Estimated cost of a complete overhaul of an E85. Worth it?

mr.JLaudio · May 25, 2021

Hello, I'm very new to the heavy equipment scene and have yet to have much experience in the field but know for myself I would like to make a business surrounding excavation work. While boredom scrolling I came across a completely totaled 2015 bobcat E85 from a fire. The thing would need just about everything to be replaced but being a naive 18 year old the idea rebuilding this thing as a learning experience and as a way to eventually save money from an excavator purchase it seems reasonable to me in that sense. The poster (A dealership) has no idea what an estimated cost would be to overhaul it. And i figure those on these forums would give me far more accurate and realistic answered. Would something like this be a worthwhile project to take upon or would investing in saving accounts be a better option?

Tyler d4c · May 25, 2021

Unless its not that bad run. IMHO pictures would help make that determination.

skyking1 · May 25, 2021

Fixed it with a comma and an exclamation. Some caps for added emphasis.
Unless it is not that bad, RUN!

John Canfield · May 25, 2021

Link?

Vetech63 · May 25, 2021

Like said above, we need pics of the damage to assess. Most damage from fires can be seen, but its the stuff you don't see that bites you in the ass. Fire damaged machines are usually a total loss as the cost of parts and labor are just too much for such a job.

mr.JLaudio said:
The thing would need just about everything to be replaced

This alone will cost more than the machine did when it was new.

mr.JLaudio said:
but being a naive 18 year old the idea rebuilding this thing as a learning experience

The learning experience your going to get if you do this is..........."I should have ran when I was advised to!"

mr.JLaudio said:
or would investing in saving accounts be a better option?

This gets my vote!

CM1995 · May 25, 2021

Welcome to the Forums MRJ! Glad to have you.

You came to the right place to get advice and I'll throw my $.02 in as well - if the Dealer doesn't know how much it would cost, then how could you or anyone else put together a budget to rebuild it?

mr.JLaudio said:
The poster (A dealership) has no idea what an estimated cost would be to overhaul it.

Last thing we want to do here on HEF is turn away younger folks who want to get into the business. I've had the "yellow iron fever" since birth and here I am 40 years later "living the dream" with a lot of side trips along the way.

Give us a little more about your background and what you want to do in the heavy equipment industry.

Jonas302 · May 25, 2021

Welcome to the forum it was a good question to ask as a lot of the guys on here have experienced that disaster of a burned machine
I would keep looking for a fixer upper with maybe only one major thing wrong with it or one that you can run a bit make some money on the weekend to pay for it

Welder Dave · May 26, 2021

There was a self proclaimed expert engineer on here who took on a burnt 299D CTL if I recall. Got it all back together and then turned into a moron basically blaming members on here because he couldn't get the aux. hydraulics to work. I think I'd walk away as it would still likely cost 10's of thousands of $$$ to repair it. Pics. would be good to see how extensive the damage is. If it got real hot the metal could be fatigued. Not be negative but at 18 I doubt you are very versed in all aspects of Hyd's, electrical/electronics, computers, etc. Projects like this are usually taken on by more experienced or a group of more experienced personal. Think of a machine being restored for a museum or something. Rare machine and it's a labor of love for the next 5 years or so.

Lumberjack Matt · May 26, 2021

Fire-totalled machines are very common, especially excavators. A lot of dry tinder accumulates in the back of a machine that works in the bush, coupled with hydraulic fluid, and an inferno is the eventual result.

Avoid these machines, they come up for sale all the time on Salvagesale.com and the like. They are parts machines, not something to fix.

If you want a project, buy a non-operational machine at your closest Ritchie Brothers site.

JLarson · May 26, 2021

Yeah, wouldn't touch a total fire job, the parts costs to mop up the mess are gonna kill ya even if you do everything in house yourself.

Vetech63 · May 26, 2021

Here is a worthy idea for someone your age. Buy it on the cheap, cut it up in small pieces (say 2-3 foot), bend and shape them a bit, throw some decorative paint on them......and sell them as boat anchors or mailbox posts! If you are creative with it, I might even buy one.

56wrench · May 26, 2021

detailed pictures are essential. this is another one of those "it depends" answers. well, if the dealer has no idea of the cost to repair, i suspect they are withholding information. i would think they would have done an estimate for insurance replacement/repair assuming the machine had insurance on it when it burned. an estimate is not that hard. just itemize everything burnt that does not have paint on it. then also add internal parts and components in the burnt areas. also complete electrical harness, fuel tank, radiator, etc. then there is sandblasting and repainting the entire machine and new decals. and, your time is worth something. if there is little to no paint left on any of it, its scrap iron price. us experienced guys usually shy away from these projects because of hidden costs and because we know how these repair /restoration jobs snowball

John C. · May 26, 2021

Another way to access a burn job is to look for the aluminum parts. If they are just blobs of stuff on the top or sides of the engine, then no one will undertake rebuilding that component. I have bought components out of burn jobs in the past and rebuilt and sold them but it isn't something I would recommend for someone still green to the business. The machine will likely go to a salvage yard where the usable components will get stripped out of the machine and stored on pallets. Or maybe it will just sit in the back yard for possible buyers to decide if they want something off it.

