Cheapest Mini Excavator – Buyer Guide

How to find a mini excavator with reliable performance and low price in the market?

If you are in the construction industry, then you absolutely need a mini excavator. From digging and trenching to demolishing and cleaning debris – there’s so much going on in these compact machines. For any contractor or construction company, owning a mini excavator can significantly reduce costs from manpower-intensive tasks.

But while paying off well in the long run, most mini excavators come with a high upfront cost when you buy them. Does that mean you should give up on the idea of buying one? of course not! What you need to do is find a cheaper model that fits your budget without compromising on performance.

So how do you find the best cheap mini excavator that does the job right? This can only be achieved through in-depth research and knowledge of the market. To do this, you must understand the factors that determine the cost and reliability of a particular model. Let’s explore these two factors together!

What are the factors that affect the price of small excavators?

Brand Awareness

If you’ve done your research, you can have a pretty good guess at how much your mini excavator will cost, just by knowing the brand of it. Like all other things, brand awareness is one of the key factors in determining how much something will cost. Just like you would expect a Gucci bag to be much more expensive than the bag you buy at target, a mini digger from a major brand will be much more expensive than a brand you’ve never heard of.

Key Parts

The key components of a mini excavator include the engine and hydraulic system. These factors not only directly affect the performance of the mini excavator, but the quality of these components also determines the cost. If all you need is an average mini excavator that can do some digging, you can probably get one for cheap. But if you’re looking for some quality trenching, you’re going to have to bring in a cannon with a more powerful engine and hydraulics. Of course, this upgrade comes at a price.

Key Hydraulic Components

Additional Functions

The cheapest mini excavators feature a lot, but you may have other requirements that they can’t meet. If a standard built mini excavator can’t do the job you want done, you’ll want to look at a mini excavator with additional features. Side swing arms, zero tail swing, extended arms or extended undercarriage – each additional accessory makes the machine more expensive.

Maintenance And Repair

Last but not least, the maintenance and repair frequency and needs of a mini excavator also largely determine its final cost. A machine that requires little maintenance between uses will cost more in the market, but will end up costing less in the long run. Conversely, mini excavators that require frequent maintenance have lower upfront costs.

What determines the reliability of a mini excavator?

Source

While it is true that simply using a big brand name on a piece of equipment can significantly increase its price, we must also admit that the quality of a machine sourced from big brand components is much higher than that of an unknown brand. This is because big brands need to maintain their reputation in the market and cannot risk producing substandard equipment. So, if you want to buy with ease, it is always a safer route to go for a reputed brand.

Sourcing routes like Kubota and Yanmar are known for their powerful engines. Likewise, hydraulic components from Shimadzu, Hyde, Doosan and Eaton remain unmatched.

Standardized Production

A brand of small excavator, if it is large enough to ensure the standardized production and quality inspection of its equipment, automatically becomes reliable. The company has done all the necessary tests for you, and you don’t have to worry that there might be something wrong with the product you purchased. There are always exchange and return options for equipment in rare cases.

Mass Production Of Small Excavators

Reasonable Industrial Design

If your mini excavator has multiple extras but lacks a well-designed core, you might as well throw it out now. For a mini excavator to be reliable, it needs to be built on a sound industrial design. The structure of the device itself is a very important factor in determining its robustness and reliability.

Emission standard

The emission standard of your compact excavator does not only affect the environment, but also the performance and robustness of your machine. Confused? Let us explain.

Mini excavators that are Tier 4 certified (EPA 4) are designed to burn fuel cleaner and reduce air emissions. This minimizes the dense byproducts of combustion from settling in the bottom of the fuel tank during cold weather conditions and causing potential problems in the engine. Hence, your excavator needs less frequent cleaning and maintenance in between uses to function properly.

The Most Popular Mini Excavator Brands on the Market

Now that we know what factors determine the price and performance of a mini excavator, let’s talk about the most popular brands on the market.

Caterpillar

Caterpillar is one of the leading brands of mini excavators. It was established in 1925 and since then has produced many models of reliable heavy equipment and machinery.

lynx

Bobcat is another customer favorite manufacturer, making both full-size and mini excavators. This company alone offers a huge range of mini excavators, you are sure to find the one that best suits your needs.

Kubota

When you are looking for a reliable mini excavator, you cannot go wrong with the mini excavators made by Kubota. This popular brand combines some of the highest quality equipment with the lowest cost to give you the best of both worlds.

