I’m in the market for an excavator that’s somewhere between 9-12k operating weight for home/farm use mostly but may start doing side work with it. I purchased land 1.5 years ago that we are turning into a farm and have many projects that need to be done. I don't really want to continue to pay people to come do them when I could invest in my own and do it myself. I've only ever run tractors previously so there will be a learning curve, but i really enjoy operating equipment so that's the fun part. My son who is currently 16 has shown interest in possibly getting into this field, so it could become a machine for him to start a business with at some point in the future. I have dealerships all around me in central new hampshire so not too concerned with specific brand/support...i've heard mostly good things about the majority of the dealerships. If you were buying lightly used 2-4 years old which would you buy and why?
Without experience, I would start by renting a few different brands and running them yourself, to see what’s important to you. All the name brands and some of the new, like Devlon may have a different feel. You can’t go wrong with Kubota, I prefer Takiuchi, while Cat has some great features. Case is right there in Bow, they usually have some machines on site. You sound like you will be buying new enough, a dealer might be interested in your situation. Also, talking to people who have done work for you before, may enlighten you, as to their needs and experience.
Beware of gray market machines like Cat, Kubota and Komatsu ie purple/gray are common to get repainted in Usa colors. Hitch is Deere without the high resale. Said above rent'em
First, welcome to HEF. You're doing the right first move to get on here and ask questions. The amount of knowledge here has kept out of hot water many, many times with my old machines. To help answer your question, I would list out here the type of work you want to do. Be detailed. For instance, if you want to remove trees or stumps, tell us what type of tree, how big, and in what type of soil. And my initial thoughts on your question: "If you were buying lightly used 2-4 years old which would you buy and why?" I'm not sure if that's a realistic market but folks here who move dirt for a living will be able to tell you if that market really exists.
Kubota and Takeuchi are at the top of my list, next would be JD/Hitachi and Yanmar. Really you can't go wrong with any of the Japanese brands, they invented the mini-ex and are still at the forefront of reliability and performance IMO. As for size, what kind of tow rig do you have? Do you have a class A CDL? For the type of work you are wanting to do buy the largest one you can afford and safely/legally haul. A 5-6 ton class would be great, but you might have to settle for a 4-ton depending on your hauling situation.