Stick with rented hydraulic puller or buy my own for big jobs?

I had to choose between dropping $200 a month renting a hydraulic puller from the local supply house in Akron or just buying one outright for $1,200. I went with buying it after my 6th rental in 8 months, figuring I'd break even in a year. First big job with it was a 500-foot run through old conduit and the thing paid for itself in time saved alone. Has anyone else made that call and regretted going either direction?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivan7741mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh absolutely @aaron_mitchell, if you're only using it twice a year you might as well just keep feeding the rental machine its monthly allowance. $200 for a tool that sits in your garage 10 months out of the year sounds like a great deal if you love getting fleeced. But hey, my buddy rented one for 8 months and ended up basically buying his own twice over before he smartened up. If you can find one used for half price it's a no-brainer, just don't be that guy paying rent on something you'll never give back.

aaron_mitchell1mo ago

Still worth it if you only use it a couple times a year?

drewr151mo ago

Buy it used and treat it like that gym membership you swear you'll use more (you won't). If you're only firing it up twice a year, you're basically paying $100 per session to feel productive, which is honestly cheaper than therapy and slightly more useful. I know a guy who bought one for his annual deck staining and it's basically become a very expensive garage ornament at this point. But hey, at least you'll have it when you need it, right? Just don't look at how much you spent per use, that math gets ugly real quick.