since darnells T76 thread got a few of us talking i figured id put up the actual numbers on the E60 after a year, because a mini ex is a different animal from a track loader on the cost side. 2023 Bobcat E60 R-series, 903 hours when i bought it, hydraulic thumb, angle blade, a 24 inch bucket and a 12 inch trenching bucket that came with it. one owner, a utility contractor that ran it hard but serviced it.
i run a one woman drainage and septic repair outfit out of tulsa and i had been renting an E50 every time a job needed one. found the E60 on rubiautosales.com last december, about 64 against the 78 the tulsa dealer wanted for a 2022 with more hours. they told me on the phone the blade cylinder had a seal weeping and the bucket pins had play in them. i hired a mobile heavy equipment mechanic out of oklahoma city, 350, to go check it, and rubi let him have the machine for the morning. his list was the blade cylinder seal, the bucket pins and bushings, and a thumb hose that was chafing on the boom. no codes, pressures right on spec, swing bearing tight.
it came to tulsa on a lowboy for about 950. here is what it actually cost to run a 2023 E60 for the year, about 650 hours, for anyone trying to budget a mini ex.
| Fuel (about 650 hours, off road diesel) | $2,650 |
| 500 hour service at 1,000 hrs, mobile mechanic (engine oil, hydraulic and fuel filters) | $640 |
| Blade cylinder reseal (seal kit plus labor) | $410 |
| Bucket pins and bushings, both sides | $520 |
| Thumb hose, replaced (chafed on the boom) | $95 |
| Track tension adjustments and grease, did it myself | $40 |
| Inland marine equipment insurance (annual) | $1,180 |
that is the honest year. the two things the mechanic found were the two things those rubi folks told me about on the phone, and the rest is fuel and wear. the 14 grand i did not hand the tulsa dealer paid for the whole year of running it and then some.