Newbie looking for guidance

[KG-Ranch]

Looking to purchase my first backhoe for jobs around our new 50 acre ranch north of Dallas. Budget around $30-40k. John Deere has a lot of presence in the Dallas area for service and repair , so I'm leaning more towards a JD. Prices, hours, cab vs no cab , s k j jk sk lmao, lots of choices. What's something to look for in a solid work horse. Service records are almost impossible since most of the backhoes in a 400 mile radius of me are being sold through different auction services. I pretty sure I don't want a rental since I know how hard I am on those machines when I rent them. Prefer a extended boom but will consider staying away if problematic.

Plan on doing some backhoe jobs around my new small town so looking for something that will last and be strong. I have a JP 40' goose with almost 18,000 lb of useful load so I'm think a 310 is about my limit. I've been a mechanic my whole life but never on Diesel engines, thank you in advance and looking forward to the do's and don'ts on backhoe purchase.

 

[funwithfuel]

Personally, I feel the case 680's are the epitome of what a combo should be. There isn't a combo on the planet that hasn't been abused in some manner. Guys loading, think it's a full size loader. Swing the seat, and they think they're working a 20 ton excavator . These poor things put up with so much abuse and still keep coming back for more.
Volvo combos are underbuilt and poorly laid out. JCB's are ok , when you can get parts . No personal experience with Deere. Maybe that means they're really good. IDK ?
Around here , Case lives up to the title, "construction king . I always consider cost of ownership. Does it have emissions controls. Does it have obscure or experimental components. Does the manufacturer still support the product. How much to perform scheduled maintenance.
Oh and my favorite part about case equipment. Their manuals. They're written in
Clear
And
Simple
English
Enough images and procedures spelled out that you'd have to be mentally impaired NOT to be able to follow along. Their manuals started as English, so no translation fiascos.
Good luck in whatever you select.

 

[KG-Ranch]

Thank you for your insight. I've read a lot about the case vs the JD and most of it comments come from over the road use being better in the JD and the case being a better all around rig. I'm only thinking the JD because there is a service center in McKinney about 30 mins away. I guess I just need to find a out in the field service tech that I can hire to provide a pre-buy inspection on the rig. Hours on the meter pretty much mean nothing from what I've seen. 2000 hours that look like they have 10,000 hours. 5,000 hours that look like they only used it to move hay bails around. This has to be one of the most frustrating purchases I've ever had to do.

Keep the comments coming or even better send me a link to a good purchase. Thanks guys.

Personally, I feel the case 680's are the epitome of what a combo should be. There isn't a combo on the planet that hasn't been abused in some manner. Guys loading, think it's a full size loader. Swing the seat, and they think they're working a 20 ton excavator . These poor things put up with so much abuse and still keep coming back for more.
Volvo combos are underbuilt and poorly laid out. JCB's are ok , when you can get parts . No personal experience with Deere. Maybe that means they're really good. IDK ?
Around here , Case lives up to the title, "construction king . I always consider cost of ownership. Does it have emissions controls. Does it have obscure or experimental components. Does the manufacturer still support the product. How much to perform scheduled maintenance.
Oh and my favorite part about case equipment. Their manuals. They're written in
Clear
And
Simple
English
Enough images and procedures spelled out that you'd have to be mentally impaired NOT to be able to follow along. Their manuals started as English, so no translation fiascos.
Good luck in whatever you select.

 

[El Hombre]

Look at New Holland and Cat as well. I've seen lots of hoes in Craigslist, most were from the actual owner and not a dealer or auction. You set on CL whether you look at all ads or owner only.

 

[NH575E]

You should be able to get a pretty good hoe in that price range. IMO the only reason not to get a cab is if you will be working in a lot of wooded areas. Otherwise it is nice to have that AC and comfy seat. Call me a cheapie but if I was spending 30K on a machine it better be near perfect and not needing any work. I've got a little over half that in my New Holland and I find myself working on it much more than I like but I didn't have the budget for a better machine. Also in that price range I would make sure I could get in the machine and give it a good test drive.

 

[KG-Ranch]

Ya I'm leaning more towards a hoe with a cab and ac/heat, gets pretty toasty here in Texas. So I think I got one nailed down , it a 2014 JD 310K 2wd with 1400 hrs , extendahoe, aux hydraulics , sitting in Fort Worth Texas, asking $43,500. Thinking I could get it with 40k in cash money,,,,,,,,, now just trying to find a mobile service tech to give it a full once over.

You should be able to get a pretty good hoe in that price range. IMO the only reason not to get a cab is if you will be working in a lot of wooded areas. Otherwise it is nice to have that AC and comfy seat. Call me a cheapie but if I was spending 30K on a machine it better be near perfect and not needing any work. I've got a little over half that in my New Holland and I find myself working on it much more than I like but I didn't have the budget for a better machine. Also in that price range I would make sure I could get in the machine and give it a good test drive.