houska
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
- Messages
- 172
- Location
- close to Perth, Eastern ON, Canada
- Tractor
- Branson 4225h; Kubota KX-040
I'm great at overthinking things, so please poke holes in my logic.
I thought I was ready to buy a miniex (KX040, Bobcat E42, or similar) this summer, for personal use on my land. I have plenty of use for one, and would prefer using it for a few hours here and there rather than batching everything and renting for a couple of weeks a year. I figured I'd buy new or slightly-used, keep it for a few years, and resell once I'm done.
But prices are up, availability is super low, etc. It feels like slightly-used costs as much as new used to, and disappears in a flash, to people who really need it Right Now.
Meanwhile, interest rates are on their way up, fuel prices are way up, and the economy doesn't look too hot. So I'm figuring it's more reasonable to wait a few years, and meanwhile rent (even if it's a bit annoying). I'm expecting (hoping?) that once the inflationary party is over, supply will catch up (overshoot?) demand on new equipment, and various contractors will be keen to liberate cash by selling used machines, so good deals will be there to be had.
In fact, maybe $ spent on rental now (a few weeks this summer for instance) may well not be $ down the drain, since new and used purchase prices might even go down enough in a year or two to compensate when I do buy.
Old-timers who have been through a couple of economic cycles, is this wishful thinking? Am I naive in figuring equipment prices will ever go down? Or that an economic slowdown will lead to more used machines being available on the market?
I thought I was ready to buy a miniex (KX040, Bobcat E42, or similar) this summer, for personal use on my land. I have plenty of use for one, and would prefer using it for a few hours here and there rather than batching everything and renting for a couple of weeks a year. I figured I'd buy new or slightly-used, keep it for a few years, and resell once I'm done.
But prices are up, availability is super low, etc. It feels like slightly-used costs as much as new used to, and disappears in a flash, to people who really need it Right Now.
Meanwhile, interest rates are on their way up, fuel prices are way up, and the economy doesn't look too hot. So I'm figuring it's more reasonable to wait a few years, and meanwhile rent (even if it's a bit annoying). I'm expecting (hoping?) that once the inflationary party is over, supply will catch up (overshoot?) demand on new equipment, and various contractors will be keen to liberate cash by selling used machines, so good deals will be there to be had.
In fact, maybe $ spent on rental now (a few weeks this summer for instance) may well not be $ down the drain, since new and used purchase prices might even go down enough in a year or two to compensate when I do buy.
Old-timers who have been through a couple of economic cycles, is this wishful thinking? Am I naive in figuring equipment prices will ever go down? Or that an economic slowdown will lead to more used machines being available on the market?