Has anyone bought a mini digger off AliExpress...
Discussion
https://www.reddit.com/r/farming/comments/1b2c5kf/...
These don't appear to be in the same £300 + £200 'postage' bracket that a quick Google reveals though.
These don't appear to be in the same £300 + £200 'postage' bracket that a quick Google reveals though.
Edited by Andy 308GTB on Monday 15th December 06:01
conanius said:
yes, I might have gone mental.
Has anyone done this? with our "new" property needing quite a bit of ground works, it feels like it could pay for itself quite quickly.....
What sort of ground works?Has anyone done this? with our "new" property needing quite a bit of ground works, it feels like it could pay for itself quite quickly.....
My mini-digger journey has been as follows:
Borrowed father in law’s 2.5t Takeuchi. It’s much easier than hand digging.
Rented a 5.5t Kubotoa. Damn, it’s so much quicker than the 2.5 if there’s space to use it. Hard to transport.
Rented a 13t. Makes the 5.5t seem like a toy. Rips out tree stumps with ease. It does need space to work.
Bought 5.5t Kubota to sit alongside the 2.5t.
FIL needed the 2.5t back.
Bought 1t Kubota. Not as powerful as the 2.5t but super easy to transport, easy to get down passages/into buildings.
We hire a 13t from time to time.
Here’s the thing though. All of the machines bought/owned by the family are quality ones. All bought pre-owned, from dealers, at sensible hours. All are still worth pretty much what we paid for them (inflation on new machine prices seems to help residuals on old ones, especially if the hours on the old ones aren’t being seriously clocked up). They’re best at different jobs but overall the 2.5t is probably what you’d choose if you could only have one and wanted to retain the option to trailer it.
I doubt an AliExpress one would hold much value.
There are a few YouTube videos about people buying these.
https://youtu.be/mJ8kgZoNGjg?si=mYfV_1Fy354rUQlW
https://youtu.be/mJ8kgZoNGjg?si=mYfV_1Fy354rUQlW
They have been very popular in the USA, and I expect will become so here for DIY use. Very handy for limited use, a few hours a year. But watch out for the scope creep when ordering - upgrades to e.g. the better diesel engines, more hydraulics, gadgets. Good to see most of them have thumbs as an option.
If I didn't have a digger I'd be in the queue for one!
If I didn't have a digger I'd be in the queue for one!
If the YouTube videos are a clue, and my experience with other similar cheap tools is a guide, then by the time you've sorted out all the obvious issues and worked out how to make the thing be semi usable you'll have already decided to dump it and get something else that actually works.
The diggers being offered right now seem to be firmly in 'get what you pay for' territory and look the part but are generally not good. Probably lots of fun trying to get parts too.
It's not that you can't buy some decent stuff from China but these are not anywhere near that end of the market.
The diggers being offered right now seem to be firmly in 'get what you pay for' territory and look the part but are generally not good. Probably lots of fun trying to get parts too.
It's not that you can't buy some decent stuff from China but these are not anywhere near that end of the market.
I'm glad this caused some excitement.
For those who have asked about usage - this is our new home that is the base of the project - Bought a house by a river... what could go wrong?
Big pieces of work coming up:
- bringing up all the existing gravel on the drive way, laying new membrance, and new gravel
- extending the driveway, clearing and then building a base for a new garage/storage barn (TBC)
We're defintiely going to need to do some ground works generally over the plot as the land is *very* low so in this recent weather the water table is coming up through the ground and we keep getting some additional ponds. I think this might extend to, once we sort the lower areas, building some banking once we understand the river a bit more.
I have had a good old read of the AliExpress adverts. I think some I might be surprised by - but I do hear that things could get fun if certain parts die.
If anyone has some suggestions on places to look out for decent uk based second hand mini diggers, I'd appreciate it.
For those who have asked about usage - this is our new home that is the base of the project - Bought a house by a river... what could go wrong?
Big pieces of work coming up:
- bringing up all the existing gravel on the drive way, laying new membrance, and new gravel
- extending the driveway, clearing and then building a base for a new garage/storage barn (TBC)
We're defintiely going to need to do some ground works generally over the plot as the land is *very* low so in this recent weather the water table is coming up through the ground and we keep getting some additional ponds. I think this might extend to, once we sort the lower areas, building some banking once we understand the river a bit more.
I have had a good old read of the AliExpress adverts. I think some I might be surprised by - but I do hear that things could get fun if certain parts die.
If anyone has some suggestions on places to look out for decent uk based second hand mini diggers, I'd appreciate it.
Buy something that a local man will know how to fix.
