Cat 302.7 vs Kubota u27 vs DEVELON dx27z

[atrutilaj]

Hello guys!
I’m buying a brand new mini excavator and I can’t decide which one should I pick.
I will use the mini excavator for sewer lines and gas pipes.
In the summer is very hot.I’m not gonna work on this machine so I’m not sure if the air con should be the most important factor in choosing the right one.
Everyone is telling me to buy the Kubota because is the best one,but they don’t put ac on it.
I’ve got a very good offer on the new Develon dx27z,it has air con but I can’t find anything on the internet about this mini excavator.
The cat 302.7 has air con but is approximately 10k more expensive than the DEVELON.
If I’m gonna give up the AC,which one should I pick between the cat 302.7 and the Kubota?
Thank you and sorry for having so much questions,I’m new in this and I have no idea what to do.

I leave here the prices I’ve got for these 3:
- 2025 Kubota u27 hi spec with 3 bucket no air con - 44k
- 2025 DEVELON dx27z with 2 aux, air con and 3 bucket - 38k
- 2023 0 hours cat 302.7 with 2 bucket,no air con - 41k
- 2025 cat 302.7 with 2 aux and one bucket with air con - 48k

If you can,please help me.Im searching on the internet and read a lot of forums for like 1 year and I’m still undecided

 

[doobin]

Welcome mate.

Over here the cat is a cheap ish machine. I’d say there is some room to negotiate on the price more!

 

[Storrsy]

My take on air con and I know many will disagree but I hate operating with the front window shut so therefore renders Aircon a bit pointless, plus if your jumping in and out the door will will probably be open too so... Basically if it came with it then great but definitely wouldn't be a factor in deciding the best machine.
I assume you are definitely after a zero tail. Look at the Wacker neuson EZ26 too . They are nice machines they have air con as an option and can stick additional weights on rear which I don't think you can do with the Kubota. Develon looks a nice machine but massive jump out from the cab though I thought.

 

[Gecko]

My take on A/C is much the same as @Storrsy. I'd rather work with a door open given a choice.
A dusty worksite would change my opinion, very quickly!

A "very hot summer" means different things to different people, but I cut an 800m trench in the summer heat (45C +) in a 3cx "with" A/C (but it doesn't work). When the sun was either low or overhead, ventilation with a door and back window were quite adequate, but when the sun was at a medium angle (9~11 and 3 ~5), I just roasted in the full sun, so A/C wouldn't have helped.
It was my own job, so I just stopped working when it got silly.

 

[Furniss]

Depends on your work,if your off and on its not great, looking out of glass is not for me either, had it on a couple of times on the 6t this summer and when its 40 its nice to have some respite when you get in, but as above its not really a deciding factor.
I'd look at wacker if you've a dealer, kubota would be bottom of my list unfortunately, latest ones I've been in i found them noisy and uncomfortable

 

[Brendan]

Welcome mate.

Over here the cat is a cheap ish machine. I’d say there is some room to negotiate on the price more!

Cat have huge markups but have always found them to be way out on price same as Volvo they are both a lot more expensive than equivalent machines

 

[Storrsy]

Depends on your work,if your off and on its not great, looking out of glass is not for me either, had it on a couple of times on the 6t this summer and when its 40 its nice to have some respite when you get in, but as above its not really a deciding factor.
I'd look at wacker if you've a dealer, kubota would be bottom of my list unfortunately, latest ones I've been in i found them noisy and uncomfortable

That model Kubota or their minis in general. I'm eyeing up 3 tonners at the mo. I want the Wacker but with it being zero I'm not sure it will be suitable but dealer have offered me one for the week to see how I get on with it. Cant say fairer then that and I'm told with the additional weight pack they're pretty stable beasts but I dunno physics tells me no.

 

[Furniss]

Last one was the 3.5t kubota - suprised me how noisy it was and bloke who bought it said he was jumping ship after loads of kubs to tak.

 

[atrutilaj]

Thank you guys for all your messages.
Right now I’m for the DEVELON or Kubota.
DEVELON because of their good price offer.Air con+ 3 buckets+ hydraulic breaker will be like 41k.It sound like a good price for this machine,I asked around and I no one complained about the new generation of dx27z.
Kubota because almost everyone is saying that is the most reliable machine on this category.The problem is that for that price I will get the Kubota with 3 buckets and that’s it,no hydraulic breaker and no air con.
Wich one would you guys pick of this 2 machines?

