Any construction guys out there familiar with these?
Toying with the idea of buying one.
I don’t have many details about but seller says its in top shape, runs great freshly painted and recently been checked out by a shop, no issues found.
This one is $11k but I see others out there that don’t appear as good for $35k.
I don’t get the price spread so wondering if anybody would know what determines the cost?
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11k is very cheap for that machine. I’ve always been told if it’s to good to be true then!!!
But if it’s close and local it’s worth a look. Some times I see people quick sell for cheap when they are in a pinch
Been selling construction equipment for nearly 30 years.
What is the model year?
Do you know the actual hours?
Look at or get a picture of the serial number plate. If it’s all in Japanese it’s likely a gray market machine which means it was built for the overseas market. That translates to little or no parts availability in the US. This is the biggest thing that brings down the value. Stay away from gray market machines. They seem like a good investment up front but it’ll bite you in the keister.
that is too cheap unless he is going broke/divorce,etc.
first things I would check are the planetary hubs for metal in the oil.
check the swivel joint for leaks,this in the belly of the beast and allows the machine to swivel 360 degrees,if its leaking at the top or the bottom big bucks to repair.
tracks,can run a grand per side depending on where you buy them and their quality.
is it a two speed machine? if so,does it work?? take it out if he will let you use it,put all of the weight of the machine on the bucket and raise the machine to one side,do the cylinders settle allowing the machine to come back down on its own??
do the same with the blade.
check the motor mounts,if they are the bonded type they are noted for coming apart and will let the engine move all over the place under load.
pull the radiator cap and look for bubbles in the coolant while the engine is running,any bubbles indicates a cracked cylinder head or gasket about ready to fail.
does the boom appear straight?? check all of the pivot pins for extreme looseness,especially where it attaches to the machine,if that pin is worn out and sloppy more dollars as its not an easy job doing it yourself.
run it at full throttle,hear any excessive hydraulic whine?? motor smoke at full power??
drive it,while driving,look for straight ahead tracking,if not,one wheel motor is weak and not keeping up.
try turning the machine,is one side faster than the other?? again,wheel motor or hydrostatic pump is shot,non of which are cheap.
look closely at the wiring,does it look to have been repaired/hacked/burnt???
how many hours are on it??? over three thousand and its almost due for overhaul.
flat out ask why he is selling it so cheap,ask if its been on its side,under water,etc.
Boatshateme brings up a very valid point,I have been asked to work on ‘gray’ machines before,unless you know of a comparable model sold in the US market place no dealer in the country will talk to you about parts,nor will they sell them to you.
Also, if you are basing the others that don’t look as good as this machine based on pictures, if this machine has been recently painted, it probably looked the same or worse than these other machines you’ve seen.
To get the value of machines, this is one of the best places to go. The auction results are what money actually changed hands for. Much more reliable than what you see people asking. It might not show you all of the results without signing up but you can easily do that.
Also, I don’t think you are seeing other Kobelco’s (probably made by Sumatomo) out there for sale to compare to. If you are comparing against other “35” size Kubotas, Bobcats, Cats or John Deere’s, don’t. Kobelco is not a player in this size and has little or no support available in MN.
A fresh coat of paint at that price makes me think it’s hot(stolen).
Thanks a bunch guys!!!!
Just what I needed to know.
We got an email back a week later saying they were out of town. Didn’t tell us hours, year or why they were selling just it had been checked out and was golden.
Too good to be true probably fits here.
We might take a look at it since it’s fairly close by and will be checking all the points you guys gave out but I’m not very hopeful that its a good deal. Will post results afterwards.
Really appreciate all the good feedback from all of you!!
I don’t know why I fall for this crap.
It’s listed on CL and location was south of Lacrosse. It took 3 emails asking for year, hours, pic of serial number plate and why selling.
Finally was told it’s in Atlanta but free shipping. 
Obviously a total scam, dammit!
But I’ll keep looking for a deal and now I know what to look for and ask so all your comments won’t be wasted.
Thanks for all the info from you guys!
I was just zipping to the bottom saying “scam, scam, scam” but glad you didn’t get taken.
There are a LOT of scam ads on CL for compact tractors, skid steers, and other construction equipment. I see them almost every week.
HG, if you don’t know much about this stuff, find somebody who can help you. I don’t know a lot about it, but what I do know is that this kind of equipment can run up a HUGE repair bill in no time if something big goes wrong. Knowing what those “somethings” are and how to evaluate them requires a lot of experience.
Grouse
It’s listed on CL and location was south of Lacrosse.
Well, they didn’t lie about that.
$11,000 for a cab excavator AND they’re throwing in $2,000 in freight?
They should raise their price $15,000, it’ll probably sell faster.
A fresh coat of paint at that price makes me think it’s hot(stolen).
Fresh paint to me means hiding of cracked welds.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Munchy wrote:</div>
A fresh coat of paint at that price makes me think it’s hot(stolen).Fresh paint to me means hiding of cracked welds.
Could be a possibility of anything. However the price would probably be a bit higher if it were cracking welds as they would likely still want to get their money out of it. Changing the color (if thats the case) just before selling at a deep discount throws a huge red flag as a stolen item.
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