Buying Advice Mini Excavator buying or renting

[fattball]

I need to dig out my pond, its about 100 feet by 100 feet when full of water in winter it gets smaller in summer. I want to make it bigger and deeper maybe as deep as 20 feet on one side. The side I want to dig has no water now. So ill be starting with a dry ground. Should I buy or rent, what size should I get and about how much would it cost me to buy one used?

 

[duke7595]

I would look into renting, as far as price it differs from one area to another. It's the same with a dozer, guys like myself may put a hundred hours a year on the
machine, if nothing breaks it's a lot of fun, but if something major breaks the fun is over.

 

[bindian]

A mini ex can do it...............if you got lots of time. I have used a Bobcat E42 to dig my pond deeper and clean out silt..............and in my opinion, it was too small. I love digging ponds and would like to purchase a used MIDI excavator. But most of them have to have a bigger trailer than what I have at this time. Most I can carry is 15,300 pounds. Which is basically the lower starting weight range for MIDIs.
I dug my two ponds mostly with my 65hp 4WD loader and backhoe. If you get the front bucket just right, you can doze spoils up into your bucket and haul it. You can always buy and resale it after finished.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Tractorman46]

I've had a JCB 8014 for about 18 months, done about 200 hrs on it and I've found it really useful especially since as I get older (nearly 70) 1 Kg now weighs about 3 Kg. Trouble with hiring one would be that unless you have previous experience it would take some time to develop expertise. Maybe if you are just digging stuff out and don't need to be too neat about it but if you are going to do more delicate stuff and leveling (keeping the bucket constant is quite a skill) then that takes a bit more time to get competent. It's great fun though and totally absorbing. Our usual earthworks contractor (we've been doing some building) let me have a go on his brand new Kubota 3.5 ton machine. I want one! Just got permission from the C-in-C (wife) to order a grapple and quick hitch for the JCB so dare not raise the idea of buying a Kubota just yet.

 

[BuilderML]

Rent yourself i nice big excavator something in the 120+ range pay the $2000-$3000 for the rent/delivery. As mentioned above when small things break they cost big bucks to fix.

 

[Jim Timber]

Something that size (your pond project), you'll want some power and speed. So bigger bucket, bigger finger, and deeper reach = full size excavator. You could be done in a couple days with the right size machine, then use your tractor to move the pile of spoils. Getting too small of machine means you might spend what it costs for the big one on rental and be into it for a lot more time.

Getting a D6 dozer delivered to my place and picked up is like $300 from Ziegler. At some point, that's going to happen. The delivery rates weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting when I inquired about bigger equipment.

 

[Sodo]

Pretty basic. Figure out the cost to rent, thats your direct discount from buying. You will need other projects to "justify" the cost of ownership. When it comes to excavators folks alway say "I want one" so if you can affird the money out, then get it. I like to buy used stuff at market value, then sell for the same as I paid, its like borrowing it.

In my case I bought my KX41 after the economy rebounded, had to pay $14k + $1k repairs, so I may be a little underwater but at least having fun & not renting, transporting, or waiting. KX 41 is a tiny machine, but it doesnt take up space in the barn and I can tow it with my F150 and without worry, lots of good aspects that make up for a smaller bucket.

One huge benefit of ownership is the project can be "done" on your own schedule. A few hours here & there. And you can change your plan anytime. Some projects are better like that. To rent you must have your ducks in a row & slam it out. Shape of the pond, where the spoils go, weather on your side, etc.

Lots of replies on TBN recommend to slam it out, don't consider savoring a project. Which is understandable its hard to advise someone how to screw around, even if thats what he's doing in the overall picture. Members picture themselves doing that job for someone and want to appear (in their mind) professional, not goofing off, so the Replies tend towards "how to be productive".

Sometimes you dont want to hurry, what the heck are you gonna do AFTER that? I like to slam out the ones I don't enjoy though. I do things both ways and each can be extremely satisfying.,,,, and have no problem finding more projects (too many actually).

 

[edgarrian]

I have hertz equipment not to far from where we have land and i have rented from them 3 times. Good service. I would say you would want a bigger machine like already stated. Id get a 120 or 135. It will dig deeper and if your working with water coming into your hole you will want one bigger so your not on top of it and take a chance on falling in. Plus a bigger bucket. Then if you want it bigger you can. You can rent for a weekend reasonable for an excavtor that size. I usually get them for a week runs about 1700 here where i live. I tried cat but they want insurance and are generally more expensive to rent from. Id say stay away from buying unless you have alot of work for it. Tree removal, fence clearing, tile work, if not then i wouldnt purchase.

No doubt there alot of fun to play with. Ive cleared a little over an acre of trees on our land and its been great. **** my wife was worried i was gonna take them all down. Its surprising how tired a guy can get from getting in and out of the machine especially when you have to chainsaw what you cleared.

 

[ismilelots]

Personally, I would rent. If I bought one, my wife would be screaming at me for all the holes I was digging up around the property just because they're fun to use. Renting makes sure I do the job and then return it

 

[Sodo]

Personally, I would rent. If I bought one, my wife would be screaming at me for all the holes I was digging up around the property just because they're fun to use. Renting makes sure I do the job and then return it

I can't fault your wisdom or prescience.
Owning a Mini-excavator is the cause of a lot of digging.
My wife gets pretty mad when I tell her "don't plant stuff there because I intend to dig in that area 'next' and don't want a new tree telling me I can't make the change I wanna make."

This is caused by ownership of a mini-excavator.

Flip side of the coin is that you can do these projects incrementally, not having to factor in the $400 delivery charges and the 3-day window of time, digging furiously and then closing it up for finish.

The price of the mini-ex factors in. If you get a good price, such that it holds its value and covers the (projected) rental costs, AND you have a place to store it, it can work out financially. I bought one in 2013 and I'm pretty sure it's holding value (zero dollar loss) thus all the work it's done is like "free rental".

And my wife is generally happy once the work is done.
But she basically doesn't "see" the work or the changes, she thinks the land was always shaped like that.

Sorry this probably doesn't help you.