Ok so here is the skinny my family has a few gravel trucks I own one on my own and we stay very busy for the most part. My Dad’s fleet is growing and I have seen a need for a Mini X and Skid Steers in our area as there is little to no rental places as of yet and I want to branch out a little and rent a few pieces out on the side nothing huge. So I do have around 1500hrs on a Kubota KX 121 and I loved that machine the problem is no service and parts so I have it down to a few choices Bobcat, Cat or maybe Deere but I was not super happy with the last Deere we rented. It is also Freeze-Up now so it’s hard to demo and get any real idea without a job. Anyways I will be renting to contractors (not into homeowner rental) but still they can be hard on things and I want something I can also take on jobs if needed as we do jobs as well time to time. So how is the new M line?? I watched the vids bobcat has and they seemed to have stepped up there game or was it just marketing hype that gets a guy hooked?? I worry about the E35 being large enough but then again the 121 was a bit to big at times so maybe this will be a happy medium I hope. Has anyone ran into problems on the new Bobcats?? Final drives or something goofy that will kill me in downtime?? Granted I have a great dealer but downtime will kill me and it will be a rental so some days may be a little rough I am sure but we don’t have allot of rock so that helps as well. Also I used to buy used but my Dad once told me “if you can afford used then you have afford new” and this has held true for some things I have got for sure. So am I crazy to be looking at new or should I look at a sub 1000hr machine?? The dealer is working on some prices for me and said they have a $5000 cash back program if I don’t do the 0% interest program. I would like to be in the mid to low 40K area with CAB,AC,Bucket and Thumb and maybe a angle blade but maybe I am dreaming?? Sorry that got long but thanks for the help been doing a ton of reading on this site.
I think you are in the right size. If it is going to be a rental, I think you would prefer a zero tail swing machine, less potential for damage. Then again being in Montana more likely than not you will probably have plenty of room. As far as options, I think the price you will pay for enclosed cab, heat, and ac will be worth it because from the sounds of it, you will be operating it on occasion, it will make it a more desirable machine for contractors to rent because they will be operating it, and it will help when you go to resell it. Thumb I think is a must on a mini excavator. The angle blade, however, I have yet to really see a use for it, so I think that would be something you won't need. My recommendation to you would be to price out the E35, E45, and E50. I would recommend the A71 package for what you are looking for. That includes, Enclosed Cab with Heat and Air Conditioning, Suspension Cloth Seat, Power X-Change, and Clamp. The suspension cloth seat makes it much more comfortable, and if you plan on getting multiple attachments, the power xchange is very nice. You also may want the long arm option if you are going to be doing more deep excavation than lifting. As far as price, the E35 with long arm and A71 package will probably put you in the low to mid 50's. With the rebate, that will put you in the mid to upper 40's. You can taillor the options to make your purchase work, but as long as you can keep the machine busy, it will repay itself over and over again. Our last Bobcat 334 excavator had 2,000 hours when we traded it in. I believe the cost on that machine was around $45,000 back in 2005. You figure it averaged anywhere from $60 to $80 an hour, so at 2,000 hours that machine should have grossed anywhere from $120,000 to $180,000. I think it payed for itself, and then you trade it in for $20,000 so that's just icing on the cake.
Thanks for your reply Jim. Do you think it would be wise to buy new or new-used?? I am more of a semi guy but it sure does seem to me like the machines hold there value thus not making it worth it to buy used but then again I do see them in the 39-42K range all loaded up with around 200-500hrs. Has anyone seen any problems with the new M line like bad final drives or the sort of major issues. I see they have a 2yr 2000hr warranty but is it worth a hoot??
Not sure how you operate your business, but we try to buy 1 or 2 new pieces every year. We have only bought one machine used, all our trucks have been bought new. The only reason why we bought our loader used was because it only had 300 hours, and although it was 4 years old, it was less then half the price of a comparable new machine ($50,000 less). So that was the only reason why buying used made sense for us. Other than that, unless you know it was a repo or that the previous owner just couldn't afford it anymore, AND that the machine was well cared for, I don't think that the minimal savings that you will be receiving makes it worth while to own someones used machine, when for another $5,000 you will be getting a brand new machine that you know exactly how it is taken care of. Also, all of our Bobcat equipment we have owned since new, and we have owned them from between 1,200 and 2,000 hours. Up to the 2,000 hour mark, we have nevernever once had to do anything to a motor, replace or do anything to any cylinders, pistons, pumps, hydraulic lines, seals, final drives etc. The most expensive maintainence we have had would be tires and tracks (which you can't do much about) and we have done sprokets once on our T190, which we got 1,000 hours out of them. Other than that we have had about a dozen skidsteers (743s, 753s, 763s, and S185s), 4 excavators (334s and an E42), and a T190 that we have done next to nothing for major repairs. So I thnik owning from new and taking good care of your equipment pays off, and when we go to trade them in, there are no issues getting a good trade in price.