8-9 Ton Excavator Questions

[mattc7108]

Morning!

I am looking at buying a used 8-9 ton excavator. It will be used for digging footings, construction driveways, ditches, small ponds, culvert installs, minimal land clearing, lots of concrete/asphalt removal and grading.

I have prices on 4 machines, dealer support within about 30 minutes to a hour away for all of them.

All have hydraulic thumbs.
All have aux hydraulics.

- 2021 Hitachi ZX85 - 2750 hours - 36" bucket - hydraulic coupler - $62k

- 2021 Yanmar vio80 - 1300 hours - 36" bucket - hydraulic coupler - $64k

- 2019 Tak Tb290 - 3600 hours - 36" and 24" buckets - wayne roy manual coupler - $51k

- 2015 JCB 90z-1 - 1000 Hours - 12" 24" 36" and rock bucket - hydraulic coupler - $53k

I have very limited use of them in that size. Minimal use of a 85g Deere which is the same as the Hitachi.
I own a Yanmar vio35 which I love. I am leaning towards the vio80 or zx85 but looking for others input or other recommendations. Thank you very much!

 

[PeterG]

The Takeuchi TB290 is a beast of a machine with outstanding spec for power, great durability, and happy operators. There are a lot of them out there. Very, very popular with excellent service support on this site. Not sure about the one you're looking at regarding hours and manual coupler. I also suggest a 4' wide cleanout bucket. Your 2019 price seems very low, so beware of the condition.

The JCB is not so popular but with the low hours, four buckets, hydraulic coupler, that one is priced very well.

Although not a super popular model, the Yanmar is always a topnotch product.

Hitachi's are also excellent machines, but the matching Deere 85G I think is a better choice.

I would suggest looking for a TB290, or Deere 85G. Lots of them out there, easy to buy and sell.

Best to name your seller with the address and show images of the models. Most people say it's best to see it in person. Bring a mechanic with you and let us know if you plan to service it yourself and have a shop, or you're going to have it dealer maintained.

My machines have been and still are Takeuchi.

 

[Welder Dave]

The only thing I'd be a little cautious of is not to long ago on the forum it was mentioned Takeuchi is losing dealerships because they have unreasonable expectations of how many machines a dealer should be selling. I've seen this before on equipment my dad was the distributor of. The equipment was absolutely top of the line and also more expensive but it meant not all customers would want to spend extra to buy it. It's a case of the manufacturer not understanding the market conditions in a specific area. Distributor doesn't want to tie up a lot of money on machines that may take more time to sell.

 

[PeterG]

It's true, Takeuchi dealerships are not good. But it's like buying a Toyota car, they almost never need dealership servicing. Takeuchi Parts are easily found online.

 

[mattc7108]

I do agree with you PeterG, the yanmar's are outstanding. Finding a Vio80 is not so easy though. I have looked into the Tak TB290. Going to try one out today actually. Is there a reason you say the deere 85g is a better choice over the ZX85, since they are the same machine? I have also heard the same about the takeuchi dealers.

 

[PeterG]

Both the Deere and Hitachi are excellent machines! There are three times as many Deere as there are Hitachi in those models for sale. Most of that is the rental/lease market. It means you have a larger used selection, possible more parts, and possibly easier resale for the Deere. The Deere 85g in my area is highly used on major construction sites. Hitachi becomes much more popular and equal too in the full-size excavator range. But if you find a good condition deal on a ZX85, go for it.