Partnership bulldozer. Good or bad idea????

[pharmvet]

A long Time customer of mine told me yesterday that he was going to sell his bulldozer. It is a 1964 CAT D6. He Said it was a very reliable dozer but is very "manual" and lacks creature comforts of modern dozers. He said he has replaced or rebuilt most of the common wear and problem parts. He is asking $6500.
My buddy and I have land separated by only a dirt county road. Both if us would like to have access to a dozer for little projects. Neither of us have ever driven a dozer but we are fairly tractor/implement savvy.

1) is this a good price
2) is this a good idea
3) is this a money pit / nightmare / relationship killer
4) could repairs cost more than the thing is worth? Is it likely?

In discussing the possibility, we both considered how to deal with a break down , repair and parts replacement. For instance, what if I ran it one weekend and he ran it the next weekend and it broke down while he was running it, but because of something I actually did. In other words, who pays to fix an issue when it occurs (the one running it when it breaks down, or do you split the cost). Also, I can see issues arising because one of us is using it more than the other.
I considered that each of us would pay a "rent" based on how many hours we put on it. This could go into a general fund and could be used for repairs.

I would love to hear what you guys think about it. Thanks

 

[Soundguy]

what actual model is it?

something like a d69u ?

does it use a pony motor to start?

check the kline adjustment to see if it will hold a track.

 

[smstonypoint]

I don't have a clue about the dozer, but your problem of allocating repair/maintenance costs is interesting.

I like your idea of building a contingency fund for maintenance and repairs based on usage. I can see things ending badly if you attempt to assign individual responsibility for breakdowns as they occur. I would also have an agreement about topping off the fuel tank when you have finished using it.

Steve

 

[Sonny580]

One of you needs to own it outright and no CO bs ! them deals will kill friendship right off the go as they never work! thanks;sonny580

 

[Clint S]

'

One of you needs to own it outright and no CO bs ! them deals will kill friendship right off the go as they never work! thanks;sonny580

Yes this is the best option. It could be a friendship ender. There are too many things. One person uses it more and or harder and then it breaks, each want to use it at the same time ect ect ect. If it were me and I had $6500 worth of work to do I would purchase it and "rent" it to my friend. I would keep all rental money in a separate account for repairs. If you finish all your work and you pal wants to buy it being a nice guy you could sell it to him for a fair price minus the rental $$$$$ if there is no repairs or something like that

 

[Ken]

A long Time customer of mine told me yesterday that he was going to sell his bulldozer. It is a 1964 CAT D6. He Said it was a very reliable dozer but is very "manual" and lacks creature comforts of modern dozers. He said he has replaced or rebuilt most of the common wear and problem parts. He is asking $6500.
My buddy and I have land separated by only a dirt county road. Both if us would like to have access to a dozer for little projects. Neither of us have ever driven a dozer but we are fairly tractor/implement savvy.

1) is this a good price
2) is this a good idea
3) is this a money pit / nightmare / relationship killer
4) could repairs cost more than the thing is worth? Is it likely?

In discussing the possibility, we both considered how to deal with a break down , repair and parts replacement. For instance, what if I ran it one weekend and he ran it the next weekend and it broke down while he was running it, but because of something I actually did. In other words, who pays to fix an issue when it occurs (the one running it when it breaks down, or do you split the cost). Also, I can see issues arising because one of us is using it more than the other.
I considered that each of us would pay a "rent" based on how many hours we put on it. This could go into a general fund and could be used for repairs.

I would love to hear what you guys think about it. Thanks

Several years ago I and 2 other neighbors talked of buying a dozer to clear brush. As we talked one neighbor was all for the equal cost of purchase

But as we talked of damage and repairs it turned to keeping a record of start time and end time and then pay a agread hours of usage cost into a common account .2 of us thought it was good way this 3 person backed out. His plan was to work the dog out of the dozer then park and walk off for others to fix.
Glad we found out before spending the money.
Maybe a legal agreement before purchase.
ken

 

[grsthegreat]

just buy it yourself and rent it to the neighbor.

I made the mistake of buying a 1/4 ownership in a new (at the time) Piper Turbo Arrow IV aircraft, with dreams of using it whenever i wanted...blah blah blah.

Worst decision i ever made. Soon all 4 of us were hating each other. Never failed that the weekend i wanted to use it, someone else was already using it. Even though i hardly ever saw the plane, i got bills for 1/4 of everything.

Happiest day in my life was the day i sold my share in it. I still (after 20 years) dont speak to the other 3 guys.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Your idea for shared cost sounds good but rarely works unless you have a very agreeable partner. Inevitably one of the partners will start to think that he is not using the dozer enough to justify the 1/2 expense of repair when something expensive like tracks need repair or replacement or as grsthegreat said, you both need to use it at the same time which may not be an issue with a dozer like with an airplane as most of the work with them can be done just about any time but it may still cause some friction.
Dozer repairs can rival the cost of maintenance on an airplane and much of it is on the undercarriage. If you do decide to buy, have someone with dozer experience inspect it closely for wear, operate it and check the steering clutches and brakes as this is also a very expensive repair to do if needed.

 

[brin]

.I co-owned a JD 450 C crawler loader with a neighbor and we split any repair costs no matter who was operating it...WE both used it hard...taking out stumps and so forth...we had repairs and split them and sold it for a little more than we paid for it when we were all done....I always swallowed hard when it was his turn to use it.... Good Luck - we never got mad at each other...so it just happened to work for us.

 

[sixdogs]

This may look good on paper but when one of you flips a track and has to pay several thousands of dollars a couple things will happen. Friendship will be gone, that's a given and the animosity will give rise to many years of conflict until one just buys out the other. Plus the dozer almost certainly will be a money pit.

Best idea is to find someone else with a dozer and a trailer and rent it one week a year for your combined projects. You'll be old men before you run out of money.