Buying a mini-digger - DIY madness or good idea?

[Wayners]

I know someone that bought a digger to build.
Practiced and got digging.
Ended up undermining the house next door, then a call to an emergency building firm had to be brought in to prop it up. Cost £1000s and was all good in the end, although the neighbor had to stay in a hotel for a week. Lot's of concrete!
Go carefully with that digger is the moral

 

[kingandy2nd]

Found one for you:

Ha. Hard hats are for wimps

try https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/ for a start...lots of the smaller ones have closed over the covid meltdown, but there is a mine of information, networking is the key.

Thanks for that.

I know someone that bought a digger to build.
Practiced and got digging.
Ended up undermining the house next door, then a call to an emergency building firm had to be brought in to prop it up. Cost £1000s and was all good in the end, although the neighbor had to stay in a hotel for a week. Lot's of concrete!
Go carefully with that digger is the moral

Cheers, I’ve had plenty of digger practice and the only casualty so far has been my broadband cable

 

[scbk]

Since covid, the price of second hand machinery, diggers dumpers trailers vans etc has been really high, I don't know will it come down soon?
I've not looked recently, but I think £5k would be bottom of the market?
Watch out for stolen machines, and sometimes the hour counters have been tinkered with. Be wary of anything with fresh paint.

In general there's very little deprecation on machinery, better than having money in the bank imo.
I bought my kubota micro digger about 5yrs ago (the size was handy at the time), probably still worth what I paid for it

 

[lostinthelight]

I always fancied a Powerfab 125, the one with the driven wheels and its own road trailer, although they are rare and getting a bit long in the tooth now, but apparently very capable and all run from a honda breaker engine with DIY maintenance. Think Tom from the Good Life and you'll get the idea.

Brilliant and simple machine.
Ive had an ex electricity board one since the late1980's and all its cost me in all that time is oil changes, two hydraulic pipes and a pair of drive tyres. The hydraulic drive motors can be disengaged to road tow it using its fold down tow hitch and lighting board.
Personally I wouldn't hire a machine out cos thats when the repair bills can soar, but have done it with me as driver.

 

[kingandy2nd]

Since covid, the price of second hand machinery, diggers dumpers trailers vans etc has been really high, I don't know will it come down soon?
I've not looked recently, but I think £5k would be bottom of the market?
Watch out for stolen machines, and sometimes the hour counters have been tinkered with. Be wary of anything with fresh paint.

In general there's very little deprecation on machinery, better than having money in the bank imo.
I bought my kubota micro digger about 5yrs ago (the size was handy at the time), probably still worth what I paid for it

I’ve not been tracking the costs, but the don’t seem outrageous. Yes, £5k seems to get a very old machine from a known brand, or a newish machine from an unknown brand.

I can up my budget as needed, seen a couple of kubota machines that are 7-8 years old around the £8.5k mark.

 

[kingandy2nd]

 

[23vc]

Nice! Is that your trailer to move it to different jobs? Or is it staying put at yours

 

[kingandy2nd]

Nice! Is that your trailer to move it to different jobs? Or is it staying put at yours

I had to hire the trailer in the picture.

I do have a car trailer for my vehicles, but it’s not a flatbed and the tracks of the digger are too narrow to go on it.

I don’t plan to shift the digger now it’s home to be honest. However I did like the fact this flatbed was narrower than my existing trailer, but had a wider load area (as the wheels are below the bed)…so I might just look to trade in my trailer for a flatbed and then I’ve got flexibility if I need to dig something at a mates house

 

[kp00110]

World’s biggest excavator sale in Leeds this week

More than 1,000 machines will come under the hammer at Euro Auctions site

www.constructionenquirer.com

For anyone else looking