Buying a Mini Excavator For Your Business - An Essential Checklist
Buying a mini excavator entails more than heading out to the local dealership and picking out a model to purchase. You should put some thought into what your needs are so that you can select the mini excavator that's right for you and your business.
Why Buy a Mini Excavator for Your Business?
In the past, it may have been more convenient to rent an excavator or hire a professional that would bring the right machine for the task to your site. With different equipment existing for different jobs, it could be an unbearable investment to go out and buy one of each of these machines. However, with the increasing popularity of compact excavators, there have been a plethora of production models that have come out. This new machinery often combines different functionality so that you can complete many types of tasks, making buying a mini excavator good choice for your business.
6 Tips for Buying a Mini Excavator:
Before heading out to buy your mini excavator, make sure you've done your homework so that you can get the highest return on investment on your machinery. Let's look at a few things you should consider before you make your selection.
1. Ask Yourself the Right Questions
Prior to buying a mini excavator, you want to make sure you do the math to determine whether you really need the equipment. This will depend on the types of tasks you need to perform as well as the frequency with which you have had to rent excavators in the past. Also, consider the times you have had to hire professionals to come in and do the work on their own machinery. You can run a cost analysis to determine whether you would be saving money by purchasing your own mini excavator.
Don't forget to consider any plans you have for future expansion of your business. If you will be performing more work in the future that will require the use of an excavator, be sure to factor it into your calculations.
2. Confirm the Actual Machine Hours
Not everyone will be on the market for a brand new mini excavator. For some, buying used may be the better option. Ask your local dealer to give you some help in determining the recorded computer hours for the piece of equipment you are looking into buying. Sometimes the hour logs can vary greatly from the downloaded data on the actual age of the machinery.
3. Compare Power and Performance
Even mini excavators can vary in size and many models can have retractable parts that allow for greater flexibility. Therefore, it's essential to look at the power that is packed into the machinery and compare it to the types of tasks you will be performing.
4. Look for Versatility and Comfort
You may be spending hours at a time on your compact excavator. Making sure it provides you with the greatest ease of operation is essential. Also, make sure attachments and accessories are simple and effortless to interchange.
5. Check Safety and Maintenance
Newer mini excavator models have advanced safety features that cover many types of issues that can arise during their operation. Also, be sure to check that maintenance is easy to perform and that you receive the proper training on what needs to be done to preserve the efficiency and longevity of your machinery.
6. Conduct a Real-Life Test Run
Pick a few tasks that you will be regularly performing on the job and have a demo for the specific tasks before deciding on which mini excavator to buy. Operating machinery under load and in situations like trenching or lifting rocks will give you full confidence in the equipment you plan to buy.
Enjoy Your Mini Excavator
A mini excavator can really boost your business, whether you're in construction, landscaping or other related fields of work. Make sure you have a good warranty and off you go. Mini excavators are very durable pieces of equipment that can make all the difference to your business's bottom line.
