I am on a farm looking to purchase an excavator and I would expect as the machine increases in size the repair costs also increase, however, is there a spot where they typically jump by a large amount ie going from a 20 ton machine to a 27 ton I dont see a huge increase in parts costs on the big items such as final drives, hydraulic pumps etc, but if I go to a 30 or 35 ton machine does it get significantly more expensive or do you need to replace components more often. From my looking in Western Canada it seems that the prices of 18-20 ton machines are usually quite firm or high especially coming into the spring season, however, at this time it seems that the bigger machines 27 to 35 ton machines seem to be priced lower for the amount of machine and given that I will not be doing much moving the size is not a concern except for repair cost. any comments
I think it depends on the manufacturer and the specific models. I agree with your assessment on the 16-22 ton excavator prices. We were able to purchase a 2005 Komatsu PC-270 with 6800 hours for the same price as a PC-200 or PC220. Many of the smaller excavating contractors prefer this size because it is easier to move and they might not have the semi or trailer to move the 27 metric ton machines and larger. If you can find a good 27 metric ton machine, I would go definitely go with that. There is some more you can do, and much faster, with the 27 ton machine. We have a 15 ton machine that we only put 150 hours a year on. We only use it for putting pipe in the ground or in tight spots we can't get the 27 ton machine in. I think the price of parts is proportional to the size of machine.
Daily operating costs should be a consideration as fuel consumption goes up rapidly with the size. My Case 135 uses approx 90 liters/8 hours (23.8 US gal) These were taken from trenching tests I found on the internet: Deere 240D used 260 liters/8 hours (68.8 US gal) Cat 330C used 350 liters/8 hours ( 93.1 US gal) Our fuel in Canada works out to about $1 per liter. 3.78 liters/ US gallon
I have also noticed the prices in the bigger machines being way cheaper. Any Tom, **** or Harry can move something on a gooseneck or behind there dumptruck. Not everyone has a haul truck and lowboy to move the big boys. Im gonna be in the market soon and have been looking at prices. I can nearly buy a haul truck, lowboy and big trackhoe for what I can find a smaller trackhoe for by itself. Im thinking I want to stay under the overwidth/overweight size though at least till I find out about permits (pricing a yearly permit to move it so I dont have to go to town every time its moved.)