Looking for buying advice/input on used mini excavators

tommott77 · Apr 4, 2019

Hi all, I am considering buying a mini excavator to replace and then sell the woods backhoe I have on my John Deere 3025E. New minis are gong to be out of price range and I'm looking used. The machine will be used on my severely sloped mountain property and doing work to maintain the roads in our mountain community for the POA. In doing some research I'm liking the Takeuchi TB016 for the expandable and wider track for the extra stability compared to other smaller sized minis for the work my steep/hilly mountain conditions. Also United Rentals seems to have an abundant supply of 4-5 year old, relatively low hour machines.

I do have some questions, and aside from my experience on my tractor I have no experience with excavators or similar equipment.

1) Is there a reason I shouldn't consider buying a used rental unit from United? I'm sure that the machines may be used a bit rough by inexperienced renters, but I would assume that this machines are very well serviced and maintained.

2) In regards to servicing a used mini I am at lost on where/how to go for service/repairs? It appears that United offers a warranty and they say that they do the warranty work there. Would they be a potential good source for post warranty service/repair work, or would need to find where a Takeuchi dealer is or try to find an independent repair guy myself?

3) I know I see it everywhere but it is ok to store a mini excavator outdoors? I don't have a good covered/enclosed spot to store one but I know that I see them out everywhere at rental facilities, and everybody's yards in the mountains lol, so I assume its ok. I keep my JD 3025 out of the elements and it's a bit of mental hurdle for me to overcome.

4) Any other insights, guidance, or things to consider with those with experience?

Thanks all for any input

mrmikey · Apr 4, 2019

1) Is there a reason I shouldn't consider buying a used rental unit from United?

I have an aversion to buying rental anything, just me. I've seen people beat the snot of of something, "It ain't mine, I don't care"

.....but I would assume that this machines are very well serviced and maintained.

You know what ***ume does

2) In regards to servicing a used mini I am at lost on where/how to go for service/repairs?

If you can't find a dealer, what happens when you need unique parts? The price of the machine is only the beginning of the cost.

3) I know I see it everywhere but it is ok to store a mini excavator outdoors?

Keep the electronics out of the water and snow, cylinders retracted if you can you'll be good, other than cosmetics it'll be fine. a lean-to would be better

Any other insights, guidance, or things to consider with those with experience

?
If I could swing it, I'd be going with something more mainstream, CAT, Deere etc.
Did you think to check your local CAT dealer for trade ins? Not knowing your level of expertise (Don't take offense) , take someone with you that does.
Ask for service records and oil samples, preferably a record of previous ones so you can see a trend in case there'
s wear.
If you do decide to purchase it from a rental place, ask to rent the machine you're thinking of purchasing. You never know, you may be able to swing the rental cost or a portion of, towards the purchase should you decide to buy it. If it ends up being a piece of crap then you return it and all you're out is rental fees and you'll still have some work done........Mike

searcyfarms · Apr 4, 2019

i would advise this.............go rent one and use it before you buy it, i ran one ( a bobcat brand ) 7.5 foot depth, not sure of h/p but small and about a 12 foot reach out front im guessing from the 10 foot sticks of pipe i was using, honestly i was frustrated with what it could not do, it was a digging frustration of not enough power or reach and turning to move things and tippy and it had the adjustable tracks in/out for stability and i was on relatively flat ground. I have ran units bigger such as a Volvo 220 and 250 - i have run many skid steers and a couple backhoes ( deere and case ) . I have limestone where i work usually and if you are in the mountains you will be digging rocks........I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo frustrated trying to get work done with that stupid little thing, i couldnt bring rocks out of the ground unless i was right on top of them so i had to constantly re-position to keep working to get things out of the way. I would not advise getting one unless its around 10K lbs so you can get something done and not waste so much time and effort - seriously go rent one and see how you get along with the small lightweight unit, your deere and hoe weigh much more and you would have way more leverage with it

tommott77 · Apr 5, 2019

Thanks for the replies. Other than operating my backhoe and watching others run them I have zero experience with excavators. I had thought that Takeuchi was one of the more main stream models out there; at least in my neck of the woods there's seems to be as many if not more running around than Cats, Deeres, etc. There's also a good bit of Kubotas, but there's probably more Bobcats on the secondary market than anything else around here. Note taken and I will do some research and try to check out used units at the big name dealers. That has the potential to help with the with the servicing concerns I have going forward as well.

