Mini Excavator - Buy, Rent or Hire? - 1 Year review of Kubota KX71-3

Kubota KX71-3 Mini Excavator Review. Bonus Episode 26

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[Blast]

needing an excavator every 5 years worth renting it... but when you need 50, 75, 100+ hours yearly... make sense to buy it... and also... when you rent, its a 8hrs maximum and my brain try to use the 8hrs of course so its a LONG LONG day of work and i could find other work just to use the 8hrs.... when you own it... you can uses it 3hrs and park it, continue the next day...etc... I really agree with your review!

[PeeksPeakHobbyHomestead]

Great review! Looks like Precious has been invaluable to the development of your homestead. I enjoyed the flashback to everything you e accomplished with it.

[brandonb]

I'm considering it. I've got trees that need to come down, stumps that need to come up, culverts that need to be dug, septic tank hole and water line trenches, and I'm sure other things I'm not thinking of. To hire all that out is going to be 5 figures. If I buy an excavator, and I sell it right after the home build, there's no way I lose even half that amount...Seems like the way to go

[josephmcmanamy]

I agree it's fun
I have a tiny one ton
So fun to operate

[CliffsDad]

Finally! Someone who gets to the point and stays on point!

[tommycoates]

How much diesel have you used in a good days work ?

[codetech]

Why don't you have a backhoe on the tractor instead of the excavator?

[keantho]

i have both a kubota kx71-3 and a takuchi tb-025 both the same class of machine, the kubota can not even compare to the streangth of the takeuchi , the kubota is alot weaker and alot more tippy

[logmeindangit]

Really well done video, the narration, the number crunching, and whether or noy a purchase could be justified. Thank you. I'm thinking of getting a small mini, the kind that can pull its tracks in, to navigate tight spots, trails, etc.

[adamdeshon]

Great video! I did the same math and ended up purchasing a used TB230 excavator for about half of a new one. Love running it and have about seven projects lined up when the weather gets better. Oh, and you definitely need a dump trailer. Makes all the difference getting rock & hauling off material!

[MegaRiffraff]

I bought a new 2750 John deere tractor in the 80s, used it hard logging and farming for 12 years, sold it for $1000.00 less than I paid for it, So I didn’t complain.

[garyreardon]

Love the fact that you named it Precious. Great video as always!

[dremach]

Keep in mind for your calculation that most "daily rentals" come with an hour limit on the machine - so if it comes with an 8hr limit, you're looking at 12+ rentals @ 300 bucks a day to match the 100 hour usage... that's 3600 bucks right there, plus fuel... You can pretty much write off the oil/filters with the fuel you'd use in the truck to tow the 12 trips back and forth.

Way i see it, for my tractor for example, a 300 bucks a month payment, if I use it once a month, it's paid for itself. Same for something like this... I'm just looking for / doing the research on the cheap gas chinese ones vs the name brand ones...

[scott]

At Machinery Pete, they show this unit used going for $16, 000 to $47, 0000 depending on hours used. A new one is going to be higher. That's a lot for using 5 times a year as I think you grabbed your numbers from.

[mustache]

Hello, question about practicality here. To keep in mind, my home is in city limits so small property but I reviewed the dimensions and it should fit through my gate. I was thinking of renting this mini-ex from Home Depot to address a few things in my newly owned backyard.

I wanted to address some grading and leveling, but also to remove a large stump (estimate of 2.5 foot in diameter), 3 sago palm stumps and remove some unnecessary chain link fencing (there are about 12 posts). To fully address grading I will have to also remove some concrete path ways the previous owner had. I hate to remove the path but it is from what I can tell the highest in the yard. Further, my backyard appears to have a higher grade than my neighbors.

I called Home Depot and determined it will be $250 total for pickup and drop off and then about $330/day of use.

The reason I want to rent one of these is because it seems to be the "Jack of all Trades" and I can complete each of these tasks with it alone instead of renting the specific tool for each of the efforts I hope to complete.

Anybody care to chime in?

[rogervancleave]

What is your thought on an excavator attachment for your tractor vs buying the second piece of equipment? I think it depends on the number of projects you might have as to whether you have a dedicated machine or not.

[toddallison]

I completely agree with you on the merits of a mini-ex. I am a couple weeks away from picking up a KX040 for our piece of property. Similarly, we also have an L-series Kubota and I love that thing. Where in the panhandle are you? We are in the Destin area (our property is out of state though)

[MontanaGrizzsky]

Someone who actually talks about the subject..:lol, I don’t care about people’s life stories🤣

Thanks man

[timvins]

Bought not long after our so called “lockdowns” 🥴🤨, payed $$$ way over because everything was in demand, would love to upgrade but I can’t face the hit 🥴😩

[jamesscroggins]

Awesome review, you justified ownership especially when your developing your own property