Buying a backhoe

[Snatch]

Looking to buy a good conditioned used case backhoe. My budget is about $17000-$25000. I am now starting out, have no previous experience with backhoes and can't afford to buy problematic machine. Where can i get the best price for a good HONEST working machine... Where would i find good sales or deals.

SNATCH

 

[BKrois]

I'm not sure where you're exactly located, but theres lot of websites to find used backhoe.

www.machinerytrader.com

www.equipmenttrader.com

www.rockanddirt.com

With the budget you're willing to spend you might end up with a machine from the late 80s/early 90s. Not sure if you need an enclosed cab, 4wd, or extenda-hoe depending on your location or what you plan on doing but those options can effect price.

The best bet on finding a machine with minimal problems is to have a local equipment mechanic accomany you when you go to look at any machines.

Good Luck and be sure to check machines out very carefully before making a decision. If you're just starting out, you might want to rent a backhoe for a week or so and try one out just to get the hang of it.

 

[Snatch]

Bryan,
Thanks for your input. I am thinking for general civil works, excavation trenching etc. I also would be offering equipmental rental. Closed cab is not at must. Because i live outside the US, i would be searching for a machine online and suspect that i would have to rely on a independant mechanic and also the company that i am purchasing it from (Scary), thats why i am seeking advice as to a minimum risk option for buying a machine, whether i go to a dealer or purchase it from an auction or on a resale offer.

Snatch

 

[cat320]

Well for securty of getting a good machine but pricy would be Hertz uninted or nations rent. all who have web sites but must maintain the equipment to keep it rented and not just a paint job as you will get at auctions. or a dealer for sure but then again high cost but you know it will work.

 

[glsahl]

machinery trader,or rock and dirt,are my suggestions.Montserrat is "evil" territory,southeast US is notorious for machines being past their prime,but listed as "well cared for","municipality owned".Cover jargon for "painted,but auctioned to second hand dealer,hour meter changed"
Working around volcanic ash would specify solid intake systems,asking for long term oil sample reports,would be my first request.A machine with high chrome,or silica indexes,would not be my first choice.

 

[Bad Idea?]

don't buy a $3500

Mine is broken already

 

[John Wilson]

I have found if you are willing to put a little elbow grease into getting the machine back to 100%, buying from an auction (Farm, General Equipment, or Other) is always a low cost bet. I have bought numerous tractors implements and backhoes from auctions, and putting in a few extra dollars into repair of the equipment has still been more cost effective in the long run. For example, 1977 JCB 3D, for $7500 USD. plus 300 in tune up parts, and the machine runs like new. That beats paying 15-25K for something newer any day.
Just my thoughts anyway. Look at local agricultural papers and dealers, they often have great listings of auction materials.

Cheers

 

[BUFFALERO]

I Bought A 76 Jd 510 Backhoe At An Estate Auction Family Said Well Taken Care Of But Was Worked Alot, Machine Started Good Sounded Good The Front Bucket Whent Up And Down Good All The Pins Were Tight And Looked Like They Were Greased Regularly. With The Amount Of People And Kids At The Auction They Would Not Run The Backhoe But Said It Was In Good Working Order. I Paid 5000.00 For The Machine When I Got It Home Found That Sometimes The Backhoe Had The Power To Dig Like It Should And A Minute Later Had Hardly Any Power At All. So I Changed All 3 Hydraulic Filters Fuel Filter And Engine Oil And Filter. I Bought A Pressure Gauge And My Pump Is Putting Out 2ooo Psi But I Still Have The Problem. So Be Careful Taking Someones Word About How What Kind Of Shape A Machine Is In.

 

[Carrazi]

Backhoe

Find an experienced heavy equipment mechanic to go and look at a potential machine. Before I bought my Cat 416, I looked at a Case 580 construction king. When I called up about the machine I told the owner I was bringing an experienced heavy equipment mechanic with me, so If there were any big problems tell me now, because he will just find them. And he found them... every single one. Because I knew the guy, I just smiled as he started picking the machine apart. I just sat back and watched.

