# mini ex question



## peteo (Jan 8, 2011)

I am in the market for a mini ex but I am unsure which make to buy. I wont spend money at my local bobcat store because they are horrendous with their service and I have heard a lot of bad things about cat, case, and so on. I like the kubota but it will really put me in a bind to buy brand new. any advice?


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

My Mini is Bobcat.

I don't have an opinion of the others.

Welcome to the site.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

It depends. Try a number (price) you want to spend and then the advice will come. I have a gray market Mitsubishi MXR 35......identical to a Cat, paid less then 6k, and it serves what I do. I would love to have a John Deere 35, or even better, any of the 400 series Bobcat ZTR's. 

If you have trouble with service at your local Bobcat dealer, you can let the factory know.....no one, least of all small manufacturers like Bobcat, want me leaving their brand over service issues.


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## peteo (Jan 8, 2011)

thanks. I am a little concerned on the gray market end as nobody around here seems to want to deal with them. however I think I may end up going with the kubota KX121. the dealer is very reputable and everyone around here has them so parts and service arent an issue from what other contractors have told me. thanks again for your input, I appreciate it.


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## wellbuilt home (Oct 22, 2007)

I started with a bobcat . Then went to yanmar , yanmar is a great little ex . 
I bought the yanmar three years ago and ran it . 
I bought new tracks and fixed a few drips . 
I traded the yanmar to bob cat in the fall for a reposed 435zts with 400 hrs and all the goodies . 
kubota makes good equipment I did like the 121 I rented one when i needed more power , but the cab is very small . 
Bob cat gets a bad rap but i liked it , I have 3 dealers with in 30 mils 
There is a big difference between a 3.5 and a 5.5T EX . 
John


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## txgencon (Jan 4, 2011)

I have a Yanmar B3. Technically, it might be considered a midi. I am keeping an eye out for a more narrow bucket. The bucket that came on it is about 18" wide. The thing about a mini or midi is that, compared to a tractor-mounted backhoe, it takes much longer to get around. But then again, it is a dedicated digging machine. Mine has the offset boom which adds to its versatility. It has been very reliable so far.


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## ConstSvcs (Nov 22, 2007)

just traded in a machine for a new KX121 this past May...............I am very pleased with the machine.


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## cdkyle (Jul 12, 2009)

I did a lot of research in '05 when I was in the market for a mini-ex. I came pretty close to pulling the trigger on a Kubota. Great motors. But, ended up going with the John Deere 35d. I have ran the Bobcat's on numerous occasions. We have had great luck with the JD 35D. I bought it off a John Deere dealer. It was out as a rental for the first year of its life and had 400 hours. Just replace the tracks this past summer. I have been totally happy with the JD.


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## wyoming 1 (May 7, 2008)

We have a bobcat 331 and love it,it has been a great machine. It does have a Kubota diesel in it and from what I have seen kubota makes a good piece of equipment.


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## Knight9k (Jan 13, 2011)

I own an 08 kx-121, and it is a very good machine. Real smooth and strong hydraulics, if your going to be be digging alot of trenches the angle blade offered on the kx121 is very nice. Ive rented bobcats and compared to them the kx121 is alot smoother and stronger. Never rented anything else to comment on them. If you buy a kx121 you will not be dissapointed.


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## ebivremodel (Nov 15, 2010)

The company I was working for had 3 IHI's 65 and two 75's
They were a bit weak in the horsepower dept. But held up very well. Even ran a hoe-ram on the 75's. 
We demo'ed a few cat machines but they were a bit pricey
We eventually settled on a Kubota. It was very well liked by the guys in the field. The blade floated and angled. It was very powerful. I personally liked the auto idle. 
The footprint was very small which was good when you were digging next to a building. Small swing aspect


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## woodchuck2 (Feb 27, 2008)

I can tell you to stay away from grey market machines, i have one and when it runs its a great little machine but when something breaks your porked! I have learned what other makes/brands will work with mine or that i can modify to work with mine. IMO buy domestic and be done. 

Bobcat and Kubota are both great machines and some of the Bobcats even ran the Kubota engine. John Deere, Cat, Yanmar and Kumatsu still make good machines too.


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## txgencon (Jan 4, 2011)

Learning to work on them is important even if they're not gray market (which I think my Yanmar B30 is). I needed to replace the bucket cylinders on my Mustang MTL16 (whis is actually a Takeuchi TL130) compact track loader. It is also that same as a Gehl (not exactly sure which model). The Gehl/Takeuchi dealer wanted $1200 each for the cylinders I needed ( + shipping). So I studied up a little on hydraulics and bought some cylinders at Northern Tool for $169 each and had a friend who is a certified welder swap the end fittings for $100 each. As it turns out, hydraulics isn't all that complicated. You just have to match the pressures, volumes, flow rates, retracted length and extended length and figure out what to do with the hose fittings. That, and make sure that the seals on the cylinder you get will work with the fluid your machine uses for hydraulic fluid. My Mustang uses motor oil instead of hydraulic fluid.


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## peteo (Jan 8, 2011)

I'm not a mechanic by any means but I am pretty mechanically inclined. I have found that as far as hydraulics go, unless you need to replace the cylinder tubes its generally alot cheaper and easier to simply rebuild them. of course that is assuming the hardware is ok and the packing is what needs replaced. lots of good advice from you guys, thanks, I appreciate it.


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## 3bar (Jan 14, 2011)

have you checked out any JCB machines?


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## peteo (Jan 8, 2011)

Good God no!!! I wont even rent a JCB. Besides, they dont even have a dealer around here.


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## 3bar (Jan 14, 2011)

peteo said:


> Good God no!!! I wont even rent a JCB. Besides, they dont even have a dealer around here.


what's wrong jcb?


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## peteo (Jan 8, 2011)

I have never had any luck with JCB or kobelco products. granted they were all rental machines but the last JCB I ran was by far the worst machine I've ever been in. it looked real nice coming off the lowboy but that was it. it had no power to dig, couldnt really run the hammer that came with it and there was a few times where it wouldnt even track over small piles of dirt. I dont know if you have any jcb stuff, if you do I wont knock you or anyone else for buying it, it just isnt a machine I am interested in. I guess it just comes down to go with what you know. even if I wanted one, I would have to drive well over two hrs to get one and I'm not going that far when every other manufacturer on the market is right here in town.


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