Hi Everyone.
I'm about to pull the trigger on a 4x4 Deere 310 backhoe. I've never owned one of these before, so I'm starting at square 1.
I had Deere corporate give me the selling dealer, and the selling dealer gave me the last owner, which was another Deere authorized dealer. I got the service history (it was maintained by that dealer), and "a story" on why the unit is up for sale. The hoe was leased by the dealer to one corporate user for gas and electrical trenching, and was not rented to a ton of people. The dealer did all the scheduled maintenance since they owned the machine.
I hired the local Deere dealer near the new sales outlet to do a top to bottom inspection on the unit as I'm not nearby to view it in person. Both Deere and the original seller told me it was probably a waste of time as the hoe has low hours and not many years of service, but $200 to insure that I'm not buying a mistake seemed to be cheap money on such an expensive purchase.
Also got some leads on a trucking company to get it from the dealer to my location. Was advised to ask for proof of insurance from the trucker, a signed transport contract, and ask for references. Also advised to only pay the trucker when the backhoe arrives, and has not been damaged. Also was advised to get my own insurance before the hoe is loaded onboard, just in case.
Since used equipment is in short supply, the seller would not negotiate the price. Is it fair to ask for a fluid service, before I buy - engine oil, hydraulic fluid, filters, coolant, differentials, as part of the asking price?
Any other advice or things I should be concerned about? If the seller refuses to do the fluid maintenance, should I just do all of it just to be safe? Drain off some diesel to insure there's no water in the tank? Obviously check fluid levels before starting to take it off the truck all come to mind.
Thanks
I'm about to pull the trigger on a 4x4 Deere 310 backhoe. I've never owned one of these before, so I'm starting at square 1.
I had Deere corporate give me the selling dealer, and the selling dealer gave me the last owner, which was another Deere authorized dealer. I got the service history (it was maintained by that dealer), and "a story" on why the unit is up for sale. The hoe was leased by the dealer to one corporate user for gas and electrical trenching, and was not rented to a ton of people. The dealer did all the scheduled maintenance since they owned the machine.
I hired the local Deere dealer near the new sales outlet to do a top to bottom inspection on the unit as I'm not nearby to view it in person. Both Deere and the original seller told me it was probably a waste of time as the hoe has low hours and not many years of service, but $200 to insure that I'm not buying a mistake seemed to be cheap money on such an expensive purchase.
Also got some leads on a trucking company to get it from the dealer to my location. Was advised to ask for proof of insurance from the trucker, a signed transport contract, and ask for references. Also advised to only pay the trucker when the backhoe arrives, and has not been damaged. Also was advised to get my own insurance before the hoe is loaded onboard, just in case.
Since used equipment is in short supply, the seller would not negotiate the price. Is it fair to ask for a fluid service, before I buy - engine oil, hydraulic fluid, filters, coolant, differentials, as part of the asking price?
Any other advice or things I should be concerned about? If the seller refuses to do the fluid maintenance, should I just do all of it just to be safe? Drain off some diesel to insure there's no water in the tank? Obviously check fluid levels before starting to take it off the truck all come to mind.
Thanks
