Buying Advice End Loader, Backhoe, or ???

[4570Man]

There’s a big difference in running second or way past second hand useable equipment and running scrap yard caliber junk. When your weekend starts off with 3 hours of wrenching plus money lost to parts or just spending more to start with who really got off cheaper? When I started looking for a backhoe I pretty quickly decided I was going to have to double my budget to get something that wasn’t junk. I hate working on equipment and it waste time and money. Sometimes the budget just doesn’t reflect reality.

 

[nards444]

There’s a big difference in running second or way past second hand useable equipment and running scrap yard caliber junk. When your weekend starts off with 3 hours of wrenching plus money lost to parts or just spending more to start with who really got off cheaper? When I started looking for a backhoe I pretty quickly decided I was going to have to double my budget to get something that wasn’t junk. I hate working on equipment and it waste time and money. Sometimes the budget just doesn’t reflect reality.

Thank you. Time is money. Funny thing is one guy will spend cash on his machine not have a payment but blow his stash on the tractor and then struggle doing anything else. The next guy will finance and spread his money around but eventually might struggle withe payment 5 years later. The last guy will buy junk in cash and save lots of money but might end up spending just as much money then the other guys on parts, time or eventually another machine. It takes all kinds i guess.


Me personally I take the balanced approach. I work hard and do pretty good, I dont want to spend my money on garbage and spend more time on keeping it going then the actual project.

 

[rScotty]

Thank you. Time is money. Funny thing is one guy will spend cash on his machine not have a payment but blow his stash on the tractor and then struggle doing anything else. The next guy will finance and spread his money around but eventually might struggle withe payment 5 years later. The last guy will buy junk in cash and save lots of money but might end up spending just as much money then the other guys on parts, time or eventually another machine. It takes all kinds i guess.


Me personally I take the balanced approach. I work hard and do pretty good, I dont want to spend my money on garbage and spend more time on keeping it going then the actual project.

I guess I'm the 4th kind of guy. I actually enjoy doing mechanical work, and if I wasn't working on my tractor I'd be working with my tractor so there's likely to be fun enoug to go around in both directions.
As for the time put into repairs, I'll get paid for those if & when I sell the tractor. Anything that is rebuilt to better than it was before adds to the value of the tractor. Years and hours don't matter nearly so much on the older used tractor market as does overall condition and maintenance records.

To be fair, the tractor work that I do is more landscaping, rock stacking, some tree work, and dirt moving. I don't do any crop work at all. so the time window isn't as critical for me as it is for a farmer. A farmer has a much greater need for an absolutely reliable tractor than I do.....that being so, he probably has a backup tractor.
rScotty

 

[nards444]

I also enjoy the "how to do it on a budget" type of post versus the "how to spend lots with financing" type. But that's a personal choice.

Just thinking out loud....Hasn't our buying decisions become sort of generational? In Colorado the population has soared in the last ten years and a majority of the people moving out of town onto small acreages are now older folks close to retirement who do tend to have more money to spend. Naturally enough they buy new compact and utility size 4wd tractors. In fact, many who fit that age description post here on TBN.

I say "generational" partly because although I am from that older group now, we came from a generation where the reverse movement was true. In my youth It was the young people moving to the county and the older people who were moving to the city.
Since we didn't have much money after buying land.....and the credit economy hadn't been invented yet.... we didn't even consider buying new. We just naturally bought older machinery and fixed it up. That isn't so popular today, but it is still a reasonable way to go. Gotta have more time than money, though.
My hat is off to anyone who figures out what they can afford and how to work within that budget.
rScotty

Things change I think people say generational, but there are usually environmental factors that make generations change. Take a tractor for instance a 40 hp tractor in 1985 probably wasnt much over 5-6k, today its probably at least 15k probably more. Yes COLA has helped keep up, but the fact remains wages havent kept up with cost. So with that all said it changes purchasing strategies. I can put down 5k on junk and work on it or forever or buy something new and pay a few bucks a months on it, kind of what it comes down to.

 

[Junguda]

Ok.... rScotty... point taken... so when you read the OP and his subsequent details... Do you see a “Type 4”... who enjoys working on older equipment until it’s better than new... or worth more when he goes to sell it...?

 

[4570Man]

You’re going to buy a $5,000 backhoe and fix it up better than new? Good luck on that. You’d be way cheaper to just buy a 40k one to start with.

 

[LibraryMark]

You know, I don't think I have ever been on a more hateful forum than this one. Some of you guys are really over the top. 17 acres of scrap? Never helping a neighbor, church member or relative? Not knowing what a loader can and can’t do?

Wow. Just wow.

But back to my original issue, I found this loader near Fort Wayne, IN:



I drove down to see it - it starts and runs well. Everything works. Engine runs strong and it can really dig dirt. Comes with forks. At $5750, a little more than my $5k budget but not by much. Now, I just need to get it home.

 

[LibraryMark]

Hi,

New to the forum and don't know anyone in here. I'm really surprised about all the assumptions being made here and folks getting nasty with each other. Some of you obviously have a chip on your shoulder.

Who is the moderator for this forum?

I agree, and I am really surprised. I thought people who dealt with tractors would be a tad nicer. Not so much I guess.

 

[Junguda]

Is this the correct post...?

https://www.machinerytrader.com/lis...060/wheel-loaders/manufacturer/case/model/w7g

 

[rScotty]

Hi,
New to the forum and don't know anyone in here. I'm really surprised about all the assumptions being made here and folks getting nasty with each other. Some of you obviously have a chip on your shoulder.

I agree, and I am really surprised. I thought people who dealt with tractors would be a tad nicer. Not so much I guess.

Well, they usually are nicer. What you are seeing this time is not usually the case. I've now been back over this compete series of posts twice, and still cannot figure out where it went wrong.
And in particular I cannot find any comments in any of the posts by the OP that people could take offense at.....yet some did.

It's a mystery to me.
rScotty