What if....?

   / What if....? #51  
My reasoning for buying a tractor rather than renting is simple. When I want or need a tractor I walk out to the shop where I keep mine parked and get on it and use it. No bartering for price, no waiting for someone else' schedule - its mine, paid for years ago, and costs nothing to own it.

Same logic for buying tools or anything else - its there when I want it.
 
   / What if....? #52  
My reasoning for buying a tractor rather than renting is simple. When I want or need a tractor I walk out to the shop where I keep mine parked and get on it and use it. No bartering for price, no waiting for someone else' schedule - its mine, paid for years ago, and costs nothing to own it.

Same logic for buying tools or anything else - its there when I want it.
My thoughts as well. However, my dad pointed out something many years ago about owning equipment, that is you also need to have a place to store it (additional building?) and the costs of that including property taxes. Still, I'd rather own - I ran the numbers on a backhoe for the tractor. It made more sense to purchase than rent even though it spends most of it's time parked in the shed. Now that it's paid for it's available whenever I want it and I don't have to spend more money for new jobs.
 
   / What if....? #53  
Getting close to the ditch...

It may be best to save the politics for another thread and another day?
Logic is now considered "politics"?
WOW !!!!
 
   / What if....? #56  
Keep the bigger tractor if you can afford payment.you won't be able to get people to do the work when you need it done and when you do they might not be able to do the like you could.i've got 2 other large tracts now but i have always kept a tractor at my 5 acre place . i now own a kub l 2900 and all attachments i need and couldn't be without it.you can always sell it if you need to and get your money back or it paid off.
 
   / What if....? #57  
What's your opinion?
I have a Kubota BX2360 subcompact, and my wife and I agree that it's one of the best purchases we've ever made. We use it for sooo many things! Just yesterday I used it to carry a 60-pound trailer hitch to where the truck we'll install it on is parked.

Just diddly stuff, but it makes things so much easier. Carry five heavy plant pots from the front deck around and down to the basement in the fall, then back again in the spring? Trivial with our tractor, not trivial with a wheelbarrow.

We used it to carry tools and materials to work sites on four major outdoor projects, and the FEL as a "workbench" to hold lumber for cutting, etc.

If I needed only to plow a driveway once a year, or do a project every few years, I'd hire someone with a suitable machine. But, as described above, we use the tractor for many things, most of which are too small to even consider hiring someone.

--- Mike
 
   / What if....? #58  
If you can afford it... "BETTER TO HAVE AND NOT NEED THAN TO NEED AND NOT HAVE". Convenience has a price, people are not dependable these days to hire stuff out and they never do the work just the way you want it. I sold my big property so I only use mine around my shop until I buy another property. They will last a long time. And to the used aspect? I bought mine new also because I wanted to use a tractor not work on one.
 
   / What if....? #60  
Reality Check: Most small and medium contractors own 1 piece of earth moving equipment and rent the rest for each job. This approach was reinforced when capital and projects dried up in the 2008-2010 period. Contractors did not have the cash flow to support the monthly loan payments on the equipment owned.

When renting, the #1 priority is availability, so contractors usually rent from multiple rental houses.

The answer to the rent vs own question is always in the spreadsheet and is based on utilization and cost per hour.

Saving some spreadsheet time here, if you're going to end 2021 with 20-40 hours of utilization on your tractor, it's more cost effective to rent or hire out the jobs.
 
 
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