CM1995 · May 26, 2021

After quick search of the For Sale and Auction prices for E85's on Machinery Trader, the average "value" of an E85 is $61,000 which gives a general basis to work from. So I would take the purchase price of the machine, deduct that amount from $61,000 and you'll have a budget for labor and parts to fix it.

Of course that doesn't take into account you'll have a burnt repaired machine that will not be worth market value.

mr.JLaudio · May 26, 2021

Thank you all for the insightful and knowledgeable responses. And of course the lack of newbie hardship! Very welcoming community this seems to be. Upon further review this is definitely one of those complete total jobs described above that I should most certainly run from. The only section that isn't completely torched is the mast/boom so I won't even bother uploading photos. My background is pretty basic. Liked heavy machinery as a kid but no one in the family ever really worked in the field. Being 18 now I've come to the realization that I'd like to have my own business, have "meaningful" Work to do for a living and be around things I enjoy which as I'm sure many of you feel the same with is things that have an engine in them. My goal as it stands right now is primarily anything that can be done with an excavator and truck. Demolition, excavation, site prep, shoring, culvert work, pool digging etc. I plan on getting a co-op placement from school with a similar company to learn the trade before venturing out on my own but only time will tell if that happens. As it stands now the only experience I have with heavy machinery is the propane lift-truck I get to use at Lowe's.
I'd love to hear how you guys got started in the industry the kinds of operation you run.

Welder Dave · May 27, 2021

Well first off you have the right attitude and that's refreshing to see with an 18 year old. Too many think the world owes them or something. Places like golf courses or landscape outfits could be something to look at. You could also look into working for a city or town. They have all kinds of machinery. An operators union is something else that may help get you into the industry.

CM1995 · May 27, 2021

mr.JLaudio said:
Thank you all for the insightful and knowledgeable responses. And of course the lack of newbie hardship! Very welcoming community this seems to be. Upon further review this is definitely one of those complete total jobs described above that I should most certainly run from. The only section that isn't completely torched is the mast/boom so I won't even bother uploading photos. My background is pretty basic. Liked heavy machinery as a kid but no one in the family ever really worked in the field. Being 18 now I've come to the realization that I'd like to have my own business, have "meaningful" Work to do for a living and be around things I enjoy which as I'm sure many of you feel the same with is things that have an engine in them. My goal as it stands right now is primarily anything that can be done with an excavator and truck. Demolition, excavation, site prep, shoring, culvert work, pool digging etc. I plan on getting a co-op placement from school with a similar company to learn the trade before venturing out on my own but only time will tell if that happens. As it stands now the only experience I have with heavy machinery is the propane lift-truck I get to use at Lowe's.
I'd love to hear how you guys got started in the industry the kinds of operation you run.

JL I think you are on the right track. Not having experience is not an issue if you're willing to work hard, listen and learn. I would suggest starting out with a mid-size company that does commercial work so you can be exposed to a wider range of the construction field - demolition, erosion control, grading/excavation and utility work.

Now be prepared to do the hardest jobs on the site starting out. Learn how to use a shovel and a rake - yes there is a correct way. You can learn how to grade and move dirt with a shovel and a rake, the same principals are applied to equipment.

If you were located here I'd give you a job today as we are looking for entry level people to start out with a shovel that we can train up. We just hired a green horn yesterday. No construction experience other than some residential finish work and warehouse forklift operation. Sharp kid, we'll see how he turns out.

Any questions you have feel free to ask. Good Luck!

Vetech63 · May 27, 2021

Well hell, let's just adopt jl into this forum and we'll all can raise him right!

Welder Dave · May 27, 2021

Now there's an idea! The HEF training and education program. No cost to student, no cost to HEF members other than their time and it gets some new blood into the industry. A win win for everybody. Just need to figure all the different categories.
Operating
Mechanics
Electrical/electronics
Hydraulics
Etc.

BigWrench55 · May 27, 2021

Welder Dave said:
Now there's an idea! The HEF training and education program. No cost to student, no cost to HEF members other than their time and it gets some new blood into the industry. A win win for everybody. Just need to figure all the different categories.
Operating
Mechanics
Electrical/electronics
Hydraulics
Etc.

Why not learn it all and then you can name your price. That's what I did. But before that I just faked it until I made it.

Estimated cost of a complete overhaul of an E85. Worth it?

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