Bought a cheap mortar mixer from a yard sale and it cost me a whole day's work

Saw a used mixer for $80 last month, thought I got a great deal. The motor gave out after mixing just two batches for a small patio job. Had to stop everything, drive an hour to rent a proper one, and lost about $300 in labor time because of the delay. The guy who sold it to me was long gone, of course. I should have just rented one from the start or bought new. Anyone know a good brand for a small mixer that can actually handle a full day?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jamie22d ago

Wait, so you're telling me I could have just rented and had someone else deal with the breakdown instead of losing a whole day and having to drive around like a maniac? Sounds too easy, where's the fun in that? Next thing you'll tell me is I should have checked the mixer before buying it from some random guy's driveway. Nah, I prefer the thrill of gambling my time and money on yard sale finds. Live and learn, right? At least my wallet feels lighter and I got a good story out of it.

murphy.barbara1mo ago

Honestly, the real lesson here might be about the rental. Even a new mixer can break down, that's just bad luck. But renting from a good place usually means they've done the maintenance and they'll swap it out fast if there's a problem. Your own gear, especially used, leaves you totally on the hook for those delays. I'd say for small jobs, a reliable rental is still the safer bet over owning, unless you're using it constantly.

michaelf511mo ago

On the hook for delays" is exactly why I own my core stuff. A rental house can have all their gear out on another job, then you're stuck. With your own gear, you only have to worry about fixing one set of problems.