Anyone Familiar with this thing?

[1BadHawk]

Im a small business 2 man operation, looking to expand both in snow business, and possibly landscaping/lawcare. I ran across this thing http://twobrothers.fotopic.net/p11491528.html the other day near a shopping center I plow. The owner is a friend of the shopping center owner, who Im on good terms with. The owner of this thing is asking 5k OBO. I think I can get it for 4k or maybe 3500. I dont know anything about these contraptions, but figure it may come in handy when the time comes. I have a trailer to haul it with already, and was wondering if this might be worth looking into. I figure I could always rent it out when Im not personaly using it.

What do you al think and can anyone tell me a little about this thing?


BTW: The owner of it does major landscaping for atleast one home builder company, so Im sure this is one of many earth moving objects he has. My guess is its one of his older ones, that he was going to use to try and clear the shopping centers lot with, until he realised that he needs something in addition to this. You see, the owner of the shopping center also builds homes and the owner of this contraption does his landscaping, and he thaught he would try his hand at snow plowing the shopping center for his buddy. Turns out its not something neither of them are intersted in doing. Thats how I got the gig.

[CT18fireman]

Its called a skidsteer, looks OK for a used model. Get some more information, year, engine hp, hours any repairs.

[digger242j]

What do you al think and can anyone tell me a little about this thing?


See where it says Toyota on the side? It's actually a highly modified Corolla... :)

(Actually, I've only ever seen one Toyota skidsteer in the real world. It's used at a supply yard I sometimes go to. The fact that they are not as common as many of the other brands *might* mean there's a reason for that, although I can't truthfully say I know what it might be...)

[BWhite]

I have never seen a toyota SS . Make sure parts are available

[AL Inc]

I don't think Toyota is making skids anymore. So parts availability may be a problem. I have have a friend who owns the same machine, I know he is happy with it, and there is a dealer near here that still stocks parts. If the machine was maintained well, it may still be a good deal. Good luck

[tlc]

Good Luck with parts! I would go with a more proven brand!

[CT18fireman]

Toyota skid steers and forklifts are very popular overseas. Like any Toyota product it will last forever but they also carry a heavier price tag when new. Toyota never really built a dealer network for equipment here. From what I have been told their were a few equipment dealers who would get them or they could be ordered from Toyota and delievered to a Toyota car dealer, the dealer would not service them though. According to a friend who works for Toyota the dealer can order parts but does not have manuals on them.

Still to give a price you would need to think about condition, hp, hours etc.

[Pelican]

I'd stay away from it if you're planning to earn a living with it. You might get away with it for personal use, but I'll bet parts availability will be a nightmare!

I had a European built John Deere TLB for a while and every time I neede a part, it was a 2 week waiting period. In the business world, you can't afford to have a machine down that long.

[timm9]

There are three of them for sale on Machinerytrader.com. You might get a little more info there.