Newbie looking to buy first skidsteer

[jschutz]

Hello friends, I'm in the market to purchase my first skidsteer for use around my property. I have 3 acres with a house. I am demoing the house and building new. I need something to move dirt and stone, landscaping, grading and snow removal. I've used a Bobcat in the past and loved it. I have been told countless times to get the brand that has a local dealer and/or service center. For my immediate location this is Bobcat, New Holland and John Deere. There is a CAT dealer about 25 miles away. I am looking for something used and in the price range of $15,000.00 to $9,000.00. I have seen several decent machines that fit this category. I don't want something under powered but I also don't need something that is top of the line (due to my budget). Currently there is the following that I am looking at (sample listings): 2000 New Holland LS170, 1,610 hours, cab w/ heat, aux hydraulics, good tires and new bucket for $11,500.00 1999 Bobcat 863f, 1700 hours, 50% tires, 72" bucket, $8,500.00 2000 John Deere 250, 2800 hours, 72" bucket, weight kit, $11,950.00 2004 Bobcat S160, 3,400 hours, new tires, aux hydraulics, $13,900.00 2004 John Deere 317, 4,384 hours, air boss tires, hydro coupler, aux hyd, $11,500.00 I realize you don't know history, etc. on these. Let's say condition wise they are all equal as they all come from dealers. Can anyone give me some insight into what to consider taking into account the above sample listings. Thank you in advance for any and all information. Jim

 

[Tazza]

From what i have heard, i'd avoid the Deere, just simple things like a dead battery is hard to access with the boom down.
I agree dealer support is good, but not always needed. If the machine is good, you shouldn't need to deal with them often.
As you wanted it for demo work and snow removal, the LS170 sounds pretty good.
The Bobcat 863F is a larger machine, i don't believe you'd need something that large, but that's just me. The Bobcat S160 is a sweet machine, but for those dollars, it may be hand controls. I personally would avoid them if possible, when things go wrong they cost a lot. For a contractor they are good as they are easier for long days and hopefully they have the machine under warranty so the dealer irons out those bugs.
I'm sure others will have ideas too.
Which ever way you go, enjoy your machine, they save so many hours of hard work.

 

[lesgawlik]

From what i have heard, i'd avoid the Deere, just simple things like a dead battery is hard to access with the boom down.
I agree dealer support is good, but not always needed. If the machine is good, you shouldn't need to deal with them often.
As you wanted it for demo work and snow removal, the LS170 sounds pretty good.
The Bobcat 863F is a larger machine, i don't believe you'd need something that large, but that's just me. The Bobcat S160 is a sweet machine, but for those dollars, it may be hand controls. I personally would avoid them if possible, when things go wrong they cost a lot. For a contractor they are good as they are easier for long days and hopefully they have the machine under warranty so the dealer irons out those bugs.
I'm sure others will have ideas too.
Which ever way you go, enjoy your machine, they save so many hours of hard work.

The best thing I did was get a good pre-purchase inspection. I didn't know much of anything about skidsteers, and that inspection told me what to expect. The guys also gave me an idea of what i needed to look out for. I wound up buying a T-200, which is a tracked version of the 864, similar to the 863. I have a hard time imagining life without it - it was just perfect for the landscaping/earthmoving/mudpushing that I was doing.