# Price check!!



## Single_Shooter (Aug 21, 2013)

I am in the process of moving from a truck/trailer operation and buy equipment. So far we have been subbing out to use someone else's chipper/truck combo and paying for using other people's larger equipment.

I am now looking to get a complete set-up in the next few weeks including a 12 inch chipper with truck, a larger stump grinder, a 12-14 foot dump trailer and a 3/4 tom truck.

My only problem....where do I find the values of these specialty items? I have looked in the usual places but can't find exactly what I am looking to buy to compare prices. If someone else isn't selling what I am looking at I can't find a place like kbb.com to get an average market price.

Item #1 - I am looking at a 2006 Vermeer 352 with the Daihatsu diesel with under 500 hours and Greenteeth set-up for $10,500

Item #2 - 1998 Freightliner FL-50 chipper truck that looks really good for an older truck with 120K miles (auto trans) and everything works as it should.
Attached to this truck is a 2007 Vermeer BC1000 XL chipper with 2000 hours and a fresh rebuild on all wearing parts (done by Vermeer) about 200 hours ago.
The guy is asking for $22,000 for both pieces as a whole. He says he will take $5K down and $750 a month to boot...pretty sure I would rather pay cash and avoid a payment.

OR!!! He is retiring and wishes to get a Harley Fat Boy or Road King which he would trade these two items to get. I can get a nearly new Road King for around $15,000 or a Fat Boy for about $12,000 and trade him even up.

The dump trailer I will likely buy new since all the use ones I find are priced within a few hundred of what I can buy a new one for. The 3/4 ton truck may have to wait if things get too expensive too fast for me. Those 3/4 tons are quite salty!!!

With all your vast knowledge and experience in these matters...do you guys find these prices normal, high, low???? Am I looking at decent deals or should I keep looking?? If so, should I be looking in a different direction or at different equipment??


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## CETP (Aug 21, 2013)

I do some price checking here from time to time. Never actually called on anything but a grinder. 

Tree Trader Home Page

Sounds like things are going well! Keep it up. I still basically run a truck and trailer operation off a nice dump 2013 Load Trail that cost about $8k and my '08 super duty long bed F250 was $23,000. We also have a '07 F350 with 145k miles and paid $16k. We just picked up a carlton stump grinder SP7015trx for $34k and are looking at at least another flatbed trailer. I also have a '91 F800 flat bed dump for pulling a chipper and loading out with a skid loader. Paid $8800 for it in 2011. 

Not sure this helps much for what you are looking for, but there it is


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## Single_Shooter (Aug 21, 2013)

Just need to be pointed in the right direction. Can't find any specific prices on what I am looking at so....I defer to the pros.

I have only been at this since late march so I am just trying to get things to a point where I can pretty much run it on my own with my partner and a couple part-time groundies to drag brush when we need them.

I have met and spoken to about a half dozen different small tree company owners this year and have found that they all have worn out or dilapidated equipment, equipment they can't use for other mechanical reasons and are paying others to do the work for them. They seem to be too busy to do routine maintenance on their equipment and too poor to afford the repairs. They also cite how they have had to sell equipment at a great loss in slow winter months due to not being able to afford the payments or just need the cash.

I am trying to avoid these pitfalls as much as possible. First, I am diligent about maintenance. Second, I am trying to buy the best equipment I can get that will be reliable. Third, I am trying to do all of this and remain debt-free throughout the whole process.

That is my plan...my hope. We will see how this all goes. Right now I am debt free and will still be if I buy the equipment I am looking at here locally. Just can't get too crazy...I need to reserve enough to pay the insurances and the regular bills over the cold months.


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## Sharper Image Tree Co. (Oct 21, 2014)

Single_Shooter said:


> Just need to be pointed in the right direction. Can't find any specific prices on what I am looking at so....I defer to the pros.
> 
> I have only been at this since late march so I am just trying to get things to a point where I can pretty much run it on my own with my partner and a couple part-time groundies to drag brush when we need them.
> 
> ...





Dont worry about debt, there is good debt and bad debt, debt from equipment that makes you money is ok. If a $2000 dollar a month payment on one or two pieces of equipment makes you 10k a month, does the equipment really cost you $2000 a month? Or does it make you $8000.00 a month?


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## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Oct 26, 2014)

That seems like a lot of equipment to buy all at once. Add up your bills from rentals and make sure it would not be cheaper to just keep renting before you rack up that much debt.


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