I'm looking for a mini-ex for my farm. Build small tanks/ponds, septic, culverts, etc. I found and looked at a Kubota KX040 and a Takeuchi TB240. Both were a few years old and had about 600-700 hours on them. Looked cared for enough, didn't seem to have excessive play, good tracks, etc. Enclosed cabs and had thumbs. The Kubota had a 6-way blade. I've only rented a Wacker before, so I don't have much experience with these brand machines. Any preference for one over the other? Specifics to look out for? Any other models that I should include/exclude in my search? There's a Kubota dealer in town, and an equipment place, Kirby-Smith, I think in town that is listed on Takeuchi website as w/in their dealer network. Also, the United Rentals between here and Austin has several Takeuchi machines for sale, more well worn. Anyone with experience purchasing from them? Thanks!
I purchasedmy Takeuchi TB260 from United rentals in Birmingham, Alabama. Mine seems well maintained and in good operating condition. in all honesty, they failed to clean machine as promised, but was probably due to frozen pipes in cleaning bay. They did install new bucket , seat and cylinder shield on boom cylinder without raising price. I'm satisfied with the deal I got. I have noticed that they no longer price equipment in their ads, but seek offers. I think the TB260 is worth quite a bit more than I paid, but I do see machines up north cheaper. YMMV I will add that I don't like the Tag thumb. It needs more curvature near the end to grip logs better.
Not a fan of Tag buckets or thumbs either. One thing to remember about rental machines is they are ran at full throttle all the time then turned off with no cool down, when started they are always on high throttle, their entire lives. Doesn't matter the machine, the rental house or the maintenance records. I see it daily on the commercial sites we work on. Larger rental equipment from the Cat dealers Heavy Rents side are usually better taken care of than the average skid, mini, lift and forklift from the major rental houses. Just my $.035 adjusted for massive inflation.
These are both great takes...I hadn't thought about the tag bucket/thumb. Thanks.
Both machines you are looking at are well known good machines with easy resale value. I currently own four Takeuchi machines, including a TB240 I bought new. I'm very happy with the TB240 machine. Regarding the TAG buckets, they are built strong. I have TAG 12" digging, 24" digging 48" clean out, as well as ripper tooth. Fit is sometimes a bit variable, and the wain roy quick attach can be fickle. The TAG thumb in my opinion works fine, and I do concrete removal, stump removal, rock walls, and other construction work with it for a living. The TAG thumb may not be the best, but I would still suggest it's quite useable. I've bought from United Rental many machines and attachments ( likewain roy concrete pecker for the TB240), and you just have to be careful as KenMac says. Because United Rental is a huge Takeuchi user, there's a lot of them out there.
Both the Kubota Kx040 and Tak TB240 are at the top of their class, if I'm not mistaken the Kubota KX040 is the #1 selling mini excavator in the world. I've never run a TB240 but have run a TB235 and TB260, both were nice machines that I'd gladly own if the dealer/brand support was better in our area. I own a Kubota U48-5 and my father has a KX040-4, very pleased with both. In your situation I'd base it on the condition of the individual machine and which dealer you prefer. That said, I think the Kubota quick attach is a little better system than the TAG couplers. They stay tight a lot longer anyways.
If you do any serious road building or grading the 6-way blade would be killer. I have a 4-way blade on my U55-4 and primarily have been cutting mountain roads. I dream of a 6-way blade but thankful I have the 4-way and not a 2-way. Just my $.38 adjusted an additional $.03 for inflation that occurred since CM1995 wrote his message.
I found a nice low-hour, well-maintained KX040 last week. It didn't have the 6-way blade unfortunately, but did have the 4-way. I think it's going to meet my needs pretty well. Thanks all for the advice.
That's a perfect sized machine. Easier to transport than my U55-4 at 12.8k (I think the KX040 is just under 10k) and should do anything that you want: fit in tight spaces; plenty of power; the Kubota thumb has an effective design. Good job to be patient and land a nice piece of equipment.