The owner stared in amazement as he rattled off:
front drive shaft is slightly bent, needs a front seal in the engine, 4 wheel drive is gonna slip when you use it,............... and on and on and on.

So I didn't buy the CASE

I paid him 200 bucks to look at the machine and took him out to lunch. Treat your mechanic well, because when something breaks, as it will eventually, they are the ones you have to call.


This guy has over 35 years experience and works on all kinds of heavy equipment. Guy can fix anything, and make anything work, the right way, not cobbing it. There are about two dozen big excavating businesses that want to steal him away from his employer, (a big mining company).




If you are going to drop $25000 on a machine, find a good mechanic and pay them well to look at it. Never buy a machine without starting it up and using it, to see if all hydraulics, etc, work.

Good luck!

 

[joeeye59]

Hi Snatch,

If you don't have any mechanical background you should pay a backhoe mechanic to look over the machine you want to buy... I didn't have any backhoe background experience at all when I looked for my backhoe, but I do have 35 years under my belt extensively working on cars & light duty trucks. Being I have an extensive background in engine rebuilds, transmissions and what ever else an auto mechanic does helped a great deal.... So when I first went out and started looking to buy my backhoe I was at least able to weed out the junk, but when it came to looking over the backhoes that looked good that I was considering to buy I didn't know what to look for that were the typical mechanical things to watch out for that may be in need of replacement in time that would run up a huge repair cost. I really should have hired a mechanic to look it over, but instead I ran the backhoe I wanted to buy for a good while, and I still was fooled buy some mechanical problems that didn't show up when I was test driving.... So at least I was able to get the guy to say he'd cover the drivetrain for 30 days.... So really take your time and ask around what are some of the things to watch out for, good luck.

 

[Dabney]

Have you looked at the IRONPLANET.COM auction site? I'm also "green" at this and am looking to buy a backhoe/loader as well as a 4wd 40+ HP tractor/loader with a 3 pt. The thing that looks good at the Iron Planet auction is that they do an inspection of the equipment and say they will stand behind the inspection results reported. Of course, it would be better to find a local machine and hire your own inspector - but after 2 months of looking I have not found any used equipment that fits my purpose AND budget. Try IRONPLANET.COM and see what you think. I'd like to know if anyone out there can tell how they did by using Iron Planet. Thanks. Dabney

 

[joeeye59]

Have you looked at the IRONPLANET.COM auction site? I'm also "green" at this and am looking to buy a backhoe/loader as well as a 4wd 40+ HP tractor/loader with a 3 pt. The thing that looks good at the Iron Planet auction is that they do an inspection of the equipment and say they will stand behind the inspection results reported. Of course, it would be better to find a local machine and hire your own inspector - but after 2 months of looking I have not found any used equipment that fits my purpose AND budget. Try IRONPLANET.COM and see what you think. I'd like to know if anyone out there can tell how they did by using Iron Planet. Thanks. Dabney

I was wondering about the situation in your area where you live, when you said after two months of not having any luck finding a machine, did you mean what you had looked at would have suited you're needs but was in bad shape and/or over priced?

I ask because I believe in certain parts of the country a good hoe is more readily available than other parts of the country.

Because what I was dealing with for a long time here in my town and state in New England while looking around local for a hoe was they were all mainly owned by private people like me, who were not in the business but needed a backhoe to do the few projects around the yard, or people who had owned a hoe for a long time but never took care of it, so now it was time to sell it.

So when I was looking at them units I was finding minor and major issues wrong with them, so as I would kept talking with these people I was figuring out more about what was wrong.

It was hard looking for a decent backhoe priced fairly.... when I'd call about a hoe that seemed like it may have been a good unit to buy it would be sold the morning it hit the paper, I was never fast enough, I'd call the very second it appeared in the paper and I'd either got no answer, or nobody was there to help or give me the location to look at it, I'd even call back as little as an hour later and it would be sold.... :Banghead

After looking at about 15 units I finally realized I need to find the people that know the business, but there are none near me that are big with retailing heavy equipment, just a few but its hard to get into them circles...

