Hello, I am fairly new to heavy machinery and am considering purchasing a deere 700h. I was hoping to get some knowledgeable advice on what to look for on such a machine. The machine has 13000 total hours with a brand new undercarriage and around 1000 hours on a rebuilt motor. I'm wondering if the pumps and drive motors in those things are going to be due for a rebuild soon, or if there are other big ticket items to watch out for when I go look at it. I know maintenance and prior use play a big role in the equation, but if there are certain failure points specific to this model, I'd appreciate hearing about them or really any other info you'd care to share on the topic. Thank you.
The best thing would be to ask the owner for all maintenance and repair records. Might check with the local dealer with the machine serial number for records too. With no records on service repairs, or pm at 13k hours…..ide pass
Always be weary of stuff that has a bunch of new parts and fresh engine or tranny rebuild and then it’s up for sale with low hours, after rebuild. It usually indicates that the rebuild showed some other problems or concerns and didn’t work out quite right. When I do a rebuild and refresh, it’s for me and to be used for a while, to get my money out of it. Now if it has a thousand hours after rebuild, then they used it for a bit and maybe time for an upgrade.
Oil samples and maybe some pressure checks to see if everything is in spec. would help give a better idea of condition. If the seller is confident it's a good machine they could pay or co-pay for the inspection with the sale being conditional on the inspection report.
Depends on use, my 700j with less than 7k hours has a pretty long list growing of items that need replaced. I’m definitely not impressed with the longevity of John Deere, at 13k hours I’d say it’s toast.