Match the serial number on the frame plate to the listing and the invoice — every time, no exceptions. Check the plate isn't re-riveted or re-stamped. Ask for ownership documentation and confirm there are no liens against the machine. If the serial story doesn't line up, nothing else on this list matters.
Cold-start the machine yourself. Watch the exhaust: blue smoke means oil burning, white that persists can mean head or injector trouble, black under no load means fueling issues. Listen for knocks at idle and under throttle. Pull the dipstick and look for milky oil (coolant intrusion); check the coolant for oil sheen. On a serious purchase, pay for fluid sampling — an oil analysis reads the engine's history better than any seller can tell it.
Work every circuit to full extension under load: boom, stick, bucket, blade lift and tilt, steering. Look for cylinder drift (a loaded boom that sinks on its own), scored or pitted chrome on the rods, and weeping around hose fittings and the pump. Slow, jerky, or noisy hydraulics on a warm machine mean pump or valve wear that gets expensive fast.
On dozers and excavators, the undercarriage can be a third of the machine's value. Measure or estimate remaining life on track links, pads, rollers, idlers, and sprockets — sprocket teeth that look like shark fins are done. Uneven wear side to side hints at alignment or frame issues. Budget the undercarriage percentage directly into your offer price.
Walk the frame and boom with a flashlight: look for cracked or freshly painted welds (fresh paint on one weld is a question that needs answering), dents in cylinder rods, and play in pins and bushings — a pry bar tells the truth. In the cab, check that gauges, alerts, and the hour meter work, then sanity-check the meter against seat, pedal, and control wear. A "3,000 hour" machine with a floor worn through is telling you about a meter swap.
Drive it. Full forward and reverse in each speed range, a full turn in both directions, blade or bucket through a complete work cycle under load. Listen to the final drives and swing motor. A machine that works smoothly warm, tracks straight, and holds a load where you leave it has passed the test that matters most.
You can't always kick the tracks yourself. Hire an independent inspector (a few hundred dollars, available in every major US market), or ask us for a live video walkaround — cold start, every circuit, undercarriage close-ups, serial plate on camera. We do them on request for any machine in our stock.
Treat the meter as a claim, not a fact. Wear tells the real story — when wear and meter disagree, believe the wear and price accordingly.
A film of oil on an old machine is life; active drips from cylinders, final drives, or the pump are repair items. Note every leak, get it in photos, and reflect it in the price.
Serial plate problems, coolant in oil, structural cracks in main frames or booms, and any seller who resists inspection. Machines are replaceable; wired money isn't.
And we'll gladly video-walk any machine on our lot with you, live, before you commit. That's how buying from another continent should work.
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