To replace or repair - costings

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
Easy.

Run the old one ‘till it’s knackered. Stick it in a farm sale, and use the money to buy a new one. Probably with change left over...
(Thank you to the person who bought my 30 year old ‘well used’ single rotor topper, for £60 less than the cost of its shiney new twin rotor replacement 👍).

Like the sound of that - which new one did you buy?
 

DeeGee

Member
Location
North East Wales
Sounds to me as though your best bet might be to keep the better of the two machines, and if practical also swap any bits and pieces, tyres, components etc over to make that machine as good as you possibly can. Then sell the poorer one or part ex it for a better and/or more modern machine to do the bulk of your work.

Admittedly this might seem the costliest option at the moment, but you will hopefully be getting a newer machine as a working capital asset, and still have a reasonably good second machine that you know well to also do some jobs and for that all important back up.
Just my opinion, hope it might help.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Don't know your situation, or if the item is a large capital expense to repair.
Here, large items will wait, or go through, depending on overall finance stress.
If we've just spent out on land, or have to trim sails for some reason, then the older gear has to go on.
If it's smaller items, it'll be down to time/money spent on repair agin replacement cost (and breakdown emergency risk)
 

Zippy768

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Dorset/Wilts
Just spent about 5K on refurbing an old Manitou 626 that has been here for 25 years. Engine rebuild, injectors, injector pump, rad repair, new crowd ram, a few ram seals/pipes, complete transmission overall. Should be good for another 25 years!!!
So how did you cost that out to arrive that repairing was the answer.
25 year old machine there is still alot to go wrong on your Manitou. Gearboxes, Hydraulic pump, final drive hubs, axles??
 

Zippy768

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Dorset/Wilts
So a bit more detail.
Machine in question is in fact a pair of Hi-Tec trainers - 1998 in fact. Not a popular make of trainer.

I can sell the the trainers as they are, for £5, with Shoe laces knackered. To get new laces i have budgeted £3 and to be done professionally. Unfortunately the trainers will still need more maintenance work in the future to around the £1.50 mark.
Fully tidy Hi-tech trainers of this age and mileage might fetch a tenner. Unfortunately mine look a well used pair.

Replacement would be in the form of a much more popular brand, probably Nike.
A decent pair of used Nikes would be around £25. With about half the mileage of the current Hi-Techs.

How would one cost that out.
Cost to change would seemingly be £17
(25 - 8)

N.b prices are DEFINITELY not accurate, nor is the Trainers
 
Last edited:

An Gof

Member
Location
Cornwall
So a bit more detail.
Machine in question is in fact a pair of Hi-Tec trainers - 1998 in fact. Not a popular make of trainer.

I can sell the the trainers as they are, for £5, with Shoe laces knackered. To get new laces i have budgeted £3 and to be done professionally. Unfortunately the trainers will still need more maintenance work in the future to around the £1.50 mark.
Fully tidy Hi-tech trainers of this age and mileage might fetch a tenner. Unfortunately mine look a well used pair.

Replacement would be in the form of a much more popular brand, probably Nike.
A decent pair of used Nikes would be around £25. With about half the mileage of the current Hi-Techs.

How would one cost that out.
Cost to change would seemingly be £17
(25 - 8)

You’ll be dead one day. No point having a heap of money in the bank then. Enjoy life a bit now and make it easier ......... breakdowns at critical times are just too much stress ...... get a grip and buy the Nikes ...... you know you want too.

PS I have a pair of Hi Tech Squash shoes unused, size 11, if you decide against the Nikes.
 

Bramble

Member
So how did you cost that out to arrive that repairing was the answer.
25 year old machine there is still alot to go wrong on your Manitou. Gearboxes, Hydraulic pump, final drive hubs, axles??

An excellent question. Selling it and spending 10k buying a replacement didn’t seem sensible, you can’t seem to get much for that budget. Spending more (20-30k) is not really an option at the moment. Hubs/brakes and kingpins overhauled a couple of years ago, gearbox being completely repaired this time in the 5k spend.

