Recent content by winston_wisdom

The 'Boomers' were acquired by Ritchie Bros a bit ago. From what I've gathered, their platform is still great in that they only list fully inspected OR operational units. But given the new ownership, the inspections now all roll through the RB Global / IronPlanet platform. You'll see B&B link...

Ask your rep there where the unit comes from. My understanding is that B&B's low hour inventory often is underutilized rental units. If a machine doesn't get rented, it ain't making money and is taking up space on the yard. So rental companies will offload that thing. You can potentially get a...

Any of ya'll have experience needing to use any of these (or other) platforms assurance/guarantee programs? What was the issue, what was the process like, did you receive compensation or a resolution? How much weight do you put into a post sale coverage when you're looking to buy?

Most sites now you can put in your max price for an auction. When I was bidding, I'd do that and walk away. Then I avoid that stress towards the end of an auction, and I wouldn't find myself feeling like I needed to go higher. There's almost always another similar machine. It not, I can fall...

We always kept it quick unless something on the site changed or we're moving onto a new phase of work. Either way, at least a couple time a week I call on a guy to answer something. I want to make sure they're paying attention, not still waking up. Call someone out the day after the Texans or...

Well maintained with high hours will beat out a lower hours machine whose owner neglected the service recommendations. You can ask for service records, a responsible owner should have some sort of tracking. That's usually a good sign. Brand is a huge factor in my opinion. Go with the tried and...

Would be great to see price comparison data. I'd expect IronPlanet to be higher since you can sell at retail or set a floor price. But for generic units, maybe it doesn't differ that much. I think both are best in the biz if you need money for the machine by a certain time.

At the very least, require that an experienced hauler look over any load a newbie is takin' on the road. They should be able to spot a poor tie down or potential issues. It also helps to have one guy around who messed up once but has a nickname tied to that time he tipped a mini ex off the...

$$ difference is mentioned above. But if you're trading in to trade up, that might be the way to go. Really depends on the market and your regional. OEM dealers have targets they need to hit so might help you quite a bit on a new unit if they need to hit numbers. The trade in value vs private...

Glad I've gotten mostly out of the biz at this point... Probably a lot of change coming in the next decade that an old fella like myself will be too slow to adapt to. But who knows, I managed to make it long enough to be posting on forums about heavy equipment. The industry is slow to adapt...

Curious, does he do this as a favor or do you pay him? Mechanic time ain't cheap these days!

Back when I got started Bobcat was all Kubota diesel engines (90s). These Kubota engines had a reputation for being easy to maintain, making them a favorite among operators and mechanics. About 2014–2015 Bobcat began transitioning to their own diesels, (really Doosan, their parent company)...

Honestly, pretty dumb question in my opinion. You said you're looking to buy soon so seems the time of year is irrelevant. The time to buy is when you need it. If you're waiting "on a deal" you're likely losing money by not tackling a job or you're losing out on bids because you don't have the...

For me, it often depends on the machine and how quickly I need to move it. If it's newer, in high demand, and I'm not in a rush, I'll lean towards selling directly. You can usually squeeze out a better price that way. However, if it's older, has higher hours, or I need to free up space or cash...

If you want to get technical about it, you better bet it's fall protection. Pretty sure that's supposed to come into play at like 6ft. You got guys climbing on big excavators or other machines to access engine bays or hydraulics that're easily over that mark.