So as luck would have it I finally ran into some guy who has three other brothers who are all very heavy into the construction business, it was hard to find these kind of people where I live, they do jobs like 12 million dollar shopping centers, etc... So this one brother I ran into only buys and sells machines for a living, so he got my machine at auction in Jew Jersey and dragged it all the way back 90 miles back to Connnecticut where he sets up shop. it was from a construction company that put up a few backhoes at auction to unload.... So I was happy that the guy I met and bought from knows all about backhoes and what to look for when buying a backhoe.

When I was first looking at the hoe I ended up buying I realized right away it was going to be mine, finally after looking at so many... it was in decent shape and I thought it was a fair price..... but of course I missed a few things wrong that I could have used as a bargaining chip, that the hydraulic lines under the seat were all worn down pretty good from rubbing together from swinging the arm left to right, and that the brakes chattered, which now are not a problem being that I've kept changing the hydraulic fluid, so now the brakes still chatter but just a little bit that less than normal....

Good luck and take your time buying a hoe, I'm sure glad I did.... I can't imagine being in the same boat as the people that I've met that were trying to unload a hoe they paid too much for that still have issues wrong that cost an awful lot to fix...

 

[greekpilot]

Hello guys. And yes, a newbie. First post here and looking for a little help/info. I just bought a 1994 655d. It runs excellent, new engine and pump. Everything works great, very powerful machine, As i was going through all the fluids and the like, My bypass light cane on. I changed the hydraulic filter and it is still on? do i have to reset it? did i miss something? any tips would be great. Im in CT.

Thanks,
Alex

 

[Dabney]

Thanks for the reply, Joeeye59. One thing that has been a drawback for me is that I need a 4wd for the work I want to do - that cut the market down to just a very few - and those I found were either entirely worn out or, more often, too new for my budget.
Today I learned about aCase 580SK 4WD taken in trade by Deere dealer located about 50 miles away, so I'm going to check it out tomorrow. It's above what I want to spend but I guess I am going to have to just bite the bullet. I will also be watching the Iron Planet auction in the morning and may bid on one or two of those. One problem with these is the cost of transportation - around $2,000 to my area from Illinois.
No matter what I buy I'm sure I will be back on this web site describing the "problems" I have bought and asking for advice/solutions!!

 

[joeeye59]

Hello guys. And yes, a newbie. First post here and looking for a little help/info. I just bought a 1994 655d. It runs excellent, new engine and pump. Everything works great, very powerful machine, As i was going through all the fluids and the like, My bypass light cane on. I changed the hydraulic filter and it is still on? do i have to reset it? did i miss something? any tips would be great. Im in CT.

Thanks,
Alex

Hi Alex, where are you in Ct? I'm on the boarder of New Haven and Fairfield County line in Ansonia.

So you have your hydraulic filter light is on?

I can suggest a few things that may have happened, or issues you may have. But first I want to ask a few questions and explain why I ask.

Is the light on full time? Such as when first starting all the way thru when its hot and has been running for a long while? Is it off at low idle then comes on when it idles higher?

When you test drove the machine and got it home, on the first few days was the hyd light on or off at that time?

Also, did you change the hyd fluid and thats when you noticed the light on?

First there is always the chance the sensor went bad, or something is keeping it triggered, thats a guess because I don't know how its built, but to just keep going to give you some more ideas to play with on what to look for, lets say the sensor is good.

A few things that may have happened is if you changed the hyd fluid it might be some type of after market fluid not compatible with your sensor or machine, or just flat out the wrong fluid. I'm finding out he hard way after spending a lot on hyd fluid I ended up putting the factory fluid in my JD 310c, because all the other after market fluid was all problems...

Also, I know from also being here in CT we had some very cold temps and as a matter of fact my hyd light also came on the other day when first starting, so I kept the idle low for a while until the light would go off, that was only once when it was very cold outside... because I believe it was too cold and the hyd fluid was not flowing fast enough to shut down the hyd light....