Its really only a back up machine now, but it needs to be capable of doing everything the newer telescopic does (just a bit more slowly!). There are a few times in the year they are used together like bale carting/wrapping/stacking so it needs to be reliable
 

Zippy768

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Dorset/Wilts
An excellent question. Selling it and spending 10k buying a replacement didn’t seem sensible, you can’t seem to get much for that budget. Spending more (20-30k) is not really an option at the moment. Hubs/brakes and kingpins overhauled a couple of years ago, gearbox being completely repaired this time in the 5k spend.

Its really only a back up machine now, but it needs to be capable of doing everything the newer telescopic does (just a bit more slowly!). There are a few times in the year they are used together like bale carting/wrapping/stacking so it needs to be reliable
Ah ok. I suppose similar position in that 3/4 of the hubs and kingpins have been overhauled. But still a big outlay needed to get it usable again.
Our machine isn't the backup, but one half of the machines we use. Both are aged.
 

Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
I sold a tractor last year, didn’t really want to as it had been a very good reliable faithful servant over the 11 years we owned it,

however it was 20 years old had 9000hrs on it and I knew we had had a very good run with it. Got more for it than I paid at sale time as well.

could have kept it and it could have kept going and going for years more with little bother, or it could have gone bang the week after! Needed a fortune spent and never been the same again!

ultimately I feel we did the right thing letting it go. If we had spent a wedge of dosh on it it still would have been 20 year old with 9000 hrs on the clock!


currently got a telehandler on farm giving me various headaches and desperately need a rethink there but not sure on the answer for that one!
 

An Gof

Member
Location
Cornwall
Interesting the views of some on this thread to running telehandlers. On this farm it is the most critical piece of machinery. If it doesn’t start in the morning everything comes to a standstill. It is the one piece of machinery I will ALWAYS buy new and keep up with replacement policy. Too much at stake and too much stress if it doesn’t work every day.
 

Massey675

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bristol
Well problem is this old is all well having it but it’s obviously going to go tits up more than new kit may because usually older kit has been hammered to hell more than new kit may of

I worked for a woman who had brought a 390T she had it a month maybe 2 and the thing went up in flames due to poor maintenance from the dealer she brought it from and it was costly and still isn’t fixed 2 years later, she also runs a 565 which is a sh!t bucket and is currently a non runner, sometimes it’s better to just grin and bare it and
Go down the finance route if you can’t afford to upkeep older kit I think

my friend runs David browns; keeps them in tip top condition and they last him he’s currently got about 6 all immaculate and everything is maintained never a issue with them 👍🏼
 

Massey675

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bristol
Interesting the views of some on this thread to running telehandlers. On this farm it is the most critical piece of machinery. If it doesn’t start in the morning everything comes to a standstill. It is the one piece of machinery I will ALWAYS buy new and keep up with replacement policy. Too much at stake and too much stress if it doesn’t work every day.
ive seen some proper sh!t box telehandlers they don’t seem as respected as other kit on farms, I much prefer a tractor loader however you don’t have as much reach or manoeuvre ability with tractor loaders
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
Interesting the views of some on this thread to running telehandlers. On this farm it is the most critical piece of machinery. If it doesn’t start in the morning everything comes to a standstill. It is the one piece of machinery I will ALWAYS buy new and keep up with replacement policy. Too much at stake and too much stress if it doesn’t work every day.
You need two
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
Well problem is this old is all well having it but it’s obviously going to go tits up more than new kit may because usually older kit has been hammered to hell more than new kit may of

I worked for a woman who had brought a 390T she had it a month maybe 2 and the thing went up in flames due to poor maintenance from the dealer she brought it from and it was costly and still isn’t fixed 2 years later, she also runs a 565 which is a sh!t bucket and is currently a non runner, sometimes it’s better to just grin and bare it and
Go down the finance route if you can’t afford to upkeep older kit I think

my friend runs David browns; keeps them in tip top condition and they last him he’s currently got about 6 all immaculate and everything is maintained never a issue with them 👍🏼
Surely the 390 is insured for fire?
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
Just spent about 5K on refurbing an old Manitou 626 that has been here for 25 years. Engine rebuild, injectors, injector pump, rad repair, new crowd ram, a few ram seals/pipes, complete transmission overall. Should be good for another 25 years!!!
Going to do the same for my 728 manitou 1997
Done 14,900 hrs, engine getting tired
 

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