Newbie considering: 1999 CAT 426 - advice - what to look for/beware of?

DonNH · Jan 23, 2023

Hi all,

I feel like I'm moving too fast here, but I know these things will disappear if I don't move quickly. I have yet to actually sit in an industrial machine, and it seems irresponsible to jump at the first one, but this checks my boxes: a local 1999 CAT 426 with 3k, 4wd, 4/1 bucket, looks clean. Price is $26k from an equipment dealer. Seems like a good deal, on paper. I think the year makes it a "C", but I also see "C IT" on ads...not sure what the IT is.

That said - I've looked at the forums and I'm confident that CATs are good machines overall, but is there anything specific which I should focus on for this machine? Any concerns about high prices for repair parts (worse than Deere, Case, etc)? Harder/easier to work on? There is a CAT dealer the same distance as every other dealer, so no difference there.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Don

For reference, some other typical options a bit farther away are:
1995 JD 410D 4wd, 6k - $24.5k
2005 NH LB75 4wd, 6k - $26k

JBrady · Jan 23, 2023

With only 3k hours, that price seems on the low side. Is it perhaps an open station backhoe in a cold state? In my state, 4wd, 4 in 1, 3k hours, and CAT premium, that would be closer to $35K. It seems like Case, Deere, & CAT hold their value better than NH, Komatsu, JCB, etc. Just my $0.02. It's all conjecture until you go put eyes on it. If it comes from a dealer, maybe it will be covered by a short term warranty.

Nige · Jan 23, 2023

DonNH said:
I think the year makes it a "C", but I also see "C IT" on ads...not sure what the IT is.

If you like, post the Serial Number. That will give the exact date it was built, let alone the year.

A machine of that age with allegedly so few hours sounds too good to be true, so it probably isn't.........
Hour meters can break and get replaced, etc, etc. A thousand reasons why the hours are apparently so low.

Vetech63 · Jan 23, 2023

Is the equipment dealer reputable? The hours are not accurate, it's likely way over that. Seems cheap for a 4-wheel drive and a 4-1 bucket to me. Operate it and offer them $22K.......what have you got to lose?

DonNH · Jan 24, 2023

JBrady said:
With only 3k hours, that price seems on the low side. Is it perhaps an open station backhoe in a cold state? In my state, 4wd, 4 in 1, 3k hours, and CAT premium, that would be closer to $35K. It seems like Case, Deere, & CAT hold their value better than NH, Komatsu, JCB, etc. Just my $0.02. It's all conjecture until you go put eyes on it. If it comes from a dealer, maybe it will be covered by a short term warranty.

It is an enclosed station....unfortunately the location is not actually just down the road (but still in a cold state). The ad was listing the location of the dealer/broker, and it is not on site (he expressed frustration at this, it is probably located in a better selling location). So it is 2+ hours away, which is a bit of an impediment to examination....

Nige said:
If you like, post the Serial Number. That will give the exact date it was built, let alone the year.
A machine of that age with allegedly so few hours sounds too good to be true, so it probably isn't.........
Hour meters can break and get replaced, etc, etc. A thousand reasons why the hours are apparently so low.

Vetech63 said:
Is the equipment dealer reputable? The hours are not accurate, it's likely way over that. Seems cheap for a 4-wheel drive and a 4-1 bucket to me. Operate it and offer them $22K.......what have you got to lose?

Yeah, the "too good to be true" does come to mind. I haven't found a dealer which offers any kind of warranty, but I am leaning towards going with someone (dealer) who has a reputation they need to keep intact. Always a roll of the dice. Not sure about the dealer - he seems nice enough, but that's his job...I haven't heard anything pro or con.

Then again, maybe it really is that TLB that was used by a little old lady on Sundays to load pillows into her horse cart....

Now I just need to decide if I want to go for a ride...

Thanks for the thoughts.

HarleyHappy · Jan 24, 2023

You’re in NH, keep an eye on Craigslist and FB marketplace.
I really don’t like buying anything from a dealer unless new or almost new.
You will be paying 25% over and still have no idea of real condition unless you can really work it for an hour at least.
There are some on CL right now. 2 months ago they had a good deal on a Case 580 L.
Patience is the key.
Lol

DonNH · Jan 24, 2023

HarleyHappy said:
You’re in NH, keep an eye on Craigslist and FB marketplace.
I really don’t like buying anything from a dealer unless new or almost new.
You will be paying 25% over and still have no idea of real condition unless you can really work it for an hour at least.
There are some on CL right now. 2 months ago they had a good deal on a Case 580 L.
Patience is the key.
Lol

It's raining Kubota's in the lakes region, but not much else it seems. Some candidates farther afield, so I need to resolve myself to making a day out of it and making multiple stops.

