Looking to Purchase a Used Mini Excavator - Tips & Price Range Thoughts

Hi guys, I am glad I stumbled across this site. I have read a few threads and I can see that a lot of knowledge, including repair help is available which is great.

Here is some history and hoping to get some input. I started to think about buying a mini used excavator. I am currently working on my home and need to dig up up my foundation for my basement which is only 4 feet underground to rewater proof my walls. 2 sides of the wall are under cantilevered 2 foot over hangs. I also need to do some regrading of dirt to make sure water rolls away from the house. I will also eventually need to tear up my asphalt drive way and redo it with pavers (Not sure if the mini can help with that)

I started to think about just getting a used mini excavator to get the above done since the rental rate in NJ is about 2k a month. I have no experience working with heavy equipment and figured I probably couldn't get all the above work done in a month.

I guess I should probably start off with the basics. How many hours can one expect out of these small machines before really having issues with them? I know maintenance is big deal but when you are buying a used machine, its difficult to know reality vs real.

When problems do happen, is this someone whos is mechanically inclined can fix? (I'm a car guy)

Anyone have any experience buying from online sites like Equipment Trader, Machinery Trader etc? Units on craigs up here are pretty expensive from what I am seeing.

I have purchased 2 units off machinery trader. I'm in lower NY and feel your pain with price. I bought both out of state. You need to go look at. I don't know what your budget is but I would not spend less than 15k on a used machine and probably less then 2k hours. If you try to get off cheap you will wind up fixing more then using it.
I don't know what other advice I can give you but there is no cheap way of doing things with machinery.

Matt

X2 on the spend $15k on a machine with under 2k hours. Biggest issue to look for is wear on the pins/pivots. Check the engine oil, coolant and air filter. This will give you a good idea on maintenance practices. Diesel oil is black pretty quick but you should be able to tell if it's low or beyond the change interval. If it's the owner ask how often they change the oil. Should be 250 hour intervals. Stick with a well known brand that has a dealer near you if you need parts or help.

There's a guy in mount pleasant PA that gets nice used equipment on a regular basis. PM me if you want the name of his business. Maybe tell him what you are looking for and he can help.

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

Matt so you went and physically inspected the machines before buying them? I have seen a few machines on machine trader and the lower Mike units and best prices are usually far away. Figured it would probably run at least 1k to have the machine shipped. I would then have to figure out how to have an inspection done as well.

On the repair side of the convo, are changing things like pins and pivots a DIY job? Makes sense to get a machine with dealers best by for parts. I mean I know you can order parts online but depending on size I guess local might be best.

My suggestion is for you to get a local adviser in the buisness that will shoot you straight.

Yeah I went and looked at them before I bought. I bought my mini ex in Maine from a dealer off machinery trader and my skid steer from a dealer in PA. I picked them up with my truck and trailer. But you could have it delivered from some one. I live in NY so I always buy out of state because our sales tax is ridiculous in NY. Just like jersey. If your willing to drive 2-4 hrs you'll be able to find a deal. I like Takeuchi machines that what I bought. What brand dealers are by you?

Did you get a price on having a local guy dig your foundation up for you? That sounds like about a day or 2's worth of work to me. Spending $15k-$20k on a machine for maybe $3,000 worth of work doesn't seem economical to me... Unless its a super good deal that you can sell for a good profit.

I agree with movindirt. Unless you want to have some fun with your mini.

Doesn't make allot of sense to spend 20 k to do a 3k job.....confused ! A guy on a 315 come be in and out in a day...

I have to agree with the hiring folks/post over buying, do you have a bunch of other jobs to do? Also if you've never run heavy machinery before you may be in for more expense then you want, especially digging close to your home. Not saying excavators are hard to operate but it does take some finesse/experience. One panic moment or miss calculation and your simple lower cost job just turned into thousands of $$$ with major headaches.

If you feel you'll use an excavator for years down the road then go for it. You probably should spend some time running the machine on more basic jobs until your comfortable running it. I have run and owned a few different ones through the years and they all had their own quirks. Looks like you're looking for something used, if that's the case then don't worry about name brand so much as shape it's in, for example IHI is one that makes a very dependable machine that is usually a bit cheaper. When you do find one that you like I HIGHLY recommend you check it out in person, or at least have someone you trust check it out. There is a lot to these machines that need to be checked, tracks, hydraulics, pins, motors, engine, electronics, cylinders, and so on. If you have no idea about them then try to find a decent owner, operator, or mechanic that would be willing to help you.

Hey guys, thought about hiring to get the work done but cost and the fact that i will also be adding a garage to the house and need a foundation dug for it brought me to just thinking about buying a used one and doing it myself. The Foundation excavation for the garage alone was quoted at 7000. Being in northern New Jersey everything is more expensive out here.

What would you guys average the cost of something major on these mini excavators for example changing pins/pivots? Tracks I have seen run around 300 - 500.

cloves said:

Hey guys, thought about hiring to get the work done but cost and the fact that i will also be adding a garage to the house and need a foundation dug for it brought me to just thinking about buying a used one and doing it myself. The Foundation excavation for the garage alone was quoted at 7000. Being in northern New Jersey everything is more expensive out here.

What would you guys average the cost of something major on these mini excavators for example changing pins/pivots? Tracks I have seen run around 300 - 500.

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Well, hate to burst your bubble, but I still don't see how spending $15k to $20k on a machine is going to save you money on a $7k foundation. Still doesn't pencil out to me. More than likely if its a foundation of any size they will use a 15 ton or larger machine. Thats going to take forever and a good amount of fuel to do with a mini. just my 2¢

Track are more then 3to500 closer to the 1500 mark even for a small mini. Mine is only 6500lbs and tracks would be over 1400$. Bottom rollers run around 150$ each. Drive motors are in the thousands.

cloves said:

Hey guys, thought about hiring to get the work done but cost and the fact that i will also be adding a garage to the house and need a foundation dug for it brought me to just thinking about buying a used one and doing it myself. The Foundation excavation for the garage alone was quoted at 7000. Being in northern New Jersey everything is more expensive out here.

What would you guys average the cost of something major on these mini excavators for example changing pins/pivots? Tracks I have seen run around 300 - 500.

Click to expand...

If you have numerous jobs you can use a mini for, then I would buy a 15-20k machine. If you just just have a one off job, then hire.
I wouldn't tackle the house foundation job until you have experience. Digging a garage foundation, away from obstacles would be a good start...assume your just digging for footings. A 7-8,000lb machine would do the job...if rocky or treed terrain, then get one with a thumb.
If you buy well, you can unload machine for near what you paid for it (buy side is key). As far as maintenance, you can expect $5 per hour of usage in maintenance (high end - grease, oil, filters, teeth, lines, pins, bushings, rollers, idlers, etc...all but diesel).
I have used mine mainly for land clearing, landscaping, and some foundation work. Having a welder is handy. Maintaining your machine requires a lot of work.
Although I've been lucky, you have to be prepared for an expensive hit, like a travel motor (3-4k). This is why the buy side is so important...you buy a trashed machine, that 7k quote you got will look mighty good...

Thanks guys that's exactly the information I was looking for.

I would be using the machine for digging up the 4 foot foundation (to waterproof the walls), then digging up footings for the garage, and regrading the dirt to make sure water rolls away. I'm hoping to also use the mini to help break up the old driveway. Finally would be using it dig up posts for a fence around the property.

I can understand that some of the items like a travel motor would be pretty expensive.

This is all good food for thought.