Excavator: hire with an operator or buy, and don't overpay
Which excavator for which job
A mini excavator of up to 3 tonnes fits through a gate, works in a yard or a garden and digs trenches for cable and pipe. A wheeled or tracked excavator of 14–22 tonnes is needed for pits and large volumes. A backhoe loader (JCB 3CX) is the all-rounder: it digs with the rear bucket and loads with the front one.
Tracks are tougher on soft ground, while wheels are faster on the road and do not damage tarmac. Keep this in mind when the machine travels under its own power.
What it costs and what that depends on
- Class of machine: the heavier the machine, the higher the hourly rate.
- Minimum booking: often a few hours, because a short visit may not pay for itself.
- Delivery: a tracked excavator goes on a trailer, which is a separate bill.
- Attachments: breaker, auger, narrow trenching bucket.
- Difficult soil: clay, hard rock or stone slow the work down.
What to put in your request
- Buy or hire — with or without an operator.
- Type and class — mini up to 3 tonnes, wheeled, backhoe loader.
- Scope of work — for example a pit of 10×8×2 m.
- Location — city, access, wires or utilities nearby.
- Period — 1 day, a week.
- Model, year, engine hours — JCB 3CX or CAT 320, up to 8,000 hours.
- Condition — running, no investment needed.
- Budget — for example RM 57 per hour.
Example: “I need an excavator with an operator in Kuala Lumpur for 1 day: dig a pit of 10×8×2 m for a garage, loamy soil, no removal of soil needed. Budget RM 57 per hour; please state the travel charge and the minimum booking separately.”
How it works on BlaBlaPrice
You describe the job in a request, and excavator owners in your region reply in the chat: the machine, the rate, the date they can come. Each of them sees where their offer ranks and can improve their terms, so the price often gets better. The system shows the best offer first, judged on what is offered, with reviews next to it. Your phone is hidden, and contacts go only to the one you choose. See how it works.
Common mistakes
People take a machine that is too big and cannot get through the access, or one that is too small and spends four days on what a heavy one would do in a day. They do not arrange for the soil to be taken away, and then urgently look for a tipper truck. They forget about underground utilities: before the work you need to know where cables and pipes run.
When buying used, check the engine hours, play in the boom pins and bushes, hydraulic leaks, and the condition of the undercarriage and bucket. For smaller jobs, look at mini loaders, and for a wider choice, the “Heavy equipment” section.
Season and preparing the plot
Before and after the rainy season, machines are busy, so do not delay your request. Before the work, mark the edges of the pit and clear obstacles, and say where to put the soil. If it has to be taken away, arrange tipper trucks separately. For narrow trenches for cable or pipe, give the bucket width, because the volume of soil and the time depend on it. The fuller the information, the more accurate the offer.
