I need a skid steer.

Hi i have a very low budget and need a skid steer. I have about $3500 to work with and i need to do snow and general landscaping and some concrete work. I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions or ideas (or machines for sale). Thank you.

Rent one...

With your budget, you're going to put 3500 into buying you a heap of trouble. Having bought the heap of trouble for the total amount of money you had to work with (because 3500 won't get you much at all), you then face the prospect of buying hundred, if not thousands of dollars in parts and trying to do the repairs yourself...

If you're serious about buying one for 3500, you'd be well advised to get a friend familiar with skid steers (mechanically and help you look over the prospects. I'd go strictly with a hydro machine because they're actually more simple and more reliable along with being more efficient to work with.
NewHolland is my preference, but with your price range you'd want to look at anything. NH and Deere tend to be expensive. Bobcat, Gehl, Thomas and probably a few more are fairly popular in many areas.
Cat hasn't been around long enough to get into your price range.
If you're patient and don't buy the first cheapie that comes along you might find one decent for that kind of money or a bit more... but seriously, I'd think the 12-15 grand would be needed to get a good midsize hydrostatic skid steer in decent shape.

Rod

Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate it.

Rent one as needed.

I bought a 1973 Bobcat 3 years ago. Thought i would spend a few hundred and get it running. Over a $1000 just in the engine and machine work and i put it back togather. Once i got it started i found the rest of the problems. Long story short 8 months and 7K later i have a new 1973 bobcat. Funny part was the local bobcat dealer had all of the parts i needed available but i paid 2005 prices. Wait and get a newer machine

I am sorry about your bad experience and i thank you for your advice. Just out of curiosity what model was the machine and what was you initial purchase price. Thank you

It is a 610 with the wisconsin VH4D 30hp air cooled engine. I paid $625 for it at an auction, old precast conrete plant had went out of business. After the $1000 put into the engine i felt like i had to finish it. I had fun rebulding it though.

I don't mean to sound harsh in what I said either, if you or someone else took it that way... but I've been down that road with old gear.
When I was looking for used skid steers there was a lot of stuff around in the 8-12 K range and most of it beat to a snot. It's a great way to start on drive chains, reduction cases, loader welds, pins and bushings... and heaven forbid, and engine or hydro.
We ended up financing a new machine at the time because we couldn't find anything close to new in decent shape for the money they were asking. The 'program' that NH had at the time made it hard to say no. For a small amount more money at the time we got new with 3 years warranty, financed for nothing...
I can understand that you may not have the need for new, or not want the expense. That said, renting can let you try a bunch of different models or options out, and you may soon realize that you have a lot of work for a skid steer. I know we do more with it that I ever imagined when we bought it.

Rod

I shopped for over a year before I got mine. A friend has "accidentally" sold his farm and was liquidating everything cheap. Got a decent 1845C Case with 3000 hours for 6500. But, thats still double what you are wanting to spend.

Im with the crowd recommending rent one. Thats what I did in the interim until I found one I wanted that I could afford. Even a burnout will run 1000 or more if its repairable. I"ve been picking up a few from insurance salvage this past year, mostly for parts.

I bought a 610 bobcat for $500 when I bought my farm cheaper than buying a Loader for the tractor and could not afford any thing at that point guy told me it would not run I figured if nothing else I would scrap and get my money back I put points plugs rotor and a distributor cap on it and had it running in about 20 minutes have used it 3 years and put some repairs into it not over another $500 it does have a oil leak but I just add to it for what I use it for I use it daily but can no afford something nicer and am looking for either a 90XT case or 863 Bobcat just watch it there are deals but you can get in over your head too

If a machine is really cheap, there is always a reason why. A skid steer can be a money pit like a crawler. Not usually as bad but there are a lot of things that can go wrong and they need proper maintenance as well. I had to put a new wheel motor in my skid steer because it was leaking oil into the chain case. When the motor was taken apart, they said it would be cheaper to replace than to repair. I was hoping it just needed new seals. $2600 later and it's fixed. I should mention that I bought my machine new in 1994 and it only has 3500 hours on it. I have done regular maintenance and replaced the hydraulic filter every oil change for the first 1500 hours and about every second or third oil change after that. Some machines, the hyd. filter never gets changed. I'm just trying to point out that even a newer well cared for machine can break down for no apparent reason. I also had to have new pins and bushings put in for the bucket linkage at 2800 hours. This is common as they work more in the dirt. I've seen machines that have never seen grease wear out the pins and bushings in less than 500 hours. In my honest opinion, I don't think you'd find a good reliable skid steer for $3500. The last thing you need is for it to break down in the middle of clearing snow right after a blizzard. I have a 1965 MF 135 tractor with a loader and it is the most reliable and trouble free machine I have. It's had to have stuff fixed in the past but being a simpler machine than a skid steer, there's less to go wrong. You would have a better chance of getting a decent tractor with a 3pt. hitch/loader for $3500 than a skid steer. Hope this helps. Dave

I have one that you can buy for 3500 put another 3000 into it and have a machine that worth about 3500. I think I might part it out. Bobcat 520...

Wait save and buy newer.