I bought what I thought was a good washing machine not the cheapest. Developed a leak so rang the local washing machine repair man. Said he wouldn't even come out to look as you can't buy parts for that brand.
I just bought a hotpoint and replaced it as you can buy loads of parts for them very easily.
Think about that once it arrives and you need some part thats 2mm different to all the local diggers and you can't find it for love nor money....
I bought what I thought was a good washing machine not the cheapest. Developed a leak so rang the local washing machine repair man. Said he wouldn't even come out to look as you can't buy parts for that brand.
I just bought a hotpoint and replaced it as you can buy loads of parts for them very easily.
Think about that once it arrives and you need some part thats 2mm different to all the local diggers and you can't find it for love nor money....
We’ve had several machines (inc 2x excavators) from McLean’s: www.tractorsandplant.com. Have been very easy to deal with and the descriptions were accurate.
Shipping of plant is less expensive than you might expect and there’s often a bit of room in margins to get it included.
When it comes to mini-diggers, extra buckets and basic grabs are quite cheap to buy later. Breakers are more expensive but you’ll get some say that you want to avoid machines that have had them (due to increased wear on bushes etc). Augers can be handy if you have a lot of fencing work.
Track condition is worth checking. They’re not the cheapest or easiest things to replace, but you can still DIY.
If you get an excavator, find the number of the local agri engineers and on-site hose replacement folk. At some point you will need them, but they’re rarely expensive.
Shipping of plant is less expensive than you might expect and there’s often a bit of room in margins to get it included.
When it comes to mini-diggers, extra buckets and basic grabs are quite cheap to buy later. Breakers are more expensive but you’ll get some say that you want to avoid machines that have had them (due to increased wear on bushes etc). Augers can be handy if you have a lot of fencing work.
Track condition is worth checking. They’re not the cheapest or easiest things to replace, but you can still DIY.
If you get an excavator, find the number of the local agri engineers and on-site hose replacement folk. At some point you will need them, but they’re rarely expensive.
conanius said:
I'm glad this caused some excitement.
For those who have asked about usage - this is our new home that is the base of the project - Bought a house by a river... what could go wrong?
Big pieces of work coming up:
- bringing up all the existing gravel on the drive way, laying new membrance, and new gravel
- extending the driveway, clearing and then building a base for a new garage/storage barn (TBC)
We're defintiely going to need to do some ground works generally over the plot as the land is *very* low so in this recent weather the water table is coming up through the ground and we keep getting some additional ponds. I think this might extend to, once we sort the lower areas, building some banking once we understand the river a bit more.
I have had a good old read of the AliExpress adverts. I think some I might be surprised by - but I do hear that things could get fun if certain parts die.
If anyone has some suggestions on places to look out for decent uk based second hand mini diggers, I'd appreciate it.
A beautiful house. I don’t think it would have been a cheap house by any means. For those who have asked about usage - this is our new home that is the base of the project - Bought a house by a river... what could go wrong?
Big pieces of work coming up:
- bringing up all the existing gravel on the drive way, laying new membrance, and new gravel
- extending the driveway, clearing and then building a base for a new garage/storage barn (TBC)
We're defintiely going to need to do some ground works generally over the plot as the land is *very* low so in this recent weather the water table is coming up through the ground and we keep getting some additional ponds. I think this might extend to, once we sort the lower areas, building some banking once we understand the river a bit more.
I have had a good old read of the AliExpress adverts. I think some I might be surprised by - but I do hear that things could get fun if certain parts die.
If anyone has some suggestions on places to look out for decent uk based second hand mini diggers, I'd appreciate it.
When it comes to smaller purchases the old adage of buy cheap, buy twice springs to mind. If I needed a mini digger I’d be checking out the smaller local auction houses. You might pick up a bargain, but as always get advice from someone who is more knowledgeable on small plant than me.
We recently moved to a house in the countryside after too many years in suburbia. I picked up a job lot of v mesh fencing and a couple of wonderful old wooden gates for a fraction of what I had expected to pay. Just need someone to fit them in the new year. Two acres is way too big for me to attempt these days. But the dogs will be secure and have more space than they ever dreamed.
You could also talk to your local plant hire place - they are sometimes open to a deal - e.g weekends are low utilisation, also bank holidays you can often get 3 days for the price of 1 and a bit.
Might be worth hiring a few sizes to see what you are most comfortable with with? Also, if they offer to teach you how to use it, take them up on the offer…
Might be worth hiring a few sizes to see what you are most comfortable with with? Also, if they offer to teach you how to use it, take them up on the offer…
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