I'm going to be stuck around the 4000lb weight class for several reasons; storage, transportation capabilities, and budget. The setup of my tractor/backhoe is about the exact same weight and has done well in terms of digging performance even with the rocky ground thus far. So I feel pretty confident that this size mini-ex will dig what I need it to. It's really light maintenance work that I'd be doing more than anything. The issue I have with my backhoe is reach and the inaccessibility for it to work where I need it. I'm constantly working on slopes and by the time I find a safe spot for my stabilizers the already limited reach of the backhoe is effectively cut in half or less in many instances. What drew me to the Takeuchi is it seems to have to the widest track of all the comparable minis in this weight class in the budget I'm looking around which I figure would let me get closer to my work more safely.

I'll have to see if I can pile up enough work to justify renting a unit in the near future. It's typically a steady amount of smaller jobs that it's needed for but it does make sense to get my feet wet before diving into the ownership of a machine.

nards444 · Apr 5, 2019

Buddy of mine bought a used bobcat one, as far as maint and such it really hasnt been an issue in terms of past abuse haunting him. I think he dropped 40k on buying. With that said he kind of kicks himself for buying one now based off use. Based of purchase price and maint he has had to do, he figures based off use he would have been better off renting when he needed it.

crashz · Apr 8, 2019

The Takeuchi's are nice machines. I've run them and like them.

But a rental is the way to go to see if it will work for you. Spend the 500-700 to rent one for the week and try it out on your slopes and grounds in some real world work. You can use the blade to level the house on a slope, but just like a tractor, you do not want to be operating on a slide slope. Worst case scenario, cut yourself a level pad to work off of.

I've run Takeuchis, Cats and Kubotas and like them all. The Kubotas seem faster than the others and Taks seem stronger. Cats are expensive, but the dealer support is very strong. Any one of them will have some maintenance to perform and eventually repairs. Look to see how easy it is to replace hoses (the worst ones will always be the ones to blow out). If you go for a rental unit, look for overall condition, cracks, frayed hoses, and the slop in pins and bushings. A low hour unit that hasn't run a hammer should be in pretty decent shape. I would service everything upon delivery to start fresh on maintenance. Best of luck!

tommott77 · May 8, 2019

Thanks everybody for the guidance. Ended up pulling the trigger on a 2016 CAT 301.7D with only 200 something hours on it. Ended up being several grand more than the Takeuchis United Rental was selling but am purchasing the CAT straight from one of the large CAT hubs in NC as a pre-owned certified machine and a free two year 1000 hour warranty. There was a lot of BIG HEAVY machinery in their yard going in every direction. It was quite the sight to see, a bit awe-inspiring, and even a little intimidating for somebody that has progressed up from garden tractors in the last several years.

The Takeuchis at Unit Rental were 2012-2013 machines with around 1200-2000 hours. The extended warranties on the Taks from United Rental were only good for a year would've ended up pushing the price equal or greater than the CAT. If I did end up going to with the Tak from United I would not have opted for the expensive warranty but I do put a lot of weight into the price of those types of warranties as there will be some correlation to it and what to expect in repairs/failures. So all and all I'm happy with my decision and satisfied that I was able to find such a low hour machine.

EddieWalker · May 8, 2019

Congrats on your new piece of machinery!!! Please keep us updated on how it works out for you.

edgarrian · May 8, 2019

Excavators are ok with being left outside. I use to own one as well. I was lucky enough to have had the ability to store mine in our barn on the farm. As for maintenance. They are really easy to take care of. change oil is simple. Changing hydraulic lines is a simple process. I wish I still had mine. Just be sure to hit all the zerks when you grease the machine. Keep an eye on the tracks and make sure they don't get to loose on you. Especially since you will be doing work on slopes. Advice when running the excavator on slope. Try not track the machine at angle going up a incline as you can skip the tracks off easily especially if they are loose. Aside from that an excavator can pretty much go and do anything. Enjoy