At this point I'm not really sure but it should not be over 3000$...hopefully

I've managed to get some of those thicker plates from the scrapyard (remains from big projects which are disposed from large factories).
That's not actual scrap, it's new metal but some parts were already cut out...sometimes they cut it the wrong way or wrong patterns so they dump it and then I get it at a lower price

Material for the main frame, buckets and boom is brand new and I bought it in store. Pumps, joysticks and bucket teeth were ordered brand new. The only old parts will be the cylinders. 3 from an old JCB, 3 from O&K excavator and one from MF backhoe. I will replace all the seals and O rings so they should work just fine
I wanted to buy all new parts but of course, "time ($$$)" is always an issue