hog clearing out an overgrown lot outside my office window last summer. When they delivered it, it was new. When he was done it looked like junk. I can't imagine he was returned his deposit. The brush hog deck was all torn up from hitting rocks and stumps and the tractor was scratched and bent from pushing through scrub brush.

I suppose the dealer will replace the panels and buff out the scratches, but the inside of the trans and engine will remain untouched.

Buyer beware.......