I think I'm off the 426 - some more internet sleuthing suggests it has been on the market for a quite while, so I'm wondering if everything is adding up.

Don

Nige · Jan 24, 2023

DonNH said:
I think I'm off the 426 - some more internet sleuthing suggests it has been on the market for a quite while, so I'm wondering if everything is adding up.

If it really is a 1999 machine 3000 hours equates to 11 hours a month, give or take. At those hours it ought to be immaculate with the paint hardly worn off it.....

DonNH · Jan 24, 2023

Nige said:
If it really is a 1999 machine 3000 hours equates to 11 hours a month, give or take. At those hours it ought to be immaculate with the paint hardly worn off it.....

Yeah, I was thinking about that, although in weeks....but even so, a machine with 9k is still only putting in 33 hours/month (I'd like that schedule!).

That struck me as low, and then I started to think about payback of the machine...I'm not really sure of the numbers, but if new it was 150k (today's dollars) and it was charging $100/hr digging that is $300,000. Take away fuel and maintenance and it still paid for (or maybe just barely if you got a loan). So, if it was intended as a helper tool for someone who doesn't dig a lot (or has other machines), maybe they do exist.

I'm thinking another good indicator would be the seat. That will tell the tale---should be very nice fabric covered in dust.

DonNH · Jan 24, 2023

Nige said:
If you like, post the Serial Number. That will give the exact date it was built, let alone the year.

I would appreciate a decode: the serial number is *7BC02611* ... been trying to find a decoder, but I don't see one anywhere, I'd like to get the year from that if possible.

The 7BC says it is a Series II, which is 87-92. So that brings things into line, so now it is overpriced at $26k. And the hour-meter is busted for sure.

crane operator · Jan 24, 2023

Post up pictures of the machine, or a link to the seller's ad. No one here is going to go buy it out from under you, and someone might spot something important.

Nige · Jan 24, 2023

DonNH said:
I would appreciate a decode: the serial number is *7BC02611* ... been trying to find a decoder, but I don't see one anywhere, I'd like to get the year from that if possible.

There is no such thing as a decoder. It's simply a case of plug the S/N into the system and out pops the DOM.
7BC02611 is a "1st Generation" - no model suffix letter (B, C, etc) in other words - 426 that was built on the 5th of January 1989.

DonNH · Jan 24, 2023

crane operator said:
Post up pictures of the machine, or a link to the seller's ad. No one here is going to go buy it out from under you, and someone might spot something important.

I don't think I can post pictures, but here is the ad: https://www.equipmenttrader.com/listing/1999-CATERPILLAR-426-5022442846 . In a bit of change of heart from above, I am going to be visiting it, before I realized it was mis-dated.

Nige said:
There is no such thing as a decoder. It's simply a case of plug the S/N into the system and out pops the DOM.
7BC02611 is a "1st Generation" - no model suffix letter (B, C, etc) in other words - 426 that was built on the 5th of January 1989.

Thank you! Fortunately, that was a Thursday.

DonNH · Jan 28, 2023

Follow up here...I visited the machine in question. The hour meter had increased 5 hours from the picture on line. I photographed it before we started it, and after using it for 1.5 hours it was at the same spot. So it is definitely not working all the time.

The machine doesn't seem too worn, but it also doesn't seem to have been too loved either. Broken glass leads to flora growing in the cab, and it was bit noisey and chattery, but at the time I didn't know any better...

I didn't jump, and on my way home I visited a one year older version of the above, one which seems to have seen a lot more maintenance and care.

So overall a valuable first test drive. I've got some research to do on the other machine (88 426 w/ 5.2k (which definitely works!) owned by/maintained by a town).

materthegreater · Jan 28, 2023

Have you considered using Value Insight Portal for checking machine values? Kinda like blue book so it's not going to account for everything (like broken hour meters!) but it should let you know if they're in a reasonable price range

gasifier · Jan 29, 2023

I owned a 426. Hours were low when I bought it. But meter worked all the time. Turned out to be a very good machine for me that got a lot of heavy duty work done. I then sold it and got almost all my money back out of it. I have owned several older Deere as well.

