buy a used micro excavator - first time buyer!

[cr5000462]

Hi all,

Ive been looking online and can't seem to find any information, which has how I found the forum, I am in the process of buying a used 2012 JCB micro, Can anyone tell me if it's supposed to come with some form of paperwork, ownership documents etc as a car would? If not, how is it possible to confirm ownership?

V5, logbook, service manual?

Is the only way to check its history by checking the VIN and/or serial plate?

Don't really want to get stung on this one so any advice would be appreciated, Im UK based if that makes any difference,

Thanks in advance,

 

[JD450A]

TER check..... View it in person and bring it home with you immediately after buying

 

[pettsy]

Are you buying privately or from a dealer?

 

[maz]

Careful of gumtree/ebay. When I was searching, at least half, if not more where scams. Don’t part with cash, deposit, down payment unless you are standing there with the seller, its honestly the worst industry I’ve seen for scams.

TER check as mentioned above. The hour guages can be considered useless (often clocked), condition of the machine is more revealing than the hours, try to take someone who knows how to assess a diggers condition. Also look at the paint work from multiple angles in different lighting, mine looked like a typical JCB yellow but from a different angle you could see the shadow of removed sign writing from the previous owner (a hire company), not bad but you can use it to haggle etc.

 

[Regy53]

The Ter check isnt that handy really its only as good as the info put into it and sometimes its not put into it

where are you buying from? Sadly nothing will come with it. A TER check is as good as it gets.

 

[doobin]

Say f**k it and buy an E10 at 0% for 5 years!

 

[cr5000462]

Thank you for the information everyone,
The ebay one was indeed a scam! guy wouldn't even give me his phone number until I paid the full amount by bank transfer as soon as I said im contacting ebay regarding his actions he removed all adverts and said "sorry my account has been hacked, there isn't even a digger" scum bag!

Im buying privately, it's for personal use so can't go down the finance route as everyone seems to only offer finance to companies not private buyers

 

[cr5000462]

The scammer's name on ebay was : Georgeh5670
be careful, he had a lot of equipment listed,

 

[Antony Holmes]

Thank you for the information everyone,
The ebay one was indeed a scam! guy wouldn't even give me his phone number until I paid the full amount by bank transfer as soon as I said im contacting ebay regarding his actions he removed all adverts and said "sorry my account has been hacked, there isn't even a digger" scum bag!

Im buying privately, it's for personal use so can't go down the finance route as everyone seems to only offer finance to companies not private buyers

I am surprised that you are finding it difficult to get finance on a digger the first Kubota I financed it was about 7 years ago were only interested if I could pay the deposit of 10% plus the vat I did not have a business at that time so no books ect

 

[Brendan]

I'm sure there was a guy in here, who recently purchased a new 1.5t? Ish Kubota for personal use on finance

 

[V8Druid]

where are you and what are you after ... give Johhny Barnes a call or look on his website .. if he doesn't have what you fancy he'd find you summat .... but a brand spanker is always nice to own

 

[cr5000462]

im Looking for a micro, ideally JCB or a bobcat,

The scammer has relisted the JCB micro!! its item number

224015452961

 

[GazCro]

Bobcat then. I've never heard anything good about jcb micros.

 

[Jimbo69]

Bobcat then. I've never heard anything good about jcb micros.

Hateful things, only marginally better than a shovel.

 

[Gunners]

Bobcat then. I've never heard anything good about jcb micros.

Hateful things, only marginally better than a shovel.

