Hello, looking to buy my first excavator. It will be used in my campground and building a 135 site addition. Are there any models to stay away from. I'm looking mainly at deere because they have the closest service to me. I have a 750C series ll dozer that has the early electronics and it gives me fits at time. so was wondering what year would be a good one. MY budget is $70K. I won't be putting a lot of hours on it as it won't be used everyday. So really just Looking for some good honest opinions. Thanks
I'd go with what machine you can parts and service for. A Deere 200C would probably be a good match for that 750. Cat's are what i like but if you have a Deere dealer close and they treat you right, I'd go with that.
Still a lot of old Deere 490s and 690s running. You could get into a nice one for a lot less than $70k.
Sorry Im a Cat man,the old Cat series 215,225,or a bigger235-($25-35K) or a monster 245 are good machines,simple and solid..parts still available thru Cat parts network. Simple non-electronic Cat 3208/3306/3406 engines and pump control. Beware the 235 and 245 are permit transport loads,but in your case a one time move just to your location.You'd have quite a bit o' money left over for repairs or parts,if you're not pushing it every day at the campground,it would probably last a good long time.FWIW
You better save a lot of money on the purchase of one of those old Cats. Your going to need a lot of parts and oil. Seventy thousand will buy you a lot of excavator and I think is a good number to start with. Top tier machines include Cat, Komatsu, Deere/Hitachi. Second tier is Case/Linkbelt, Kobelco, Volvo. Third tier is anything made in Korea or China. You have about equal chances of a good used in the first and second tiers. Your chances at a lemon go up substantially with the third tier. As in all used machinery, condition is a higher consideration than price. If you don't know what to look for then find someone who can assist you. No one makes a particularly bad machine anymore but in the used market there are particularly bad owners and operators. Third tier machines don't stand up very well to those bad owners and operators.
Assuming you are not going to be moving the excavator often, the larger the used machine the cheaper per pound it is. I would look at a 60-70K lb sized machine. You may be able to get a better condition larger machine than a smaller one that is easily moved. 20-40K lb machines are a premium due to the ease of moving from job to job. Just my $.02.
Took the words right out of my mouth. Lots of 80,000 lb. machines out there also. And them "bloody expensive when new" large machines usually had good maintenance also. If you can get a deal on delivery tied into the purchase you could do well with near half your money in your pocket.
Stay away from the Hy-Hoe excavators . It's hard to get a company tech on site to diagnose a software problem with the engine & controls . HeavyEquipmentForums Insley aint any better . Keep calling & no one will answer the phone ? LOL