private financing for used mini excavator?

[Robert_in_NY]

I'm looking at buying a used mini excavator and the dealer is a Kubota dealer and said the longest they could go was 48 months at just over 6% interest. While I can make it work at the 48 month term I would prefer to go 60 months just to lower the payments per month to a number I am more comfortable with. Then I can pay more on it as I have extra money but I don't want to push myself too where I have to worry about money if one or two of my customers can't pay in a timely fashion. So I am trying multiple ideas, one is to get the price lowered up front and put 20% down. I am not sure I can get the price lowered to where I would like though. 2nd option is to try and find a private financing company not associated with the dealer and willing to give me a loan out to 60 months (I would still put 20% down). 3rd option is to bite the bullet and cross my fingers and 4th option is to walk away from this deal but I would rather not as then I am renting an excavator and basically tossing the money away with nothing to show for it.

The excavator is a Bobcat 331, cab, hydraulic grapple, 12 and 24" buckets, brand new tracks and around 3500 hours. The dealer is asking just under $19k but I would prefer to get it for $17-$18k. So do any of you guys have advice to help me with this situation? I would love to be able to wait a while longer but we already rented an excavator for a week, borrowed another one (which I couldn't do any work with as it broke down on the way to where I am trying to dig, then again as soon as I started digging) and have a lot of work for a mini excavator on the new farm that needs to be done in the next couple weeks at the latest (I can do most of the immediate work in a day but then I have 300+ acres of property that I need to start cleaning and digging new ditches, tile a few areas and dig a small pond for filling a sprayer. Also have a foundation to dig out and redo on one of our apartments. I can't even begin to fathom how many hours I will put on the machine the first year but it will be a lot. Then it will just be used for general maintenace and the occasional job.

 

[mogwai]

Is this a personal "want" or a business "need"?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Is this a personal "want" or a business "need"?

Kind of both, we have a lot of water on the farm (natural springs are abundant here) and need to start clearing the ditches and digging new ones. We also have the occasional job on our construction sites where we need one but we have rented in the past but if we had our own we would push for more work with it. Its a personal want in the fact that I can get by with renting as needed but I fear if I rent a machine to do all the work on the farms I need to do then I will spend a lot more money on rent then I want to. Plus I would have to quit everything else while the machine was here to be able to get the work done where as if I had my own I could work on it as time allows (which is why I am going with a cab, my free time is usually when its cold and or raining.

 

[Depmandog]

I purchased a 6 year old l5030 last fall. Only had 356 or so hours. I searched for financing options, and quickly learned I was in for quite a search.

We live in a small town at the edge of KC. East of me is all farm ground. A few miles west - urban sprawl.

I got smart and looked online for banks east of me in the farming communities not associated with Fed Ag Loans. Banks that made ag loans in house. Home town banks.

I found one that had thee branch banks, one in the town south of us. Just like buying a car, but they did want 20% down. They didn't care - I told then how long I wanted the loan for. They wrote it up on their Ag note program, heck I could have made a yearly payment if I wanted.

If you have a credit union - you might check with them too. The ones I could get a membership in didn't offer Ag type loans. I could have gotten a personal loan from our bank, but the interest rate was high, and a three year max.

I know what you are going thru. Find a bank in a farming community and start there. PS. Not sure I would confuse the issue by mentioning "business" use.

Good luck.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I purchased a 6 year old l5030 last fall. Only had 356 or so hours. I searched for financing options, and quickly learned I was in for quite a search.

We live in a small town at the edge of KC. East of me is all farm ground. A few miles west - urban sprawl.

I got smart and looked online for banks east of me in the farming communities not associated with Fed Ag Loans. Banks that made ag loans in house. Home town banks.

I found one that had thee branch banks, one in the town south of us. Just like buying a car, but they did want 20% down. They didn't care - I told then how long I wanted the loan for. They wrote it up on their Ag note program, heck I could have made a yearly payment if I wanted.

If you have a credit union - you might check with them too. The ones I could get a membership in didn't offer Ag type loans. I could have gotten a personal loan from our bank, but the interest rate was high, and a three year max.

I know what you are going thru. Find a bank in a farming community and start there. PS. Not sure I would confuse the issue by mentioning "business" use.

Good luck.

I'm so stupid. I just got a loan from Farm Credit to buy the last farm and it never dawned on me to ask them about this This would be right up their alley and I already have a good relationship with them now. Thanks for smacking me on the back of the head and waking me up :thumbsup::laughing:

 

[RollingsFarms]

Have you tried AgriCredit?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Have you tried AgriCredit?

Never heard of them before so no. I will look them up though, thanks

 

[RollingsFarms]

Never heard of them before so no. I will look them up though, thanks

They're similar to the Farm Credit you used. They auction off repo equipment but supposedly have good financing for farming and construction related equipment. They even have a finance calculator so you can play around with numbers and do monthly, semi annually, annually, quarterly payments. I think it's be worth checking out at least.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have been reading up on them since you mentioned them. I'm going to try and finalize a deal on the excavator so that I have a definite number then see where I can get the best rate (be it Farm Credit, AgriCredit, the dealer or somewhere else). Thank you for letting me know about them. I like having options

 

[RollingsFarms]

I have been reading up on them since you mentioned them. I'm going to try and finalize a deal on the excavator so that I have a definite number then see where I can get the best rate (be it Farm Credit, AgriCredit, the dealer or somewhere else). Thank you for letting me know about them. I like having options

That is one of Bobcats better mini excavators and I think it would serve you very well. Hope you can get the deal and financing you want!

 

[Foxtrot08]

Seems like they're asking A lot of money for that machine... must be the cab.

I picked up our JD ZTS 50 - a bigger machine, with a hydro thumb, 2100 on the meter for 14k 2 years ago.. But, it doesn't have a cab, just ROPS.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

That is one of Bobcats better mini excavators and I think it would serve you very well. Hope you can get the deal and financing you want!

Thanks, I rented a 331 for a project before. I liked it and it worked great. I would prefer a 334 for the longer stick but these machines really are not great at full reach and the longer stick may just make me get myself in more trouble then I need to :laughing: I'm sure the 331 will do everything I need and then some. It is an ideal size for me (width and weight) so I hope to get things worked out by next wednesday as I am going right by the dealer (an hour away) and would love to be able to bring it back home with me when I return.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Seems like they're asking A lot of money for that machine... must be the cab.

I picked up our JD ZTS 50 - a bigger machine, with a hydro thumb, 2100 on the meter for 14k 2 years ago.. But, it doesn't have a cab, just ROPS.

The cab does add a lot it seems but for me the cab is worth it. I love to be able to go out to work and not have to be bundled up with 10 layers of clothes and full face masks and goggles because of the cold winds we have. Just wear a light jacket and jeans and go to work regardless of the weather. I don't think this cab has AC though as that wasn't a popular option for the most part but that is ok. The 331 I rented before was in the middle of summer without AC and I just kept the door and windows open and was fine. No different then using my open station tractors with canopies.

Its also great to go to work and not have to waste time wiping off the seat from the rain or morning dew. The Yanmar I used last fall was an open station and every morning I got drenched as the dew kept dripping off the underside of the canopy onto me. Didn't seem like there was that much water there but it was like sitting in a rain the first 15-30 minutes.