Hi guys, new to this forum. While I have run numerous equipment for my job, I cannot afford such luxuries at home. I am looking for a "cheap" reliable skid steer to start on that I can later sell and upgrade. Most are just outside my savings. Today I found a 1980 gasser clark bobcat 732 with 1800 hrs and 100 hrs on a rebuilt engine and new wiring. It is only $5800 and is in good shape with all new tires. It's close to home and I can haul it easy enough. It's lower in hp than I want but I'll never have the cash flow for what I want, right? I have a ford 4000 with industrial loader and backhoe I use most often now but it's slow. The skid loader would be used for property work such as debris cleanup, snow removal and some woods trails, food plot clearing. I'd like more power and weight for digging/clearing but have the bigger tractor and backhoe I can use too. So this is gas, low hp (30-ish) and chain drive off of hydraulic compressor, has only 100 hrs on rebuild, new tire, it's cheap and small enough to throw on my trailer (7k), I can work on gassers but dont have mechanical experience with diesels. I don't know much nor can I find much on these machines. Is it worth it to buy, use and sell later -Or - should I save for another year for something else? Let me know if you have had any positive or negative experience with these.
I started out years ago with a early 80's Bobcat 630 with a Wisconsin gas engine in it. The old unit did what I needed to be done but did start to have hydro pump issue. After about 1/2 hour of run time it would heat up to the point that its wouldn't move. Not saying that the unit you are looking at would have the same issue but when you look at that old of a machine you never know what existing issues you may inherit from the last guy...
For the price quoted vs. whats been done to it...seems like a decent deal to me. if all the hydro functions work properly, id say yes. You can always get your money back out of it resale wise. First thing id ck is the oil cooler and radiator, via the inspection access panels right above the engine inside the engine compartment. **** really piles up in there and clogs the whole works up.
Sounds like a decent deal to me, especially if everything works good. Push it in a pile and make sure wheels turn over, and lift something heavy and make sure it will lift it or at least try to tip machine. Raise the cab and check for any major leaks or excessive slop in steering. If you keep it in good condition or even put a little work into it, you will definitely get your money out of it or even more when you get ready to sell it.
I had one of those since about 1999, now my son has it. Ours has been bullet-proof, it has over 8000 hours on it now. It is small and slow, but has done a tremendous amount of work for us. It has a short wheel base so it is very tippy when you lift things up a bit higher, such as big round bales. We have had it standing on its nose countless times. My son grew up using that machine and I told him if I ever caught him running it with out a seatbelt I'd clobber him. When I used it for fire wood in the bush it would work most of the day with the rear wheels in the air, but never any serious issues. It has a 4 cylinder Ford industrial gas motor in it with an up-draught carberator, the previous owner said to never run it out of gas because it was hard to get going again and starters are $$$$$$ (I think its a Lucas starter), so I never did run it out. The park brake never worked on mine, nor the pump disconnect pedal. It is a very bare bones machine, weighs only 4500 lbs, so easy to move. If it has been half decently cared for, 1800 hrs is nothing, other than it limitations, I have nothing bad to say about that machine
It might be a good deal but a 1980 with only 1800 hours puts up a big red flag for me especially if the engine needed rebuilding with that few of hours. Don't trust the hour meter, that works out to only 39 hours/year. What shape is the bucket in and are the pins and bushings tight? Should be like new if it worked in dirt. The engine is a Ford 4-98 that should go for thousands of hours. Might want to look into parts availability for the engine. Run it, get it warm and make sure the hyd. oil stays full and the chain cases aren't overfull. That would indicate a leaking wheel motor that would be an expensive repair.