FREE 977H - Can I Afford It?

[Welder Dave]

Must be nice to have some extra some money to throw away.

 

[Coaldust]

Have you considered buying an old giant excavator to go along with your 977?

Homeowners buying old giant excavators?

Wonder what the world will be like when everyone is a construction equipment operator, HVAC repairman, computer repairman, hardwood floor installer, brain surgeon, dentist, landscaper, politician-oops forgot everyone already is that, chef, well driller, college professor, lawyer, pilot...

www.heavyequipmentforums.com

 

[bulletpruf]

Must be nice to have some extra some money to throw away.

I served in the reserves for 12 years and then 26 years of active duty in the Army. I worked my ass off, served on six of the seven continents, got shot at, rocketed, mortared, and jumped out of about 30 perfectly good airplanes. Now that I'm retired from the Army, I still work full-time, so I'm at the point in my life where everything doesn't have to make complete sense financially.

I also don't need a machine that's going to be operating for 40 hours a week; 40 hours a year is more like it.

 

[Welder Dave]

It might be better to look at machines a little newer that don't need such extensive repairs. Finding something that maybe needs leaks fixed or a hyd. pump might be a better option.

 

[thendrix]

I served in the reserves for 12 years and then 26 years of active duty in the Army. I worked my ass off, served on six of the seven continents, got shot at, rocketed, mortared, and jumped out of about 30 perfectly good airplanes. Now that I'm retired from the Army, I still work full-time, so I'm at the point in my life where everything doesn't have to make complete sense financially.

I also don't need a machine that's going to be operating for 40 hours a week; 40 hours a year is more like it.

First off, thank you for your service! Next, it's your money. Spend it how you wish. I don't understand why people have to be so negative when it's not theirs. Just to be able to say "I told you so" I guess. Yes you can get into a pile of cash in a hurry. Seems to me you only have a haul bill and a little time into it. Can you sell it as is, maybe put a little money in your pocket, and find a little better machine?

 

[cfherrman]

If I were you I'd video it driving, list it for sale 2x the lowboy haul cost and look for the same machine with a blown engine or something.

Either you sell it for a profit or you find a parts machine, you don't want to spend 10-20k on that thing.

 

[bulletpruf]

It might be better to look at machines a little newer that don't need such extensive repairs. Finding something that maybe needs leaks fixed or a hyd. pump might be a better option.

Thanks.

 

[bulletpruf]

First off, thank you for your service!

Thanks for your support!

Next, it's your money. Spend it how you wish. I don't understand why people have to be so negative when it's not theirs. Just to be able to say "I told you so" I guess.

That's difficult for me to understand, too, but I'm coming at this from a different angle that a lot of folks. I'm not looking for a machine that will make sense financially or something that is ready to work, day in and day out, for the next 10 years.

Yes you can get into a pile of cash in a hurry. Seems to me you only have a haul bill and a little time into it. Can you sell it as is, maybe put a little money in your pocket, and find a little better machine?

I need to do a bit more of an inspection before I make a decision. Thanks

 

[thendrix]

Is there a reason why you're after such a large machine or is it more from the price, or lack there of, stand point? We came into a similar deal when we were building our chicken houses. Looking for a loader to grade some and stump some. Came across a 977L that was a great buy and has been a great machine but it is quite large for a lot of things. This was a big reason why we got it cheap. Nobody wants to move these things

 

[MarcusZ1967]

@bulletpruf Thanks for your service.

@thendrix There is a IH 250 loader in my area that is "free". Motor starts and runs even in the cold but does not move.......That's a little big even for free....

 

[bulletpruf]

Is there a reason why you're after such a large machine or is it more from the price, or lack there of, stand point? We came into a similar deal when we were building our chicken houses. Looking for a loader to grade some and stump some. Came across a 977L that was a great buy and has been a great machine but it is quite large for a lot of things. This was a big reason why we got it cheap. Nobody wants to move these things

I'm not necessarily after a large machine, it's just what popped up locally. In a perfect world, I'd find a reasonably priced D3 or D4 dozer, but I haven't found one of these anywhere near me.

thanks

 

[bulletpruf]

@bulletpruf Thanks for your service.

