Hey everyone. I’ve been looking for a long time now trying to find a cat track loader to clean up 30 acres that I own. I do not know anything about heavy machinery, but I’ve always wanted to own a track loader and an excavator. I found a 1995 Cat 953 for $22k with some problems. I wanted to see if y’all could help with a ballpark estimate on my repair costs. The machine has about 13k hours. The seller says it runs great and doesn’t leak oil or coolant. He says there was a recall on the radiator because it was too small for the machine. He said it will run hot in the summer if ran too long. He also said the diverter valve is stuck and the rippers are chained up so they don’t fall and the 4 in 1 bucket is stuck stationary because of this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If it needed simple repairs the seller would have fixed them. He's probably selling it because it will cost too much to fix. If the transmission needs any work it's big $$$$$ to fix. Lots of things to inspect on a track loader, especially a hydrostatic one. What shape is the undercarriage? Heavy equipment isn't called a money pit for nothing. Have you considered hiring the work out or maybe renting a machine?
Asking Market price for a machine in need of work is typical of a Non Maintainer trying to dump a machine.
Thank y’all for getting back to me. He said the undercarriage is in good shape, but it sounds like I should pass on this one. I have thought about renting and got some quotes on hiring it out. I’ve always wanted to own a 953 though. I’ll keep looking.