The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Bob Minchin wrote:

The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob

It might be worth asking a few hire shops what they do with them when they
get to the end of their ecomomic life. If they sell them for a knock-down
price you might get one with some life left in it for very little.

Otherwise, Ebay is your friend.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

There is a place in Sway near Lymington called dial a digger. They might be able to help www.dialadigger.co.uk. It's a self drive hire place that might have something floating around.

Set Square wrote in message ...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Bob Minchin wrote:

The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob

It might be worth asking a few hire shops what they do with them when they
get to the end of their ecomomic life. If they sell them for a knock-down
price you might get one with some life left in it for very little.

Otherwise, Ebay is your friend.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.



Thanks Set Square,

I had assumed that Hire shop ones would get a very hard life and they might
still ask quite high prices plus the dreaded VAT of course.
I'll have to enquire.

Ebay certainly has a few but they too seem to make good money and some are
trade with the VAT issue again.

Regards

Bob

Set Square wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Bob Minchin wrote:


The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob


It might be worth asking a few hire shops what they do with them when they
get to the end of their ecomomic life. If they sell them for a knock-down
price you might get one with some life left in it for very little.

Otherwise, Ebay is your friend.


Make sure you are good at brital in-the-mud reapiors to ripped off
tracks and buggered hydraulics.

One of te great thiungs about hring is that they come and fix it when it
breaks.

If you pkan carefully, you may be able to restrict machine use to a few
occasions where it is worked instensively.

At around 70 quid a day and at least 7 grand to buy, unless you can sell
it at a good price aftrewards, its not hugely economic.

Try negoitiating a good loing period deal on it too.

On Sat, 07 May 2005 16:25:05 GMT, "Bob Minchin"
wrote:

The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob


You don't say what job you are doing .....

I had a similar problem a year or so ago, and no single tool was
ideal. A mini digger may dig, but its a total bit of junk for moving
what it digs more than a few feet. A dumper moves stuff, but is not
good on its own, loading to 6 foot high is a killer. A JCB is a good
tool, and you can pick up these for a couple of grand, if you are
prepared to do the TLC, but they are big, and not easy on a small
site. Most cars will tow a 750KG digger, so if you can get a cheep
rate from a local hire place that may be the best option. Where I am,
mini diggers are quite popular, so hire is cheep. A 3 tonne machine
will do a HUGE ammout of work in a weekend.

For buying one, you need to keep your eyes open, the farmers markets
sometimes have "implement" sales, there are a couple of auction places
you can find via google, and a few small dealers exist. BUT its like
buying a second hand car - buyer beware. Bargins are hard to find,
being ripped off is easy.

In the end I went for a bobcat, its small and easy to manover, it
loads at ground level, it lifts stuff up the scaffold 8 feet of so, it
will push soil arround. I hire in an excavator, and a 5 tonne dumper
for the big jobs, and so far thats only 3 extra weekends work.

I am rebuilding a barn in a location with neerest lorry access is 1/3
a mile away.

One final thing, fixing them when they are broke is a nightmare. You
need a specalist plant repair type person, and they all have plenty of
work.

Rick

Rick wrote in message ...
On Sat, 07 May 2005 16:25:05 GMT, "Bob Minchin"
wrote:

The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob


You don't say what job you are doing .....

I had a similar problem a year or so ago, and no single tool was
ideal. A mini digger may dig, but its a total bit of junk for moving
what it digs more than a few feet. A dumper moves stuff, but is not
good on its own, loading to 6 foot high is a killer. A JCB is a good
tool, and you can pick up these for a couple of grand, if you are
prepared to do the TLC, but they are big, and not easy on a small
site. Most cars will tow a 750KG digger, so if you can get a cheep
rate from a local hire place that may be the best option. Where I am,
mini diggers are quite popular, so hire is cheep. A 3 tonne machine
will do a HUGE ammout of work in a weekend.

For buying one, you need to keep your eyes open, the farmers markets
sometimes have "implement" sales, there are a couple of auction places
you can find via google, and a few small dealers exist. BUT its like
buying a second hand car - buyer beware. Bargins are hard to find,
being ripped off is easy.

