How to find mechanic for pre-purchase inspection?

[flusher]

20 year old machines? Pay a mechanic from a dealer to go with you when you inspect the machine and give you his opinion.

I never bought construction equipment like you're considering. But I have bought a half dozen 40-60 year old tractors. So I know what to look for.

If the machine is not running, walk away. The problem could be minor or you could be looking at a money pit.
Concentrate on the engine block, clutch, transmission, drive train and the tracks. The bolt-on stuff is not that important at this point. But a cracked block or something wrong in the drive system probably will be a major repair expense.

Drive before you buy.

Good luck.

 

[GManBart]

20 year old machines? Pay a mechanic from a dealer to go with you when you inspect the machine and give you his opinion.

I never bought construction equipment like you're considering. But I have bought a half dozen 40-60 year old tractors. So I know what to look for.

If the machine is not running, walk away. The problem could be minor or you could be looking at a money pit.
Concentrate on the engine block, clutch, transmission, drive train and the tracks. The bolt-on stuff is not that important at this point. But a cracked block or something wrong in the drive system probably will be a major repair expense.

Drive before you buy.

Good luck.

If the machine is local, I would definitely be bringing a mechanic with me, but that's not the scenario I'm concerned with.

If I'm interested in a machine that's 300 miles away, I'm not likely to get a local mechanic to drive with me to look at it and it's an awful lot of travel time that might be a waste if the machine has obvious problems. If there was a way to get an independent inspection, it could save a lot of time, but the problem is finding that person.

 

[Catchad81]

If the machine is local, I would definitely be bringing a mechanic with me, but that's not the scenario I'm concerned with. If I'm interested in a machine that's 300 miles away, I'm not likely to get a local mechanic to drive with me to look at it and it's an awful lot of travel time that might be a waste if the machine has obvious problems. If there was a way to get an independent inspection, it could save a lot of time, but the problem is finding that person.

There are consulting companies that offer inspections as well. I remember googling and talking to one or two in the past. I would guess You're going to spend 400-500 per inspection so this can become an inefficient means if you go through a couple of machines.

 

[Catchad81]

There are consulting companies that offer inspections as well. I remember googling and talking to one or two in the past. I would guess You're going to spend 400-500 per inspection so this can become an inefficient means if you go through a couple of machines.

 

[PILOON]

There is a journal called 'Rock & Dirt' that lists only heavy equipment (also have web site).
It is the industry standard.
Lots of leads, deals parts and I'll bet inspection services as well.

Another possibility is using yellow pages locate a dealer and negotiate an 'inspection price'

 

[Coyote machine]

To save possibly big repair expense from hidden/unknown issues with a far away machine you have to do due diligence. That means spending what it takes, your time or a mechanic's opinion on each machine. If you look at it as an investment in saving on future expenses you can get it done. Narrow it down to machines within a reasonable driving distance, and in as close to the condition you're looking to spend $ on, and you should be able to find something decent.
Otherwise narrow the search to closer to home and expect to buy something less worn for more money. You can't have it both ways. Spend now, or spend later. Time and money spent equate to the same thing in the end.

 

[Garandman]

Yeah, there's no easy solution, it seems. My thought was that if I could find someone to do an independent inspection, I could decide whether it was worth the time/money to make the trip myself....maybe not realistic.

Interesting. When buying boats you can hire independent "Marine Surveyors" all over the country, most of whom are certified. Never heard of such a thing for mechanics.

 

[GManBart]

Just found these...not sure why I didn't find them in prior searches....sort of sounds like what I'm looking for:

https://wegolook.com/services/heavy-equipment-inspections

Heavy Equipment Inspection

http://honestinspections.com

 

[jenkinsph]

It has been a long time since I had a 450 dozer, sold mine about 1979. Never had much problems with the tracks and undercarriage but other things still come up on a regular basis. Today I would be hesitant to try to keep up with the repairs on an old dozer. Seems all of it is hard to get to, expensive parts, laborious to fix. All the time and money spent on repairs doesn't increase the value of the machine much in the end.

If I wanted another dozer I think I would want to rent it for a month first before making the purchase. That would give me a much better idea of condition of the machine and any problems found could be negotiated in the sale price.

 

[GManBart]

It has been a long time since I had a 450 dozer, sold mine about 1979. Never had much problems with the tracks and undercarriage but other things still come up on a regular basis. Today I would be hesitant to try to keep up with the repairs on an old dozer. Seems all of it is hard to get to, expensive parts, laborious to fix. All the time and money spent on repairs doesn't increase the value of the machine much in the end.

If I wanted another dozer I think I would want to rent it for a month first before making the purchase. That would give me a much better idea of condition of the machine and any problems found could be negotiated in the sale price.

I like the idea of renting before buying, but from what I've seen so far, nobody is renting anything in the price range I can justify at this point. The other thing is that a month starts at about $4K for a small dozer here. My thoughts are that I can buy something, get all my projects done in 3-6 months, and then sell it without losing too much on the deal.

The problem is the projects all require multiple steps, so I can't just rent a dozer for a month and get everything done since I really only have weekends and the occasional day during the week to work on this stuff.