Wow, for a plant forum, we are really helpful to someone who admits they are inexperienced and looking to buy plant. @cr5000462, I wouldn't base your decision on what people have "heard" about how a machine is. Consider whats best for you. In the micro market, its pretty straightforward at the moment.
Bobcat/ Doosan (same machine different colour) are king right now. Servo controls (sticks on armrests not in front of you) and a clever design make it quite possibly the best micro out there that will actually fit through a standard side gate/ doorway. But they hold their money well and you wont find one like for like on hours/ age at the same price at the JCB.
Kubota Kx008 or U10 are both good but a little outdated with the old style joysticks in front of you setup. Both squeeze down nice and tight for access but the U10 is the slightly better machine being zero swing and a bit more base weight. Residual values are good.
Takuchi have recently made a new "micro" that's actually a bit too wide to fit in many doorways (so I've heard ). But as a result, it drives like a machine in the class above it. Modern servo controls but kind of defeats the point in a micro if it wont fit through all doorways. The old TB108 is bombproof and if you found a tidy one of these, it would go on forever.
Yanmar - small micro, good for access but a bit slow and outdated now against the competition.
JCB - old design now, hence like the Yanmar, its outclassed these days. But they are cheap and parts aren't expensive. So if you aren't driving it everyday it wouldn't be a bad machine to own.

Cant think of any other common manufacturers of micros? Feel free to chip in with how you have found the above list to drive - or how s**t they all are. Your choice.

 

[V8Druid]

Wow, for a plant forum, we are really helpful to someone who admits they are inexperienced and looking to buy plant. @cr5000462, I wouldn't base your decision on what people have "heard" about how a machine is. Consider whats best for you. In the micro market, its pretty straightforward at the moment.
Bobcat/ Doosan (same machine different colour) are king right now. Servo controls (sticks on armrests not in front of you) and a clever design make it quite possibly the best micro out there that will actually fit through a standard side gate/ doorway. But they hold their money well and you wont find one like for like on hours/ age at the same price at the JCB.
Kubota Kx008 or U10 are both good but a little outdated with the old style joysticks in front of you setup. Both squeeze down nice and tight for access but the U10 is the slightly better machine being zero swing and a bit more base weight. Residual values are good.
Takuchi have recently made a new "micro" that's actually a bit too wide to fit in many doorways (so I've heard ). But as a result, it drives like a machine in the class above it. Modern servo controls but kind of defeats the point in a micro if it wont fit through all doorways. The old TB108 is bombproof and if you found a tidy one of these, it would go on forever.
Yanmar - small micro, good for access but a bit slow and outdated now against the competition.
JCB - old design now, hence like the Yanmar, its outclassed these days. But they are cheap and parts aren't expensive. So if you aren't driving it everyday it wouldn't be a bad machine to own.

Cant think of any other common manufacturers of micros? Feel free to chip in with how you have found the above list to drive - or how s**t they all are. Your choice.

great post ollie ... what the OP needed

 

[Bri963]

Got a K008-3. No servos, simple to keep going, runs all day on a sniff of diesel. All parts available though multiple dealers in the UK. Good residuals. Not inherently smooth,, but you can operate it smoothly with practise. Oh, and the breaker valve is actually a two-way valve with one port blanked. Not hard to gain yourself an extra Double-acting service By using the blanked port and doing a bit of a mod to the pedal. Haven’t been on any other micro to compare, but I can make this one do anything I need it to, given enough time. There’ll always be some smartarse who reckons they outdig you with a spade. They might be able to first thing in the morning, but they won’t by dinner time.

 

[V8Druid]

Got a K008-3. No servos, simple to keep going, runs all day on a sniff of diesel. All parts available though multiple dealers in the UK. Good residuals. Not inherently smooth,, but you can operate it smoothly with practise. Oh, and the breaker valve is actually a two-way valve with one port blanked. Not hard to gain yourself an extra Double-acting service By using the blanked port and doing a bit of a mod to the pedal. Haven’t been on any other micro to compare, but I can make this one do anything I need it to, given enough time. There’ll always be some smartarse who reckons they outdig you with a spade. They might be able to first thing in the morning, but they won’t by dinner time.

that's a ramrkable feat of engineering and design Bri ..... how they fit all this ...

under that seat ...

what's that like cross carriage ?? and does the carriage extend out at all ?? never used one that small ...

 

[fred]

kubota do a SL model of the micro with joysticks.

What sort of work are you using it for ?

 

[Jimbo69]

There’s a 2015 Bobcat E10 with 125 hours just came in to my local dealer. They want £7,500+vat for it. Thought that was not bad