 

[doobin]

I'd give the Develon a go. Not too impressed with Kubota minis.

 

[V8Druid]

have limited experience with Develon/Doosan, but the few I've operated have been nice enough machines .. plenty about too, so can't be that bad

 

[atrutilaj]

have limited experience with Develon/Doosan, but the few I've operated have been nice enough machines .. plenty about too, so can't be that bad

“Can’t be that bad” is killing me

 

[Storrsy]

Id say the best thing to do is for the next few jobs just hire in a variety of different brands. Nothing like actually spending time on a machine to find out it's faults. Kubota and takeuchi both have good reliability reputation so tend to be the first brands people mention when asked but some of the competition have seriously upped their game in the last few years...

 

[V8Druid]

“Can’t be that bad” is killing me

had several hours in each of these a while ago and they were both lovely smooth machines to operate - real operator's machines - Alex who I was working with, loved them both, especially the 140 - loads of guts

God awful tilt bucket though

 

[atrutilaj]

It drive me crazy,I just saw online a used DEVELON dx27z with 300 hours,he’s selling with 30k.
I just call the owner,he paid for this mini 42k in 2023 in a project with European money.
I asked him to honestly tell me if he would make the same choice today and he said that he had to buy the Develon because of the limited budget.
He said that the Develon still needs improvements and that he would recommend to choose the Kubota.
He also tell me that Kubota maintain the price better over the years.
Opinions are divided and I really have no idea what to choose

 

[Storrsy]

It drive me crazy,I just saw online a used DEVELON dx27z with 300 hours,he’s selling with 30k.
I just call the owner,he paid for this mini 42k in 2023 in a project with European money.
I asked him to honestly tell me if he would make the same choice today and he said that he had to buy the Develon because of the limited budget.
He said that the Develon still needs improvements and that he would recommend to choose the Kubota.
He also tell me that Kubota maintain the price better over the years.
Opinions are divided and I really have no idea what to choose

Kubota will certainly hold value better- just the way it is. But all the mainstream brands hold their value pretty well so perhaps not too much of a consideration anymore especially if premium brands charging more in the first place.

 

[Brendan]

It drive me crazy,I just saw online a used DEVELON dx27z with 300 hours,he’s selling with 30k.
I just call the owner,he paid for this mini 42k in 2023 in a project with European money.
I asked him to honestly tell me if he would make the same choice today and he said that he had to buy the Develon because of the limited budget.
He said that the Develon still needs improvements and that he would recommend to choose the Kubota.
He also tell me that Kubota maintain the price better over the years.
Opinions are divided and I really have no idea what to choose

Residuals are relative for the mainstrram machines, they all lose alot at first and level out, a lot of the used mainstream machines with same hours and age tend to be within 1-2k.
You could possibly lose a lot of you go down the Chinese machine route.

Who is your local dealer? As good backup is the key no good buying something if parts are unavailable or your dealer is 2+ hours away with a small mobile service team

When my doosan dx10 was new and in warranty there was quite a few crappy bits with it, dealer weren't great or local, even taking it to their depot and leaving it there for a week never really sorted everything.

My 8026 is the same lots of crappy bits that needed doing but to be fair to JCB their backup is excellent

I know the hire companies love kubota and they are a decent machine but my local dealer took the piss with not only the pricing but the service costs so didn't go down that route

What I would say is get a decent demo on whatever machine your looking at, even if you have to hire them for a week or two. Not just a sit in it and move it around.

When I was looking at micros I had a look at the takeuchi it was a bit wider than the bobcat/doosan but everyone rated the bobcat as the better machine but to be honest probably wouldn't have a other one.

Same sort of thing with the 3t when I was looking the sany had recently come to the market I had a look at one in their yard didn't really get a go in it bar moving the arm in out but dealer was way out on pricing and 2+ hours away. Volvo, cat, wacker and doosan were all a few thousand more than wanted to spend. Kubota dealer within a few miles but 3k+ more than people I had been talking to at the time had paid within a month of getting price. So was narrowed down to the sv26 which again was a local dealer at the time and the 8026 wasnt a lot in the cost and was swayed towards the JCB as was near enough top in the class for depth, lifting but barely legal to tow.

Not tried the latest 2.5t jcbs and they do look smart but unsure on the quality of JCB as had a few issues that just shouldn't have happened and still to this point the front window leaks after them having several attempts at doing it, it's out of warranty and low hours but always a feeling if it's going to have an issue

At the end of the day all machines will have issues but backup should be a priority