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The rental option is a good one to consider, even more so if the rental house absorbs the general liability insurance cost, usually a $500,000 or $1 million certificate of insurance is required to indemnify the rental house. If not required, it means you are liable for damage to the machine and or underground utilities, ( call before you dig is recommended, usually an 800 number to dial for utility location ) but if you have decent operating skills and common sense, you will get your work done, without major headaches of repairs and maintenance. The rental house I use does not require this insurance, which saves me $$, but I am extremely careful, and do smaller jobs mostly on, or close to the surface where no utilities are present. Any other work besides your own property that has a remote chance for liability, by virtue of underground utilities being present, I'd probably want some insurance in effect regardless, you never know what you may find or damage no matter how careful. Layout & plan how you will perform the work, then rent the appropriate machine for the duration you can afford, make it easy to fuel by having a storage tank delivered or some other means, and do the work. I always grease and take care of the rental unit, the rental house appreciated this and I keep a great reputation with them because I treat the machine as if it were mine, it does not cost much to properly grease and not abuse the equipment, last year they brought me a brand new D4-G, 1.7 hours on it !, I had to wash the dust off and take photos of it. I think its only fair to do the right thing in this regard. The 420 D I just rented arrived so dry, the boom and stick main pin was squeaking loudly, after a thorough greasing it was quiet, most people don't care, but at least when I need a machine, I can get one reasonably quick. Nothing wrong with owning an older machine in decent shape, very handy to have, but when depending on it to finish a job that you don't want to have to stop in the middle of, there is an associated risk. I have older equipment that I do use for tasks that are not critical, if it breaks down, I've got time to deal with it, but when doing any time sensitive work, either for a customer or my own, when trying to beat inclement weather, having maximum production is best, the late model equipment will give you that, I can rent a new Cat D4-G for $375/ day or $1200/ week at last check, same for a Cat 420 D IT rubber tire backhoe, $325/day or $1200/week delivered. No matter what is available locally, late model rental equipment is an option worth exploring, and may save you extra dollars/time to find something decent to own for other non-critical type tasks. Also, the fuel economy is now well worth considering, I ran the 420 hard one day and I believe it only used 10 gallons or so, same with the D4 G the newer models are really as fuel efficient as you can get. In any event do your homework up front, it will help you arrive at a well thought decision. Good Luck !
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