Tiller Tiller Rental Fees, OUCH!!!

EastTexFrank · Mar 16, 2005

( I could surely pay for one quickly, (2 years) at this rental fee )

That's the reasoning I use on my wife for buying all my attachments. It's worked so far. I must admit I do rent but it's usually for those one day, once in a lifetime projects otherwise it's, "Honest honey, it'll pay for itself in 2 - 4 years". /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Also, as others have said, the convenience factor has a lot to do with it.

AndyMA · Mar 16, 2005

Renting equipment is all about a return on investment to a dealer. If you have $1000 that you have invested in a piece of equiment to rent that is $1000 that you can not spend on brining in new equipment to sell, service facilities, etc... You need a return on investment on your rental equipment. The equipment depreciates, requires upkeep and repair, etc. It is a costly business to be in and the $85 dollars for a tiller is really cheap. If you were trying to run a business with only rental equipment bringing in that rate of return, I think you would loose your shirt. And besides, tillers get hammered on ... I wouldn't let mine go out for $250 let alone $85.

When I used to rent electronic equipment, we paid 11% of the new cost for one week of rental, and then there was no noticable wear and tear. Remember there is a significient cost to be in business. And most of the rental places have their equipment insured, not only against physical damage but also against liability. Very costly when you let any Tom, Dick and Harry rent your equipment. BTW, I don't like high fees either. I just understand why they exist.

Andy

Westonium · Mar 17, 2005

I paid $75 and could probably have thoroughly tilled about 6 acres in a day with it, but I only needed about 1/3 acre of area tilled.

It ran well - no issues. I've priced new ones that size/quality and sure, I could maybe pay for one after renting one @ $75 for 4 or 5 years accounting for interest, but putting that much cash into something that although doesn't appreciate quickly, can and does depreciate over time.

I agree that if you are the sort that can buy, use, and sell in a short period of time and come out even you are really coming out ahead, but that is still a bit of work.

Any implement I can see using often, or is <$500 range I intend to own. Other stuff I'll just rent and let them maintain it for me until the next time I drop $75 to use their tiller.

SCDolphin · Mar 18, 2005

Is there something that you can do with a tiller that you can't do with a set of disc run over the same area several times.

Thanks

OkieG · Mar 18, 2005

If convenience is even a consideration, owning your own could save almost as much in aggravation as the cost of rental.

Every trip to the rental yard you will be saying to yourself, "If I'd just bought one, I could be tilling right now, instead of driving to put $85 into someone elses pocket.

Even if no one else rents that tiller, after a couple years or so you'll have paid for it for the rental yard.

OkieG

If work is fun, is it still work?

rdln · Mar 18, 2005

A rototiller is like a paintbrush, drop it down and move forward five feet and you have a 5x5 foot flower bed or garden, try to do that with a disc and you end up with a rutted yard and a strip 50 feet long of chewed up grass and maybe 5 ft of seedbed in the middle.

notamustang · Mar 18, 2005

( If convenience is even a consideration, owning your own could save almost as much in aggravation as the cost of rental.

Every trip to the rental yard you will be saying to yourself, "If I'd just bought one, I could be tilling right now, instead of driving to put $85 into someone elses pocket.

Even if no one else rents that tiller, after a couple years or so you'll have paid for it for the rental yard. )

Also lets not forget how well some rental yards maintain equipment. Even if you do get your fee back you just wasted at least half the day plus the agrevation. I found one yard (working construction) that really took care of us, they went bankrupt and restructered and now they are like everyone else /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. JMO /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

_RaT_ · Mar 18, 2005

I would certainly approach it different. I consider the cost of renting a trencher sometimes a little high until I go out and trench by hand. If you go out with a pick and shovel and turn a area over by hand, that $85 will look pretty attractive.

keeney · Mar 22, 2005

There are essentially two groups of pricing for rental equipment.

The first is for commodity things that get rented so often, the price is not about paying for the item but with competition from others in the same rental business. Think rental cars. You can get a $8000 car for $19 per day. Its rental rate is 1/400th of its value. To make a profit, that car needs to be rented nearly two hundred days per year.

The second is tools that sit around (perhaps for months as has been observed) on hot standby for a couple few customers here and there. Think tillers. A $2500 tiller that rents for $125 per day - its rental rate is 1/20th its value. If the owner can rent it 10 times per year, he may make a slight profit.

The other thing to balance is that if every time you call up the place, all their stuff is "out", you won't call back.

- Rick

deere755 · Mar 22, 2005

I posted on here last night that I could buy a Caroni at my local farm store for 900. Ten days of rental would pay for a Caroni. So far I have got good feed back on them.