So after a trip to a local dealer today to look at a municipal one owner Champion blade I was left pondering which is the lesser of 2 evils. Machine 1- 1996 720 champion series 4 with 11k hours, county owned, well maintained, fair rubber, no leaks, only real issue is the front end getting loose and the tires at about 30% . Seemed to be a pretty solid blade, just had some hours on it. Machine 2- 1995 Champion 720 series 4 w/ 4100 hours on it. One owner city machine. Rubber looked new, relatively tight machine, sounds like the Holy Grail of used machines over the phone. Went and looked at it and the first thing I noticed is none of the fluids or filters have been changed since 2009-2011. Engine oil was dirty and the motor had several "seaps" that were producing enough oil to leave a slick on the differential. Also the paddle shifter was finicky and at times didn't want to shift up like it should of in the forward ranges. Didn't appear to be any electrical fault codes so it was probably in the shifter. Its hard for me to get excited about either machine for the money (30-35k) For all intents and purposes I've got more confidence in the low hour machine but no maintenance records are available. If the 4k hour machine had been in the same physical condition as the 11k hour machine I'd probably have written a check today, but the lack of maintenance and the laziness of the dealership (its been on the lot for a month) irritated me enough to loose interest. In your opinions what is the lesser of the 2 evils? High hours and good maintenance or Low hours, sitting around, and possible poor maintenance?
I'd take high hours and good maintenance any day. Lack of maintenance can imply many other issues regardless of the hours. Sounds like maybe that machine might've sat alot. But in my experience the machines that run slot and are maintained well, typically have far fewer issues.
How do you know the 4100 hours is original or if the hour meter has been changed, broken or disconnected for some time? An hour meter is about the last thing to trust to judge the condition of a machine.
So would I, in a heartbeat.
Maybe you could talk with the previous owners, mechanics operators and so on. I would expect that maintenance records would exist, but the dealer may not have them. I would also think that you can make the dealer correct some of the problems before you take possession.
That was my first reaction when a guy told me about the machine, I've seen tons of these machines that had been repowered (at which point they usually put a new hour meter in) that people and dealers try to pass off as original hours. I've looked at enough of them to be fairly confident that those were original hours on this one. Its a one owner municipal (city) trade in ad was likely used for snow removal more than anything,its not in the worst condition but its in need of some service maint. and TLC
Its possible. The obvious lack of maintenance and the laziness of the dealership really turned me off from wanting to pursue anything further . I spoke with the salesman afterwards and asked him "does anyone look at these machines or did you guys just drive it off the lowboy and stick it in the line up?" The response I got was "It hasn't been through the shop, we're selling it as is, and the price is firm" Which is everything I've come to expect from most dealerships when they're talking to a guy who doesn't buy new iron from them on a regular basis. While I'm still pondering the machine a little, I refuse to give them full asking price then have to pay to haul it home and stick a couple grand into servicing it so I don't see this going any further, but who knows, they may actually want to sell it in the near future.
High hours and good maintenance will be good
look for another machine? If it had to be between the 2, then it's a no brainer, go for the one that has been taken care of. When I look at a used machine, I also look at the owner/operator.