During the Great Wall project, we used a total of four different excavators. We rented two, one of which pooped out on us and had to be swapped out. Because of difficulties with the firm with which we had contracted, there was a weeklong period where we thought the project wouldn’t be completed and returned our rented excavator to United Rentals–but then we needed one in a pinch, so the construction firm “lent” us theirs for a day (for a fee). Then said construction company got some of their act together and gave us nearly-completed engineering plans, and Agent Smith Sr. was able to extend his stay by another 3 weeks, so we rented another excavator to finish the job.
All told, we spent enough money on excavator rentals that, in the end, we could have owned half of a used excavator. Agent Smith started shopping around the used machinery markets (e.g., scouring Craigslist on a regular basis) and eventually found a mob based on Treasure Island that deals in such useful things. So one Friday afternoon we drove out and looked over their offerings. We ended up buying a John Deere 35D and it was delivered a little over a week later.
We have named it Bambi.
Oh, and since one of the delivery guys had brilliant blue hair, we had to document that too!