Also, keep in mind I had run my backhoe for over three hours on that very cold day and my cylinders were still very cold to the touch, so the hyd fluid really didn't warm up at all, so it just might be something like your machine is in a cold place, always in the shade perhaps.... is the light on when you have warmed up the machine and the cylinders are warm to the touch?

 

[joeeye59]

Thanks for the reply, Joeeye59. One thing that has been a drawback for me is that I need a 4wd for the work I want to do - that cut the market down to just a very few - and those I found were either entirely worn out or, more often, too new for my budget.
Today I learned about aCase 580SK 4WD taken in trade by Deere dealer located about 50 miles away, so I'm going to check it out tomorrow. It's above what I want to spend but I guess I am going to have to just bite the bullet. I will also be watching the Iron Planet auction in the morning and may bid on one or two of those. One problem with these is the cost of transportation - around $2,000 to my area from Illinois.
No matter what I buy I'm sure I will be back on this web site describing the "problems" I have bought and asking for advice/solutions!!

Yeah Dabney, this forum has a lot of great people that help so much...

Hopefully the 580 will work out for you...

The guy I finally found I'll most likely stick with him now if I need to buy something else... had a few 4x4's that were there in his yard when I was there, they go fast, they were a JD 310 & 410....

I'll ask him to find you a good unit if you want to, just give me the word when to call him if you can't find what your looking for. hey you never know if he'd deliver you a good machine out there for a decent price once you looked it over... you can do something like fly out and ride back with your rig

I'm sure he'd go out and get what you would want even if you didn't buy it.... this guy is so huge he exports a lot as well. I seen guys from Africa & Israel buying some nice rigs from him...

 

[greekpilot]

Thanks for the speedy reply, i am in Norwalk. First, yes, the light is on all the time but, it will go out for a second if i operate a high demand load ie.. crowd in and when it comes to a stop, it shuts off for a second.
when i drove it home, it came on half way home (about half mile)

did not change the hydraulic fluid and did get OEM fluid New Holland/Ford 134.

i did order a new sensor... it was 30 dollars so why not..
i never got it hot, is that something that would extinguish it?
i am just trying to be careful not to damage anything.
and really appriciate the help! thanks

 

[joeeye59]

Thanks for the speedy reply, i am in Norwalk. First, yes, the light is on all the time but, it will go out for a second if i operate a high demand load ie.. crowd in and when it comes to a stop, it shuts off for a second.
when i drove it home, it came on half way home (about half mile)

did not change the hydraulic fluid and did get OEM fluid New Holland/Ford 134.

i did order a new sensor... it was 30 dollars so why not..
i never got it hot, is that something that would extinguish it?
i am just trying to be careful not to damage anything.
and really appriciate the help! thanks

I'm not all that familiar with your machine, perhaps start another thread if you can't find the problem, so at least someone else can jump in and run a few diagnosis scenarios by you..

Hopefully its the sensor...

I know with my hoe if it is very cold like in the teens and single digits yes the hyd filter light does come on, but when I slowly work the hydraulics for a few minutes it goes off.... so I don't know what the normal cold operation would be for your machine....

I know what you mean about wanting to stay on top of things like the light, i'm the same way.... what I would do is get a manual of the hydraulic lines schematics (one of the guys on the forum may have a book for you) so you can see where all the hydraulic lines run and how it all works, then look where the sensor is located and see if you can spot another part of the hydraulic system that can be holding back fluid giving off a signal to the sensor like the fluid is not flowing... also, keep in mind when the machine was rebuilt and had the extensive work done on it perhaps some part of the hyd system was bent, or knocked out of adjustment making the sensor come on.. Ask if the light was on before if you can before all the work was done, thats a good sign that something was not adjusted right or what have you... but again like I was saying that I don't know anything about your specific hyd system, but the principals should be similar.... let me know how you make out...