In the end I went for a bobcat, its small and easy to manover, it
loads at ground level, it lifts stuff up the scaffold 8 feet of so, it
will push soil arround. I hire in an excavator, and a 5 tonne dumper
for the big jobs, and so far thats only 3 extra weekends work.

I am rebuilding a barn in a location with neerest lorry access is 1/3
a mile away.

One final thing, fixing them when they are broke is a nightmare. You
need a specalist plant repair type person, and they all have plenty of
work.

Rick


The job(s) include digging holes to bury rubble, landscaping/ small root
extraction/levelling and trenching for light opubuilding footings. The plot
is small 30 x 40 feet so a small digger is essential. I can't do much by
hand due to a dodgy back.

regards

Bob

Bob Minchin wrote:

The job(s) include digging holes to bury rubble, landscaping/ small root
extraction/levelling and trenching for light opubuilding footings. The plot
is small 30 x 40 feet so a small digger is essential. I can't do much by
hand due to a dodgy back.

If you can get one, I found the 1.5T diggers to be far more useful than
the 750kg ones. The smaller ones have an advantage if you need to get it
inside a house because they go through standard door widths, but the
amount fo work they can do compared to the 1.5T one (about 1m wide) is
tiny.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Sat, 07 May 2005 19:47:26 GMT, "Bob Minchin"
wrote:


Rick wrote in message ...
On Sat, 07 May 2005 16:25:05 GMT, "Bob Minchin"
wrote:

The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob


You don't say what job you are doing .....

I had a similar problem a year or so ago, and no single tool was
ideal. A mini digger may dig, but its a total bit of junk for moving
what it digs more than a few feet. A dumper moves stuff, but is not
good on its own, loading to 6 foot high is a killer. A JCB is a good
tool, and you can pick up these for a couple of grand, if you are
prepared to do the TLC, but they are big, and not easy on a small
site. Most cars will tow a 750KG digger, so if you can get a cheep
rate from a local hire place that may be the best option. Where I am,
mini diggers are quite popular, so hire is cheep. A 3 tonne machine
will do a HUGE ammout of work in a weekend.

For buying one, you need to keep your eyes open, the farmers markets
sometimes have "implement" sales, there are a couple of auction places
you can find via google, and a few small dealers exist. BUT its like
buying a second hand car - buyer beware. Bargins are hard to find,
being ripped off is easy.

In the end I went for a bobcat, its small and easy to manover, it
loads at ground level, it lifts stuff up the scaffold 8 feet of so, it
will push soil arround. I hire in an excavator, and a 5 tonne dumper
for the big jobs, and so far thats only 3 extra weekends work.

I am rebuilding a barn in a location with neerest lorry access is 1/3
a mile away.

One final thing, fixing them when they are broke is a nightmare. You
need a specalist plant repair type person, and they all have plenty of
work.

Rick


The job(s) include digging holes to bury rubble, landscaping/ small root
extraction/levelling and trenching for light opubuilding footings. The plot
is small 30 x 40 feet so a small digger is essential. I can't do much by
hand due to a dodgy back.

regards

Bob


I got a 3 tonne machine in my sitting room, 11m x 4m, and dug out the
footings for the new internal walls. From what you say I reckno that
you will find a bit of planning you can do all your digging in 3-4
weekend goes at it. A brand new hire machine will be much easier to
use than an old banger of a machine that breaks down - unless of
cource you are looking for an expensive machine.

With a bad back, dumpers / bobcats are a no no, the bouncing you get
will wack your back up and down something terrible. A mini digger
drives so slowly that the problem almost goes away ........

Rick

Bob Minchin wrote:

Rick wrote in message ...

On Sat, 07 May 2005 16:25:05 GMT, "Bob Minchin"
wrote:


The subject really says it all.

I'm planning a job that will get done over many weeks/months and am
considering buying a small (say 3/4 ton) digger nth hand to sell on
when I've finished with it. I think this would work out cheaper than
hiring.
I want a tracked machine not a powerfab type. I don't want a complete
wreck but I'll consider something that needs a little TLC.
I'm near Southampton so something in the southern half of UK would be
preferred.

Anyone know of anything that might suit?

TIA

Bob


You don't say what job you are doing .....

