Help pricing on a Bobcat 743B?

[forceXlever]

Looking for some advice on ballpark fair asking price for a 743B Bobcat. It runs well, has had limited use, has been maintained well over the years, and comes with manuals, tines, buckets X2, and extra tire. I think the hour tracker is broken however. My mother is trying to sell it after my dad passed, and I don't have much knowledge in this area. Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[SkidRoe]

Hi, sorry to hear about your father - my condolences.
Where are you located? How long has your father owned it? Are there any known issues with it? What kind of buckets are with it? What sort of overall appearance? Has it been stored inside?
Sorry for all the questions, but all of these will play to it's worth.
Cheers - SR

 

[forceXlever]

Hi, sorry to hear about your father - my condolences.
Where are you located? How long has your father owned it? Are there any known issues with it? What kind of buckets are with it? What sort of overall appearance? Has it been stored inside?
Sorry for all the questions, but all of these will play to it's worth.
Cheers - SR

The machine is located in Washington State. My father bought it around 2003. It saw limited use in a farm setting over the years and was maintained well. There have been no major issues with it over the years and has no current issues that I'm aware of. It has one 60" bucket as well as a larger custom built bucket with slots for pallet forks that is used for moving larger amounts of gravel/soil/etc in one trip. It also has two sets of pallet forks. Overall appearance is great for a machine its age, and it has been stored in a roofed, open-sided garage. Hope that helps some.

 

[SkidRoe]

The machine is located in Washington State. My father bought it around 2003. It saw limited use in a farm setting over the years and was maintained well. There have been no major issues with it over the years and has no current issues that I'm aware of. It has one 60" bucket as well as a larger custom built bucket with slots for pallet forks that is used for moving larger amounts of gravel/soil/etc in one trip. It also has two sets of pallet forks. Overall appearance is great for a machine its age, and it has been stored in a roofed, open-sided garage. Hope that helps some.

I would think that you should be able to ask $10,000. I would not let it go for anything less than $7000.
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide how much you let it go for. Not sure how soon or how badly you need to get rid of it.
If it was a little closer to me, I would be interested in it.
Hope this helps - SR

 

[forceXlever]

I would think that you should be able to ask $10,000. I would not let it go for anything less than $7000.
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide how much you let it go for. Not sure how soon or how badly you need to get rid of it.
If it was a little closer to me, I would be interested in it.
Hope this helps - SR

That is very helpful. Thanks a lot!

 

[flyerdan]

That is very helpful. Thanks a lot!

What you might want to do is look through Machinery Trader and Iron Planet to see what similar ones are going for, kind of like you'd peruse Auto Trader for car values.
The good thing is the 743 was kind of like the DC-3 of skidsteers, they were the right size to be easily transported and can get into a lot of areas and do a lot of work.
On the flip side of that, since they're so ubiquitous they might not command the price that a premium example deserves, but the pre-tier 4 and lack of nanny-state safety electronics keeps them highly desirable.

 

[forceXlever]

What you might want to do is look through Machinery Trader and Iron Planet to see what similar ones are going for, kind of like you'd peruse Auto Trader for car values.
The good thing is the 743 was kind of like the DC-3 of skidsteers, they were the right size to be easily transported and can get into a lot of areas and do a lot of work.
On the flip side of that, since they're so ubiquitous they might not command the price that a premium example deserves, but the pre-tier 4 and lack of nanny-state safety electronics keeps them highly desirable.

Thanks for the info! I'll check out those sites.

 

[rodbuilder]

A nice 743 with good tires, paint, seat, decals and no leaks will bring $7500. Anything more than that and youll have it FOREVER. Ive had a bunch of them!! It was the next to the last Bobcat that had a direct-drive pump. NO belts!! Its 37 hp and a lift rating of 1300 pounds at full boom height.

 

[rodbuilder]

I've been buying and selling this stuff for 16 years, so these aren't fairytale prices!!!............ A nice 743 Bobcat will sell for $7500 - if it has less than 4500 hours, good tires, seat and the paint and decals are within reason. Taking the time and money to paint one that's not ugly willl only take money out of your pocket!! You can use the extras as a negotiating tool, but you're really pushing it to ask any more for it. If you remove the gauge panel, then take the terminal off the hour meter and clean it, the gauge MIGHT come back to life, do NOT replace it. if you do there's no record of the approximate hours!!! If you sell it with 1 bucket the extra one will bring $400. The tire and wheel will bring $100-$150, IF it's good. If it's not the wheel is worth $50. The 743 was the last of the direct-drive hydraulic pumps, which they should never have changed. All the newer crap has a belt drive pump!!

 

[rodbuilder]

If it's nice and has no leaks or problems $7500. If it needs a lot of work and looks like crap $2500-$3,000.