so it seems like with a skid steer, and not with any other machine, it seems to pay to trade them every 3-4000 hours (3-4 years), rather than run them till they are junk. i think if you did all the calculations, it would be cheaper to trade for new rather than keep the old. this is not the case with tractors, trucks, cars especially, or large construction equipment. a skid steer with 3-4k still brings good money, but with 7-9k they seem to be almost worthless. actually the best scenario would be to trade every 3-4 years on a one year old machine with 100 hours on still with 2 years of warranty (like a municipality machine).
Skid steers are like commodities. They don't cost that much up front considering what they are, they are built light, they are beat up by wheel barrel jockeys, usually get little maintenance, and people try to make them do more than what they were designed for. The engines are usually pulling more horsepower than they were designed for and the hydraulic pumps and motors will cost more to repair than buying another used machine. They are usually badly worn by the time they hit 4,000 hours. They drop re-sale value almost as fast as logging equipment. A lot of the people I have dealt with lease them for two years and turn them back before they get 2,000 hours on the clock.
oh. never thought of leasing one. how many years would it take to pay for the entire machine in a lease? what percentage of the full price would you pay in a 3 year lease? do you have to pay repairs in a lease? does condition effect the end of lease agreement?
The idea with the lease is that you have possession and use but not ownership. There are people here that can tell you about leases. Run a search using lease as your term and I'm sure you will get plenty of answers.