Rent, buy or lease, new or used?

[dnach]

Gordon or Darryl, what do you suggest?
Currently farming 4000ac, an awkard acreage for combines. We run one combine, a 1996 R 62, but the hours are adding up.
Have a chance to pick up 300 ac more but we are already pushing it with one combine.
New class seven's are out there but still pushin the acreage for one combine and 300000 price tag.
We have looked at purchasing a used one for a second unit. Cost around 80000 to 100000 for a low houred unit.
One dealer will rent a class six combine for 155/hr, seperator, for min 100hrs.
I have done the numbers but would like to see another opinion.

[TJM]

I am impressed that you farm those acres and use only one combine!!! What kind of hours to you clock on it a year?
Without doing any projections of costs or cash flows, the second unit sounds like it would be a good deal to own, rather than rent. For a rental payment of $15500 minimum anually,versus owning a $100000 used outfit and making payments over 5 years plus interest. Just makes sense to own. The used combine definetly won't depreciate as much as the rental payment to rent. In most rental agreements around here, all but the major repairs are the responsibility of the renter, so owning would be no different. We farm just over 5000 acres of crop and own 1 and lease 1, trading the owned every 2 years and buying the lease. And even with a dryer, some years are rushed to get it all in good shape. Like I said, very impressed with you!!

[dnach]

We are runnin about 275 - 300 hrs a year
But only about 175 last year, baled over 700ac.
How do you like your arrangement with the lease buy back and what are your costs per ac if you don't mind , for the combines?

[les]

dnach have you thought about getting some of the crop custom combined to make your work load lighter.

[dnach]

Why? We can handle our current acres with this one machine, if we pick up additional acres custom combineing may be an option. But at $17-20/ac, I can rent a combine for about half.
100 hrs 36ft header - easily 18ac/hr with a class 7 combine for 16500. That all works out to less than $10/ac