Good morning everybody, I am in the market for a mini excavator and there are two for sale locally to me. The machines both are close in year, price & hours. the Bobcat 331 has an extenda-hoe and 40 HP . the kubota is around 25hp. this will be used for small tasks around my farm I was wondering if anybody had experience with both machines and could help point me in the right direction on things to look for when testing the machines out? Also any big issues with either of the machines? https://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/194840863/kubota-kx71-3 https://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/195140463/1999-bobcat-331e thanks in advance for any comments & suggestions
Check out the reputations of your local dealers on both. That may very well be the deciding factor.
Good day You may find this information of interest may I suggest you make a thorough inspection of the machines, there are both inspection and protocol documents free online at excatech.org. Time spent inspecting is bucks in the bank. Kind regards uffex
The Kubota is probably more advanced. Bobcat's used to run more HP but had gear pumps instead of piston pumps so weren't as efficient. I'd have to look at all the specs. including pumps, if has servo controls etc.
The extendable stick on the Bobcat will reduce its lifting capability due to extra weight compared to a standard stick, you would need to check the specs to see if it fits your requirements. An extendable stick would be very handy though. Check with your local Bobcat and Kubota service managers about parts availability and their opinions about each.
I don't know if a service manager would say anything bad about a machine they sell.
I was considering a used Genie 4x4 scissor lift and called a large dealer and had a nice chat with the shop foreman. He was very forthcoming with his opinions. I was going to pick the lift up at a construction site and the guy couldn't keep it running so I bailed. That was luck, it would have been a money pit.
I guess it depends on who you talk to. Some are honest and will tell you the problem machines.
Thank you all for the advise ! We ended up purchasing the bobcat 331 after inspecting it and found the undercarriage was in like new condition and the machine had only one leak. The leak looks like a difficult hose to replace, it's for the extenda-hoe retract. Being that we didnt plan on using the X-Hoe feature right away, I probably wont address the issue until required.. The seller even threw in a new thumb too! I spoke to somebody about their experience with the bobcat 331 and he mentioned he had over 20 trouble free years with his. That really helped persuade me. thanks again for the support, i look forward to learning more from the community as I progress in life.
If you have a leak, fix it now. Guaranteed you'll have a use for the extenda-hoe and forget about the leak. It may leak even when not being used because digging forces could put pressure on that cylinder. Take the time and fix the hose or get a dealer to do it if it's too complicated. Putting it off will just lead to bad things.
What Dave said and congratulations. The thumb is a very useful attachment, you might be amazed at how much you use it.
can you actually put the thumb on an extendahoe...?
Sure but only use it when it’s retracted