I had a similar problem a year or so ago, and no single tool was
ideal. A mini digger may dig, but its a total bit of junk for moving
what it digs more than a few feet. A dumper moves stuff, but is not
good on its own, loading to 6 foot high is a killer. A JCB is a good
tool, and you can pick up these for a couple of grand, if you are
prepared to do the TLC, but they are big, and not easy on a small
site. Most cars will tow a 750KG digger, so if you can get a cheep
rate from a local hire place that may be the best option. Where I am,
mini diggers are quite popular, so hire is cheep. A 3 tonne machine
will do a HUGE ammout of work in a weekend.

For buying one, you need to keep your eyes open, the farmers markets
sometimes have "implement" sales, there are a couple of auction places
you can find via google, and a few small dealers exist. BUT its like
buying a second hand car - buyer beware. Bargins are hard to find,
being ripped off is easy.

In the end I went for a bobcat, its small and easy to manover, it
loads at ground level, it lifts stuff up the scaffold 8 feet of so, it
will push soil arround. I hire in an excavator, and a 5 tonne dumper
for the big jobs, and so far thats only 3 extra weekends work.

I am rebuilding a barn in a location with neerest lorry access is 1/3
a mile away.

One final thing, fixing them when they are broke is a nightmare. You
need a specalist plant repair type person, and they all have plenty of
work.

Rick



The job(s) include digging holes to bury rubble, landscaping/ small root
extraction/levelling and trenching for light opubuilding footings. The plot
is small 30 x 40 feet so a small digger is essential. I can't do much by
hand due to a dodgy back.


Sounds like a 3 tonner may be a little too much. About 1.5tonnes maybe.

They don't trench very deep though. 3 feet mebbe.



regards

Bob

Hi,

I bought a 1.5 ton Kubota second hand from a local dealer and consider
it to have been an excellent buy.
I halved the cost with my neighbour (perhaps sharing the cost is an
option for you?) and am confident that we would get most of the cost
back if we sold it today (5 years on).
We're not planning to sell it so that is irrelevant but it has
undoubtedly paid for itself - probably not quite in the cost savings
over hiring but in the time and convenience. If I have a job to do, no
matter how small, I just fire up the digger and do it - no hand digging
for me these days!.

It sounds like you don't have quite such a long term need for it as we
do so you need to seriously think if planning your jobs and hiring is a
better bet.
Also consider that it might get in the way on a small plot and that you
will have to insure it (or risk having it stolen uninsured) and that
you will have the hassle of buying and selling and risk buying a lemon
and capital will be tied up in it. A small machine may not be
physically capable of doing what you require.

Also consider getting a machine and driver. They could probably do all
your work in a day. If you drive it yourself, you will have to learn
how to use the machine and then take time getting skilled at it -
perhaps time better spent doing something else.

If you do go for it - do your research - there are a lot of completely
knackered machines out there. Also be careful you don't buy a stolen
machine.

Alan.

Alan wrote in message
.com...
Hi,

I bought a 1.5 ton Kubota second hand from a local dealer and consider
it to have been an excellent buy.
I halved the cost with my neighbour (perhaps sharing the cost is an
option for you?) and am confident that we would get most of the cost
back if we sold it today (5 years on).
We're not planning to sell it so that is irrelevant but it has
undoubtedly paid for itself - probably not quite in the cost savings
over hiring but in the time and convenience. If I have a job to do, no
matter how small, I just fire up the digger and do it - no hand digging
for me these days!.

It sounds like you don't have quite such a long term need for it as we
do so you need to seriously think if planning your jobs and hiring is a
better bet.
Also consider that it might get in the way on a small plot and that you
will have to insure it (or risk having it stolen uninsured) and that
you will have the hassle of buying and selling and risk buying a lemon
and capital will be tied up in it. A small machine may not be
physically capable of doing what you require.

Also consider getting a machine and driver. They could probably do all
your work in a day. If you drive it yourself, you will have to learn
how to use the machine and then take time getting skilled at it -
perhaps time better spent doing something else.

If you do go for it - do your research - there are a lot of completely
knackered machines out there. Also be careful you don't buy a stolen
machine.

Alan.


Thanks Alan,

All good points to ponder. Having watch a few prices go high on Ebay in the
last few days, I'm begining to question my original plan to buy.
I'm also told my employer has a corporate discount deal with a national tool
hire chain which features 40 to 60% discount off listed rates and free
delivery to site. Seems worth looking into!

Bob