I am having a hard time deciding on a unit for purchase. Deere 60G (2015 $60k, 1500 hours), Cat 305.5 (2015 $73k, 900 hrs), Takeuchi 250 (2013 $43k, 1400 hrs) and few others in between. What should I consider that maybe I havent thought of! I have not operated a Deere mini on a jobsite but it seems like the best choice???
I'm not sure how prices are this year, but I bought new TB260 for less then used ones were bringing in Dec 2019. I never would have gone new until it ended up being cheaper. It might be something to look into before you make a decision.
The 60G I had was a nice machine. That CAT seems overpriced. Never heard a bad thing about TAK and that seems to be a good price
How do you like the 260? The Tak units are becoming pretty popular!
Thanks for the feedback. The Deere seems like the best buy as it is, in my opinion, far bigger than than the other two. I had a bud tell me he found a 50G jerky?? Just one guys opinion?
60 is a better machine than a 305 in my opinion just all around more power Tak doesn't have a good dealer here so I wouldn't know about that
I'm happy with it so far, but I've hardly used it. I don't think I've got but 5-6hrs on it since I took delivery of it mid February. Once the weather starts to dry up I'll get more seat time on it.
I will say that my Komatsu is easier to be smooth with than the 60G. But the Komatsu is bigger older and slower. The 60G is definitely a step up from the 5 tone class machines- reach and abilities.
Are you in Waterloo, maybe the Canadian prices are why they seem high to some.
I just ran through much of what you are asking. I didn't demo the Deere 60 (though my dealer wanted me to) but I did try out the 50G. I thought the 50 was a pretty nice machine but was getting pricey. I was able to demo a Tak 260 (new '19), Komatsu 55 (200 hr '19), and the Cat 305.5 (0 hr '20) at the same time and on the same job. I posted my findings in the compact excavator forum. Here's a link. HeavyEquipmentForums I will assume that you are talking CAD when you listed the prices. I'm in the US but I''m paying right at $73k out the door with (2) additional buckets, a hydraulic coupler and a zero hour 2020 model year unit with 0 down payment for 60 months. Check out the link for detailed info on why I chose the Cat over the others.
That price seems about right. Last October I was at 80k (before tax) for a 305.5 with a cab, angle blade, hyd coupler, 24" bucket, and a thumb. That was without me trying to work on the price at all. It was also 0% for 60 as well.
A small thing from a part time operator, i have a 303.5 CAT . They have float on the blade which is pretty handy at times . Ive been on others that didnt have float and missed it. Ive put about 1500 hrs on my Cat and its been pretty good .My 2c s worth
I have a cat 304cr about 2500 hrs happy with it. I would not buy right now, I would wait and see how companies fair from this corona mess , you might find a reasonable buy pretty soon
I decided that I didn't want the angle blade but I forgot to mention that it does have a thumb. The angle blade was going to add $3,500 to the cost and I didn't find it that useful.
I couldn't decide on the angle blade or not for my Tak, it was around a $3-3.5k option as well. I figured with the tilt rotator I could manage to get by without the angle blade.