I am looking at buying a midi size excavator and I have a very limited budget. I have run CAT,Kubota, and Takeuchi, of this size but never a John Deere. The machine I am looking at doesn't have a backfill blade which is unusual for this size machine. I am concerned that a machine of this size (16,000 lb) needs a blade for stability. The machine has 6000 hrs on it but it is very clean and in good shape. The seller is the original owner. The lack of blade and lack of hydraulic thumb has me thinking I should keep looking but the machine seems so well taken care of that I am afraid I might not find one in this good of shape in my price point again. Thoughts?
I've never seen a Deere that size without a blade, a Hitachi of that size I've seen with no blade but always figured it was a "grey market" machine. You could get by without one but I imagine she'll be a bit of a rocking horse if the tracks aren't supported equally...I personally would rather have a blade than not, that doesn't mean it won't work for you though, if the machine is in good shape and fills the need you have it may be just right for ya...out of curiosity, what are they looking to get for it?