What to Look for When Buying Used Heavy Equipment.

If you're in the market for a used excavator, backhoe, compact track loader, or any other piece of heavy equipment, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. We see machines come through our lot every week, and the difference between a smart buy and an expensive headache usually comes down to a few key things.

Check the Hours — But Don't Stop There
Operating hours are the first thing most buyers look at, and they should be. But hours alone don't tell the whole story. A 5,000-hour machine that was greased on schedule and had regular fluid changes can easily outlast a 2,000-hour machine that was run hard and neglected.

Look at the Fluids
Pop the engine bay and check the hydraulic fluid, engine oil, coolant, and transmission fluid. Clean fluid at the right level is a good sign. Dirty, low, or contaminated fluid — especially water in the engine oil or foam in the coolant — could point to bigger problems like a blown head gasket. If the seller can't produce an oil sample, that's a red flag.

Walk Around the Machine
Start with the undercarriage. Look for excessive wear on tracks, rollers, and sprockets. Check all the cylinders — the piston rods shouldn't have gouges or nicks. Inspect body panels and the counterweight for dents, cracks, or fresh paint that might be hiding damage. If someone's been swinging into trees and walls, they probably weren't keeping up with maintenance either.

Grease Is the Best Indicator
This is something a lot of buyers overlook. Loose pins and bushings on a relatively new machine is one of the clearest signs of neglect. If the previous owner wasn't greasing it regularly, they probably weren't doing much else either.

Start It Up and Listen
A healthy machine should start clean without a lot of smoke. Blue smoke can mean an oil leak, black smoke points to a filtration issue, and white smoke means coolant or water is getting into the oil. Run it through all the controls — listen for grinding, chattering, or anything that sounds off.

Buy From Someone You Trust
This is probably the most important one. When you buy from a random auction listing or an anonymous online seller, you're rolling the dice. A reputable dealer inspects machines before they hit the lot and stands behind what they sell

At Equipment Place, every used machine we list is hand-picked and inspected before it goes up. We carry trusted brands like Cat, John Deere, Bobcat, and Case — and we're upfront about the condition of everything on our lot. We also offer nationwide delivery on used equipment, so you don't have to be local to buy from us.