Thanks for your support!

@thendrix There is a IH 250 loader in my area that is "free". Motor starts and runs even in the cold but does not move.......That's a little big even for free....

Ouch.

 

[Bootheal]

I am so in agreement with thendrix:
And, double up on thank you for serving.

Brother in law just got bumped from 90% disability to 100% by the VA (agent orange, copd…). He is extatic! I’m so happy for him. He’s been pursuing this for a long time.

I’m retired. Hardly any thing I do contributes to the bank account but I spend (for our household) lots of $$$ on junk or nearly junk and have fun with it. If a project doesn’t pan out, call a scrapper if I can’t haul it in and wait for the next bug to bite. There are lots of bugs.

 

[Welder Dave]

First off, thank you for your service! Next, it's your money. Spend it how you wish. I don't understand why people have to be so negative when it's not theirs. Just to be able to say "I told you so" I guess. Yes you can get into a pile of cash in a hurry. Seems to me you only have a haul bill and a little time into it. Can you sell it as is, maybe put a little money in your pocket, and find a little better machine?

I don't think anybody's trying to be negative. It's more of a cautionary attitude that could save bulletpruf from spending too much on so called cheap machine. If he has some money it might be better to look for machines that aren't in such poor shape or needing such extensive work. Something like a D3 would be a lot less expensive to repair than a D7 or 977. I can't remember who but I recall another member bought a D3B for I think $4000 and put $8-$10,000 into fixing everything but now has a $20K dozer. You might find a similar machine that doesn't require as much work. The same work on a dozer 2 or 3 times bigger is likely to cost 2 or 3 times more to repair. Everything is more expensive the bigger it gets. Also the smaller machines generally can't tear themselves up as bad when abused.

 

[MarcusZ1967]

Have you considered buying an old giant excavator to go along with your 977?

Homeowners buying old giant excavators?

Wonder what the world will be like when everyone is a construction equipment operator, HVAC repairman, computer repairman, hardwood floor installer, brain surgeon, dentist, landscaper, politician-oops forgot everyone already is that, chef, well driller, college professor, lawyer, pilot...

www.heavyequipmentforums.com

Thanks @Coaldust .... there goes more hours of my life.........

 

[Deere500a]

Even 10 grand in repairs not loss scrap yard savings bond 10 years probably be worth what you put into it for a weekend pet it'll be fun.

 

[bulletpruf]

I am so in agreement with thendrix:
And, double up on thank you for serving.

Brother in law just got bumped from 90% disability to 100% by the VA (agent orange, copd…). He is extatic! I’m so happy for him. He’s been pursuing this for a long time.

I’m retired. Hardly any thing I do contributes to the bank account but I spend (for our household) lots of $$$ on junk or nearly junk and have fun with it. If a project doesn’t pan out, call a scrapper if I can’t haul it in and wait for the next bug to bite. There are lots of bugs.

Sounds like we have a lot in common; I have too many damn projects right now, and someone just contacted me about a Cat excavator that's been sitting for a while...

Thanks for your support!

Scott

 

[bulletpruf]

I don't think anybody's trying to be negative. It's more of a cautionary attitude that could save bulletpruf from spending too much on so called cheap machine. If he has some money it might be better to look for machines that aren't in such poor shape or needing such extensive work. Something like a D3 would be a lot less expensive to repair than a D7 or 977. I can't remember who but I recall another member bought a D3B for I think $4000 and put $8-$10,000 into fixing everything but now has a $20K dozer. You might find a similar machine that doesn't require as much work. The same work on a dozer 2 or 3 times bigger is likely to cost 2 or 3 times more to repair. Everything is more expensive the bigger it gets. Also the smaller machines generally can't tear themselves up as bad when abused.

All good points. I just haven't been able to find that reasonably priced D3 or D4 anywhere near me.

Thanks

 

[bulletpruf]

Even 10 grand in repairs not loss scrap yard savings bond 10 years probably be worth what you put into it for a weekend pet it'll be fun.

Time will tell!

Thanks

Scott

 

[Welder Dave]

I don't think a 977 complete would bring $10K in scrap plus the $1800 to haul it and then potentially more money to haul it to the scrap yard.