Which bobcat to choose ?

[wal]

I'm in the market for a used Bobcat loader to move and dig some dirt for a few months and could use some guidance to make a well-informed purchase. I've come across a couple of options but am unsure about their value.

In my country the vast majority of second hand ads look like that : a 90's model with around 3000 hours, priced at $7000 with a 20$ "like new" paint job and no spare parts available on the market. Not a wise investment isn't it?

I'm particularly interested in models within the $2000 to $10,000 range. Could you suggest which models I should consider and what an acceptable range of hours would be for these machines?

Lastly, is it generally necessary to replace all hydraulic lines for machines manufactured before 2010?

Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[mrbb]

I have posted this many times
there no BUY THIS MODEL
when buying used it will always come down to very basic things
as in actual condition of each used machine your looking at, and if possible knowing what they were used for, some tasks are just harder on machines than others, !


so, its IMO<
1) condition of machines your looking,


2.) how good or poorly your support for "X" brand is , in your area!
as if you buy "X" brand and there is NO good local support, it will make ownership harder on you! , and keep in mind NOT all dealers are on the same level of HELP and Knowledge

so, knowing what your local dealers are like in advance can save you some frustration down the road


3.) be as honest as possible with yourself on what skill sets you have in, fixing things yourself!

LOTS of folks think they know more than they do, and what looks like simple fixes, if there past your skill set, can become very costly ones

so being honest with your skills is a BIG part of things


NOW< as for replacing hoses on older machines,
I am sure a hydraulic shop will tell you to replace them every "X" amount of time(and for safety reasons and factors, they could be right, I am NOT claiming to be an expert here)


but in the real world, from my experience!, very few folks follow these time tables on when yo replace based sly on time passing!

most folks replace as needed
as in when either blows, or starts to show signs , it should be replaced
as in dry rot, crack, worn spots and so on!

new hoses are NOT cheap, and on the never ending rising costs as more time passes,
, which is why most again don't replace till needed,
its always better to replace them before one burst or likes, for safety reason and even costs,
running out of fluid can damage costly parts, breaking down in a BAD location when one fails can also cost $$ in down time and in field service charges and so on

SO??!!~
in a perfect world where costs didn't matter, YES replacing them on a timeline based chart would be ideal
but I again doubt many folks have the income to spend to do this,
I would guess, more folks, just again replace them based on condition they appear in and or when one gets damaged in the field

its ALWAYS good idea to inspect them often in daily pre -checks, and in a PERFECT world, every operator would be doing there pre checks to find wear and tear on them

BUT again not all owners or operators are of the same mind set on doing things


That said, when looking at USED machines, if you DO NOT know what to look for, take someone with you that does
being able to spot future! needs PM's or repairs, can factor into costs

example is, if you had to replace a bunch of hoses, it can cost you a few grand real fast!

I am sure if you do a basic search, you can also find a lot of info on what to look for on used machines