What a Mini Excavator Costs to Run on a Regional NSW Property
Fuel, servicing, tracks, insurance and depreciation for a 2 tonne machine doing 150 to 400 hours a year on a farm or lifestyle block, with the regional factors that move the numbers.
The purchase price is the number everyone looks at. The running cost is the number that decides whether the machine was a good buy. For a regional NSW property the shape of the annual bill is predictable.
A worked example
An R22 PRO at the current price, doing 250 hours a year on a lifestyle block near Orange, kept for five years and sold for 60 percent of its price.
| Line | Per year | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel (14 kW engine, ~2.8 L/h at ~$2.05) | ~$1,400 | ~$5.70 |
| Servicing and consumables (DIY) | ~$600 | ~$2.40 |
| Rubber tracks (a pair every ~1,500 h) | ~$300 | ~$1.20 |
| Insurance | ~$450 | ~$1.80 |
| Depreciation | ~$2,400 | ~$9.50 |
| Total | ~$5,100 | ~$20.50 |
Depreciation is nearly half. Everything you do to protect resale value (records, storage, daily greasing) is money in the bank. Change the assumptions in the running cost estimator for your own figures.
Regional factors
Distance from a dealer. If the nearest mechanic is two hours away, a call-out for a hydraulic hose is a day and several hundred dollars. Regional owners carry spare filters, belts, a hose kit and learn to do the routine services themselves. Budget an extra few hundred a year for a parts shelf.
Diesel price. Regional diesel runs above city prices. Buying bulk into a farm tank, and keeping it clean and dry, saves more than any driving technique.
Dust. Air filters and radiators on the plains and in the west need attention weekly, not at service intervals. A blocked filter costs fuel and, eventually, an engine.
Cold. Tablelands winters mean slow starts and thick oil. A block heater or a shed makes a difference; so does the correct winter grade of engine oil.
Insurance. Rural plant policies are competitive. Declare where the machine is stored and how it is secured; a shed and a GPS tracker reduce the premium.
The comparison that matters
A weekend of dry hire for a 2 tonne machine in regional NSW, with delivery, is often $800 to $1,200. At 250 hours a year of use the owned machine costs about $20 an hour all in, and it is there on the day the job needs doing. Run the finance estimate to see the monthly figure against the hire bill.