With Billrog on flat deck. That is how I got mine...find someone in your hood with a flatdeck/hiab and ride along with them to get it. I'll admit I got a good deal (had to get mine shipped from lower mainland to coast) in terms of shipping (Ferry was $225 or so). Hard to find good deals out in the sticks.
Yeah, fixed thumb and only one bucket alone would cause me to move along. Wouldn't consider an ex rental, unless a 1000hrs or less. They get flogged by test pilots. Rubber tracks allow one to tread across grass without totally chewing it up. Look for one with maintenance done...imho. These smaller machines go through rollers/idlers every 2-3 thousand hours, and if near 3-4000 hrs, bushing work, hoses, tracks, and maybe even big ticket items like drive motors, slew drive, etc. Being on wet coast, find one with a cab! lol
I did use mine to clear land...was a bit hard on Bobby (331D), but it did everything I needed to do. Once cleared, Bobby is perfect for the landscaping bit, house foundation, driveway maintenance, deadfall removal, trenching, etc. At least try to find one with a digging and cleanup bucket, and real thumb.
Make sure you know how to test a machine when buying...I admit, I was naive when I bought mine, of what to look for. Lots of slop in boom/arm/bucket means bushing work (adds up and a pain to fix). Raise both tracks off ground, and hand check rollers (side to side means bearings are shot) and idler. Should be no visible smoke out of exhaust when running. Ask when oil in drive units was changed. Sight glass for hydraulic oil reservoir should be a honey colour. One will never get a perfect machine, but it helps if you can avoid buying a money pit.
I was thinking of selling mine for house build, but geesh, Bobby is darn indispensable around the homestead.
