Which one is a better machine when buying new or used? How well do they holdup? With owner/operater use only. Looking at a hydraulic thumb also.
bobcat is sold by doosan infracore...
Well I always start off by saying....KUBOTA...then I answer the question with the given option. Deere is FAR better than Bobcat. Bobcat excavators SUCK. I have used both and the Bobcat is just a heavy pile of crap. I did not like how they operated.
I ran a deere 17zts on and off for a summer and never had a problem with it. when I was buying my own machine I was looking at bobcats, but after talking to several people that had ran them and other machines, everyone told me to stay away from the bobcats. lots had good things to say about the takeuchi... and thats what I ended up going with. great machine, no problems except that the hydraulic fittings are all an oddball BSPP but I am working through it
I would go with a Deere, I have a 35D deere mini and it is a great machine. minimax
Leaning towards Deere. I agree, Deere seems to be a better machine from what I've heard,27 or 35. I demo'd a bobcat 425 and 331 today and they seemed OK,but... Still have alot of research to do. Deere dealer is also closer and they seem to be very helpful so far. Next week I'm trying the Deere models.
I think bobcat sells alot of units just because they are a well established name in the small equipment world. lots of dealers out there and lots of people that have one of their skidsteers.
looks like i'm alone in saying the bobcat, we have had a 430 since they first came out and it has been a great machine all though the cab is somewhat cramped for me (6'4")
I own a 430 as well and I'm really happy with it. I just let another guy try mine out because he is unhappy with his 35D. And he is a die hard Deere guy. He loved his 35D that he traded in for this one but he has been having a lot of problems with this one. He seemed to like my 430. But he is really picky about his buckets so that would be a problem because of the brand of bucket he likes to use. The city here is now using a 425 and a 435. I was suprised to see that.. I also let a guy that works for the guy with the 35D use my 430. He has owned 2 Bobcat excavators before working for this guy. He couldn't believe how much they improved over the old ones. James
My complaint about the 430 is fuel use. I had one rented from the local dealer. After 5 hours I was looking for fuel. Not a bad machine, was a little slow on slewing though. As for being a leader in the small equipment market, that is true. Just about every rental place you see has a bobcat sitting out front
I don't find the fuel to be a problem. I wish I would have watched how much fuel we were using in the JD 35 I was using. We have been able to go a day on a half a tank most of the time. One thing they should add is the auto idle down feature. Thats one thing that I wish it did have. James
yeah fuel consumption is no problem for us prob. go 2 days or better on a tank.
If I had to choose between bobcrap and deere, it would be deere. But if I could choose any mini excavator it would be Kubota. I did not like the feel of the Deere's controls...for the mini's that is.
my dad and i got a 35c and a 50zts DEERE and they are the best mini's i have ever ran! would never go bobcat except a skid
takeuchi tb016 I can't post new threads yet so I have to try to hijack this one. I might go to an auction on Saturday that has 6 Takeuchi tb016s and I was wondering if anyone on here has one of these little guys and what their experiences are. From reading through this forum it seems that takeuchi has a pretty good reputation as far as strength and reliability. Is there anything that might be bad about this machine? How hard is it to get parts? Any help would be appreciated.