Buy a mini excavator or not? With pictures and data....

Well, we want to resell the excavator again in two years. If the operating hours are calculated including rental costs, etc., and the excavator can be resold with little loss, this is ultimately much cheaper in many cases.
No excavator with 2-3 tons costs 75€ per day here with us. Besides, you forget the costs for transport there and back, dumpsters, security, etc.

That heavily depends on how many operating hours you actually use in the 2 years. If they are few, you tie up an investment of 5-10K€ for 2 years without regular use – which is economically not very sensible.

I would also get offers from contractors for the upcoming work – if they finish it in 3 hours, then buying your own excavator is quite a luxury. If 100 hours are planned, then it’s a different matter.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Hello Staubii

over 6,000 operating hours is of course a big number. If it was used commercially, quite an investment is necessary. And then it gets expensive.
Just experienced this. Bought a dumper used. Allegedly low mileage. It cost 2,000 euros. New it costs 4,000 euros. After half a year the transmission went downhill. Already 1,000 euros in repairs. So the savings effect isn't that big now. And let's see what the resale brings next year.
My dad always said: Who buys cheap, buys twice. True.

Steven