I would now find a John Deere that you can try out for an hour and a half. They are very nice machines if well cared for. Machines with low hours are fairly common. Both Cat and Deere have great resale potential. If I had to choose from two older machines, of same good condition, I would probably go with the Deere. Just preference from my experiences.

DonNH · Jan 29, 2023

materthegreater said:
Have you considered using Value Insight Portal for checking machine values? Kinda like blue book so it's not going to account for everything (like broken hour meters!) but it should let you know if they're in a reasonable price range

I saw it, but was thinking it was a paid service...but upon second inspection, this is a great lead! Thanks. I plugged in the the numbers are in line with what I was thinking/observed - which I had determined from looking at lots of ads/auction sites. I love the time series of prices, it would be interesting to see long term trends. I was wondering what season is best to buy in New England. Anyway - thanks for the pointer

One down side to that site - it seems like you need to get a serial number for the machine before you can get a value, so you need to hunt this site for the s/n for a machine you are interested in.

gasifier said:
I owned a 426. Hours were low when I bought it. But meter worked all the time. Turned out to be a very good machine for me that got a lot of heavy duty work done. I then sold it and got almost all my money back out of it. I have owned several older Deere as well.

I would now find a John Deere that you can try out for an hour and a half. They are very nice machines if well cared for. Machines with low hours are fairly common. Both Cat and Deere have great resale potential. If I had to choose from two older machines, of same good condition, I would probably go with the Deere. Just preference from my experiences.

Yes, JD is on my list too. I would like to try a 410, although JDs seem to have a premium relative to the Cats, given the same paper-specs. I think these are both higher profile machines which will have better resale in the future, if need be. Definitely the more experience, the easier and more confident I can be in making a decision.

Thanks all.

John C. · Jan 29, 2023

Average retail asking price on Machinery trader is $19,850. Average auction is $10,088.

Machine in your photo is a straight boom. They weren't bad but the complaint was they would hit the boom on dump trucks box sides when loading them. Later models went to the banana boom.

Lots of things to look for, main one being condition of the turret and front loader. Machine that used the loader a lot would have a worn out bucket with sloppy joints in the boom and tilt linkages. Machine used more for a backhoe would have worn out turret.

Drive trains were strong from my point of view as an appraiser. 4x4 many times was an issue in that it didn't work. I would pick up the back of the machine on the outriggers and leave the front tires on the ground and shift the machine into gear to see if the front wheels tried to turn. Many times they didn't. The cabs on those machine tended to leak and there was always moss or plant growth inside the cab. With that, the seat pedestals would be stuck or very loose on a well worn machine.

I never thought Cat loader backhoes were all that great. Case and Deere made decent products for a lot less money.

DonNH · Jan 29, 2023

John C. said:
Average retail asking price on Machinery trader is $19,850. Average auction is $10,088.

Machine in your photo is a straight boom. They weren't bad but the complaint was they would hit the boom on dump trucks box sides when loading them. Later models went to the banana boom.

Lots of things to look for, main one being condition of the turret and front loader. Machine that used the loader a lot would have a worn out bucket with sloppy joints in the boom and tilt linkages. Machine used more for a backhoe would have worn out turret.

Drive trains were strong from my point of view as an appraiser. 4x4 many times was an issue in that it didn't work. I would pick up the back of the machine on the outriggers and leave the front tires on the ground and shift the machine into gear to see if the front wheels tried to turn. Many times they didn't. The cabs on those machine tended to leak and there was always moss or plant growth inside the cab. With that, the seat pedestals would be stuck or very loose on a well worn machine.

I never thought Cat loader backhoes were all that great. Case and Deere made decent products for a lot less money.

Thanks for the info...interesting that the moss is common, but for me that was a bit of a disappointment. If you can't clear out the moss, what else can't you be bothered with? Second one was very clean inside.

Regarding 4wd - I have another thread on understanding what the 4wd should do, but I think that both machines that I tested didn't have operational 4wd. If all four are in the air, should they all be turning vigorously (or at least one per axle)? The rears were humming, but not the fronts - more slowly moving without providing much resistance. On the ground they seemed to get a bit of traction and dig in a bit, which made me think that I don't understand the system and when power was transferred. My HST Kubota will spin all the wheels looking for traction, which is what I was expecting.

Thanks,
Don

AzIron · Jan 29, 2023

That vintage of cat backhoe was a case painted cat not that many made and the two boom cylinders were a really bad design I see them for sale once in a while maybe for 15 grand

Newbie considering: 1999 CAT 426 - advice - what to look for/beware of?

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