I'm going to go look at a S185 that the owner says really should be a 773. I don't know why that is, maybe a changeover in models somehow? It's a 2001 with 3775 hours on it. It has a factory cab, heat and air with the keyless ignition. Is the keyless ignition something to be avoided? The hours don't seem like all that many if its been maintained well. It looks to be in decent shape fro the pics on Craiglist. It is owned by a landscaper an hour from me. Asking 15K+. Opinions? Thanks Greg
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The S185 is the replacement for a turbo 773 while the S175 replaced the naturally aspirated 773. While they are not the same machine with a different sticker like the the 864/T200, they are very similar. 2001 would have been about the time as the change. Keyless dash is nothing I'd be worried about.
$15k is a lot of cash. I'd test it out quite a bit before handing over that much. An enclosed cab is supposed to be nice, but would you rather spend more just for that? An open cab can save you at least $3k, if not more.
Unit sounds heavily option and if in in good shape, I don't think $15K is high.
we put 300 hours on a s185 while our s590 was on order and it was definitly a nicer machine than our old f series 773
I looked at this unit on Saturday afternoon. They were using it to clean up some junk on the edge of a farm field. It was attached to a tiller and they were going to load some broken concrete after changing over to a bucket. They use it all the time in landscaping and want to get another track machine like the other two they have. It has the power bobtach option also. The only thing that seemed wrong was a fuel leak coming from the injection pump area. It was noticeably wet down the engine block and on the floor of the engine compartment making the squeeze bulb wet etc. That won't get better by itself. The cab was in decent shape although they had loaded salt onto trucks with it during the winter. Under the door glass the sheet metal was rusty but not eaten through. They had rattle can painted the worn places on the body but some of that was wearing off but I don't think they were trying to hide anything. Tires were about 25%. I didn't see any leaky hyd. cylinders or oily area's by the axles. They do some of the maintenance themselves and the rest is done at the local dealer.
Rental stop
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Walk away. Salt is a killer. Check the engine oil, check the grease zerks, if they aren't greased reguraly, they will not accept grease. Sounds like they give it heck and fix as little as possible. We just sold a 2008 Bobcat S175 with 2100 hours (open cab) for $14k and a 2007 Bobcat S160 (open cab) 2400 hours for $12k. Both machines were tight and leak free. Great tires. You should be able find a nice machine for $15k. Cab, heat and air aren't all they are cracked up be. Can't get in and out with an attachment off the ground. Good luck. jmho
reaperman
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If they are looking to upgrade with another track machine. That most likely means they are trying to get a better price than a dealer offered them on a trade-in. I know it can be difficult to find a good used machine for a decent price. The prices "Rental shop" got for his used machines would have gone much higher around here. It would be nice to have the list of warning codes that the machine your looking at gave off. I think it may be possible being that machine has a keyless entry. I forget how to access that info off hand. But somewhere in that display I think the prior codes are stored and can be looked up without having a bobcat dealer access them.
I think there were problems with a shaft seal of some sort on the injection pump. Dan would know more on that. As for using the machine in salt, I'd strongly suggest rolling the cab up and looking under the seat area. This is where salt damage REALLY shows up. I'd think if you're patient you'll find a lower hour machine with cab for about the same money.
Regarding what reaperman said about codes, I don't think all keyless panels had the option to read stored codes. You can however bring the machine to a bobcat dealer and have them plug it in to check all stored codes. It might be worth the time and $50 or whatever your local charges to do this.
The keyless dash will display codes if the unit has had a software update at some point after that feature was introduced. As for injection pump leaks, oil leaking around the throttle shaft is almost a given, usually not enough to worry about. If it's fuel, probably the jet start vavle.
Bobcatdan: What is the purpose of the jet start valve? I have a guy that will not leave it alone, but he also has told me that he does not know what it does. (It is kind of frustrating to me to know that he messes with this valve, especially when he has told me that he does not know what it does at all.)
It's for bleeding the fuel system. Install new filter loose, pump primer bulb until filter is full, spin tight. Open jet start vavle. If it's quiet around you, pump the bulb unit you don't hear air going back to tank. Close the jet start, done. Never need to touch the bleed screw on the filter head again. Once in a great while if left open, it can cause running problems, but I see them all the time open and the thing runs fine.
So, open / turn left while bleeding the fuel system, then close / turn right to run the engine, right??
Lefty loosey, righty tighty.
On the enclosed can issue, I think it depends on how you are going to use the machine. I have an enclosed cab, and I think it's great in the winter. When I'm pushing snow, I'm almost always working alone. The heater is actually effective, and the inside of the cab gets warm enough to be comfortable. In the summer, I just take the door off. I have a little automotive-style fan that plugs into the cigarette lighter outlet. I made a bracket that fits onto one of the knobs for the roof window. The fan has a rheostat built into the cord, so the speed is adjustable. With the fan directed at my face, it's more comfortable for me than air conditioning, and I have the benefit of being able to hear people around me.
Correction, "cab".