Hey guys, I have been searching and searching for a good used machine and I am finding it is hard to find anything I'm looking for. I need a fairly large machine with an operating load around 3,000 lbs. I see a lot of smaller machines, but the larger skid steers seem harder to find used. Anyway, I have found different used machines on dealer lots and had a question about buying a used machine from the dealer. How much room do most dealers have in their pricing? If a dealer has a price of 19,500 on a machine what would you offer? I know every dealer is different, but I have never bought a used skid steer from a dealer before. I found a couple Bobcat S330's for sale. They seem to have everything and a little more than what I would need lift capacity wise. Anyone run these? Any known issues or problems with them? I did a couple searches on the bobcat s330 on the forum, but nothing much came up about them. Thanks for any info or help!
The 3000 plus ROC machines are expensive to buy new, they don't sell as many of these machines and so there are fewer on the used market. I don't know any thing specific on the 330. The biggest issues with the BC machines that I am aware of is the EH controls on the machines that are so equipped. Much like most other OEMs with EH controls. Just a rough estimate, I think you can usually say that the dealer has about 4-5K on top of a machine over what they gave for it. However, they likely fixed a few things, detailed it, serviced it and so forth. I think you can probably get a couple K off of the asking price, maybe more depending on how bad they want to make it be gone.
I don't know of specific issue with the S330, but that generation of machines seems to fair pretty well and is very popular. I am not a Bobcat expert so there may be some known issues known by those who deal with them daily. Do you need an ROC of 3,000lbs or is there a specific task you are trying to accomplish? SAEJ818 defines ROC of loaders. It is supposed to be no more than 50% of the tipping load on smooth ground at 6 kmh. The tipping load is the amount of weight at the center of an SAE bucket that literally tips the machine at any point in its lift cycle. Where the center is on the "SAE rated bucket" I cannot find, but I would say 16-24" from the loader pins would be a decent guesstimate. The ISO standard is the same but at 15 kmh. The main reason I ask is in case you have a few things that weigh 3,000lbs that you just need to move around, you can get away with a much smaller machine. I am not saying you should always run a machine past its ROC but every situation is different. As for dealer pricing, depends on the dealer they are all different. Look around at other prices and see where the dealers price lines up, then off a few grand less and see what they say. Some will move, some will never move, others may move when they need the machine to move. Lately it seems like pricing on any equipment is becoming more cut and dry with no haggling anymore, maybe a free t-shirt or something but thats it. Some still list their prices high though so it looks like they give you a good deal when they knock a couple thousand off. All dealers have room in their pricing, it's just a matter of if they need the sale or not.
all depends on how the machine is equipped, std foot controls, ACS, joystick? the more electronics that are on a machine, the more problems they have, electrically speaking that is. with joystick and acs systems you are pretty much dependent on the dealer for some things, like software upgrades and calibrations. i'd be asking about where the machine was originally sold, if it had been serviced by the dealer, an ask for a printout of stored fault codes. :drinkup
Dealer investment in a used machine can vary an enormous amount. Trying to put an exact number to it can not be done. With an S330 you have the advantage because most buyers will not want a machine that size. Due to that the dealer will have the machine priced close to market value. I have no idea what your intended use is for the machine but a larger articulated loader might be an option over the skid in the 3500lb class. I know of no problems with that machine but to be honest I have only ever seen a few.
Ok guys, Thanks for all the info! These things are near impossible to find and when I do find them and call they have already been sold! I searched a 500 mile radius and came up with a handful - the ones I was interested in were sold... I finally called a local dealer again and said he had a 330 on another lot... oops, it's on contract. Hung up the phone a little discouraged. 15 minutes later the local dealer called me back and said he had a 2011 Bobcat S750 - foot controls, open cab, and with about 1500 hrs. Asking Price - $25K. Seems like a pretty good asking price for this machine? I have not seen it yet, but he is bringing it out to my office on Monday to let me Demo it for a couple days and decide if I like it. I am buying this machine for my business. I unload pallets off semi trucks at least once or twice a week. Pallets are up to 3,000 lbs and the pallets vary in size. Some pallets(maybe 20% of them) are up to 12ft long and will require extended forks. I also plan on setting up mulch bins and using the machine simply to scoop mulch and is the reason why I'm not just buying a forklift and want the skid loader. I searched for info on the forum about the S750 Bobcat and didn't come up with much. Anyone have much experience with these? I know they are relatively new and started in 2011. Thanks again for the help and information!
You might want to look at compact wheel loaders. Sounds like the perfect application for one. I had a Wacker Neuson WL50 on rent for a couple months this Fall. They have skid steer adaptor plats, much better visibility, much more comfortable, and you would have tons more lift capacity. Might be something to look into. If you ran the two (skid steer or compact wheel loader) side by side I think in that application it would be clearly a job better done by the wheel loader.