Yanmar

Yanmar is the first company to produce diesel mini excavators. Today, the company offers a choice of 8 different but equally great mini excavators for any construction job.

Komatsu

Komatsu is another mini excavator option that is popular among contractors and construction companies. The six mini excavators sold by Komatsu today are all among them

How much does a mini excavator cost?

So, you have seen how different brands compare with each other in terms of quality and reliability of mini excavators. But what happens when we bring in the affordability factor? Let’s find out.

Caterpillar

One of Caterpillar’s smallest mini excavators — the CAT 301.6 C — sells for between $33,000 and $37,000.

lynx

If you want to buy a new 2018 Bobcat 418, expect to pay $20,000 to $30,000.

Kubota

Kubota has a wide range of excavators at different prices. A used Kubota mini excavator can run as low as $18,000, while a fully equipped large excavator can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Yanmar

Yanmar is another company whose prices for many of its mini excavator models vary widely. Not only does the price vary by model, but the price of Yanmar mini excavators also varies by seller.

Komatsu

For Komatsu mini excavators, prices range from $25,000 to $90,000, depending on the model and the extras it sports.

What’s the best way to buy a mini excavator?

Where can I buy a mini excavator?

When it comes to making the actual purchase, you can do the whole thing in a number of ways.

Local Brand Distributors

The first and most popular way to buy a mini excavator is through a local brand dealer. Once you know which mini excavator to buy, all you have to do is visit a showroom in your area and start shopping.

E-commerce Market

Another way to get the mini excavator of your choice is to search through e-commerce marketplaces like eBay. Here you can find many different offers on items of your choice. If you’re interested in buying a used model and are looking for competitive prices, this is a great place to do some research.

Directly From The Manufacturer

Finally, you can buy a mini excavator directly from the manufacturer. There are many advantages to sourcing heavy equipment from its country of origin. Let us explore this option further in the following paragraphs.

Excavator Manufacturer

The real way to buy the cheapest mini excavator

Buying a mini excavator from Origin is the most cost-effective and reliable way to buy. For this, you can contact the manufacturer yourself or import your machine through an international distributor of the brand.

Rippa offers mini excavators ranging from 0.8-6 tons in the $5,000 to $25,000 range. Contact us for a quick quote.

Advantages of Sourcing at Origin (Rippa):

Cuts out agents and dealers in the middle, allowing you to buy your mini excavator for up to 50% less than you would pay a local dealer

High emission standards EPA4 guaranteed

Global after-sales service access

Reliable key components can be easily sourced

Batch standardized production to ensure quality

Meet technical support and customization requirements

A step-by-step guide to buying the cheapest mini excavators from Origin

Confused about how to buy from Origin? Don’t worry – here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the process to show you how easy it actually is!

Step 1: Find a Distributor/Manufacturer

Step 2: Leave a message to get a quote

Step Three: Make an International Payment

Step 4: Find a custom agent.

Step 5: Deliver the Goods

Step 6: Get It at Destination Port

Step 7: Door-to-door unloading

That’s all there is to it!

Is buying a used mini excavator a good choice?

Due to the huge difference in the cost of new and used mini excavators, there may be times when you may be tempted to buy a used excavator. But is it really a good idea?

What are the pros and cons of buying a mini excavator from a previous owner? What tips should you keep in mind when making this type of purchase? Read on to find out if buying a used mini excavator is really worth your money.

Used Mini Excavator

Advantages of Buying a Used Mini Excavator

Cheap Price

Works as well as a brand new machine

By reducing the carbon footprint left by the manufacture of heavy equipment, you are doing your part to help the planet

Disadvantages of Buying a Used Mini Excavator

Compromised Reliability

No Warranty, Customer Support or Replacement

May not be as efficient as new excavators

Tips for buying a used mini excavator

If you are looking to buy a used mini excavator, you need to be more vigilant about what you are buying.

When looking at used machines, the first thing to consider is how often they have been used and their average lifespan. If they’re about to fail, they’re probably not worth the investment. You don’t want to save on upfront costs, but spend thousands of dollars on repairs and maintenance every few weeks.

You also have to consider the physical condition of the excavator you are buying. Even if the engine and hydraulics are very good, a falling apart frame will render your machine unusable until it costs a lot to repair and replace.

Ready to buy a mini excavator?

Thinking about which mini excavators to buy? Contact us today for a free consultation and quote today!