BigJim
New member
Okay, so here's the deal. I've got this good-sized dam on my property that needs to go away because it leaks, the mud-puddle it holds back is a mosquito-infested eyesore, and I could use a nice pasture in its place. A local operator quoted me $6500 to do the work and the wife says I should let him. But that's not how I see it.
I'm one of those guys that just hates to farm out something I would enjoy doing on my own. The way I figure it, life is really short; if you don't have some fun, you're no better off than a still-born. So I got this crazy idea that I should buy a dozer and tear out the dam myself. Besides, I have plenty of other small dozer projects that I could do if only I had a dozer.
The trouble is that I can't see this making any financial sense at all. The perfect-world idea would be that I could buy a used dozer in decent shape, put about 200 hours on it, then sell it for a little less than I paid for it. A great idea, but probably not a realistic one.
For starters, the idea is most likely mathematically impossible. Suppose I bought a new machine, let's say something in the D5/650/D39 class, probably for $160K or thereabouts (not that I have that kind of money, but just suppose). How much less is that new machine worth the minute I purchase it? $50K? $60K? Remember, an item is only worth what YOU can sell it for, NOT what you had to pay for it. The dealer certainly isn't going to give you anything close to even a used price on a brand new dozer when you go to sell it. He's going to give you what he thinks he call sell it for (probably $130K) MINUS his margin (probably 30 percent), so maybe $100K (or less). All this is just pure guesswork on my part, but nonetheless, the $6500 dam project suddenly becomes a $65K dam project if you buy new.
So now let's go to the other extreme and consider buying the cheapest old pile of scrap iron we can find. Maybe if I shop around, I can find an old rust bucket for $10K. But how much would I have to spend just to make it operational? Another $20K? $30K? I don't know. And the biggest problem is that I have no ability to do heavy equipment repair. I can change filters and fluids, but when it comes to turning pins and bushings or overhauling engines or hydraulics, forget about it. So I think heavily used is totally out of the question.
So what's left? Try to find a sucker who bought a new machine and didn't use it much and now has to sell it? That's not easy. And how many hours on a dozer is too many for someone like me that can't fix it when it breaks? 500? 1000? 3000? I don't know, but I bet it's not many. The bottom line for me is that if something goes wrong, I've got to call a dealer for an on-site service call. How many of those can I afford?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a dozer and know I could make good use of one, but I'm really having trouble seeing how it would end up being anything other than a huge money pit. I thought about renting, but the problem with that is that I work full time and could only do my dozer projects on weekends. It'd be nice if someone would rent me a dozer by the engine hour and let me keep it for six months, but fat chance of that.
Anyway, I know there are folks on this forum that have pondered similar ideas before, and I was hoping one or more of them might be able to post something helpful one way or the other. If I'm truly crazy and just need to pay the pro to do the work, so be it. I'd be disappointed, but a lot richer. On the other hand, if there's a way I could do this myself, I'd be really happy, even if I did have to spend quite a bit more in the long run that the pro would charge (but providing it wasn't an outright fortune).
Many thanks to whoever has something to say!
I'm one of those guys that just hates to farm out something I would enjoy doing on my own. The way I figure it, life is really short; if you don't have some fun, you're no better off than a still-born. So I got this crazy idea that I should buy a dozer and tear out the dam myself. Besides, I have plenty of other small dozer projects that I could do if only I had a dozer.
The trouble is that I can't see this making any financial sense at all. The perfect-world idea would be that I could buy a used dozer in decent shape, put about 200 hours on it, then sell it for a little less than I paid for it. A great idea, but probably not a realistic one.
For starters, the idea is most likely mathematically impossible. Suppose I bought a new machine, let's say something in the D5/650/D39 class, probably for $160K or thereabouts (not that I have that kind of money, but just suppose). How much less is that new machine worth the minute I purchase it? $50K? $60K? Remember, an item is only worth what YOU can sell it for, NOT what you had to pay for it. The dealer certainly isn't going to give you anything close to even a used price on a brand new dozer when you go to sell it. He's going to give you what he thinks he call sell it for (probably $130K) MINUS his margin (probably 30 percent), so maybe $100K (or less). All this is just pure guesswork on my part, but nonetheless, the $6500 dam project suddenly becomes a $65K dam project if you buy new.
So now let's go to the other extreme and consider buying the cheapest old pile of scrap iron we can find. Maybe if I shop around, I can find an old rust bucket for $10K. But how much would I have to spend just to make it operational? Another $20K? $30K? I don't know. And the biggest problem is that I have no ability to do heavy equipment repair. I can change filters and fluids, but when it comes to turning pins and bushings or overhauling engines or hydraulics, forget about it. So I think heavily used is totally out of the question.
So what's left? Try to find a sucker who bought a new machine and didn't use it much and now has to sell it? That's not easy. And how many hours on a dozer is too many for someone like me that can't fix it when it breaks? 500? 1000? 3000? I don't know, but I bet it's not many. The bottom line for me is that if something goes wrong, I've got to call a dealer for an on-site service call. How many of those can I afford?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a dozer and know I could make good use of one, but I'm really having trouble seeing how it would end up being anything other than a huge money pit. I thought about renting, but the problem with that is that I work full time and could only do my dozer projects on weekends. It'd be nice if someone would rent me a dozer by the engine hour and let me keep it for six months, but fat chance of that.
Anyway, I know there are folks on this forum that have pondered similar ideas before, and I was hoping one or more of them might be able to post something helpful one way or the other. If I'm truly crazy and just need to pay the pro to do the work, so be it. I'd be disappointed, but a lot richer. On the other hand, if there's a way I could do this myself, I'd be really happy, even if I did have to spend quite a bit more in the long run that the pro would charge (but providing it wasn't an outright fortune).
Many thanks to whoever has something to say!