What a used excavator costs in Canada: age, hours and brand
Published October 7, 2026 · Source: dealer listings tracked by Machinery One
Let's dig in. We looked at 635 used excavators with a listed price from Canadian dealers. The median asking price is $128,500 CAD. That's the starting point. Here's what moves it.
These are asking prices from dealer websites, not what machines sold for. Dealers leave room to negotiate, so treat every number as the opening bid.
Age beats everything
Year is the biggest lever we found. Newer machines cost a lot more, and the climb is steady.
Dealer asking prices in CAD. Source: Machinery One, 635 priced excavators, October 2026.
| Model year | Excavators | Median asking price |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 or older | 145 | $85,900 |
| 2015 to 2018 | 129 | $120,000 |
| 2019 to 2021 | 148 | $174,949 |
| 2022 or newer | 212 | $199,950 |
A 2022 or newer machine asks about $114,000 more than one from 2014 or earlier. That's more than double. If your budget is tight, buying a few years back is the easiest way to stretch it.
Hours don't matter until they do
You'd think more hours means a steadily lower price. It doesn't, at least not in the asking prices.
Dealer asking prices in CAD. Excavators with a listed hour reading only. Source: Machinery One, October 2026.
| Hours | Excavators | Median asking price |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5,000 | 320 | $153,450 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | 153 | $147,900 |
| 10,000 or more | 102 | $85,450 |
Under 5,000 hours and 5,000 to 9,999 hours sit within about $5,500 of each other. The cliff comes after 10,000, where the median drops by roughly 42%. Dealers seem to treat 10,000 as the line where a machine goes from "mid-life" to "high-hour."
One caution. Bigger, newer machines tend to have fewer hours, so part of this is a mix effect. Compare machines of the same size and year before you read too much into it.
Brand: Cat and Deere lead on volume
Caterpillar (171 priced units) and John Deere (238) account for most of what's listed. Both ask around $143,000 to $145,000 at the median.
| Brand | Priced excavators | Median asking price |
|---|---|---|
| John Deere | 238 | $143,450 |
| Caterpillar | 171 | $145,000 |
| Volvo | 36 | $181,000 |
| Komatsu | 40 | $134,992 |
| Hitachi | 40 | $100,750 |
| Bobcat | 20 | $79,450 |
| Kubota | 19 | $69,900 |
Volvo asks the most, but with 36 units that's a small sample. Bobcat and Kubota ask less, probably because more of their units are compact machines. That doesn't make them cheap, just smaller. Check Caterpillar excavators or John Deere excavators to see what's out there right now.
Where you buy matters a little
| Province | Priced excavators | Median asking price |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 187 | $115,000 |
| Alberta | 148 | $122,200 |
| Quebec | 77 | $122,200 |
| Saskatchewan | 45 | $129,900 |
| Ontario | 112 | $165,000 |
| Nova Scotia | 17 | $142,000 |
| New Brunswick | 15 | $142,000 |
| Manitoba | 23 | $194,400 |
B.C. and Alberta ask the least. Ontario asks about $50,000 more than B.C. at the median. Manitoba is the highest, but 23 units is thin, so don't build a plan on it.
Freight is real money, though. A cheaper machine two provinces away can cost more once it's on a trailer. Do the math before you chase a deal.
How to use this
- Set a range, not a number. The middle half of any category is wide. A $100,000 excavator and a $200,000 one can both be fair.
- Filter by year first. It moves the price more than anything else.
- Treat 10,000 hours as a flag. It might be a bargain. It might be a rebuild waiting to happen. Ask for service records.
- Check the value. Want to know if a specific machine is priced right? Get a free range from Fair Market Valuations before you make an offer.
Ready to search? Browse all used excavators or see the market snapshot for every machine type.