Dumb newbie question: any tips for buying a FLU419?

[MakerNM]

Hello! I've recently started kicking around the idea of buying a FLU419, and wanted to see if anyone had any trips on how to do it. Specifically how to maximize ones chances of getting a good one and minimize the chances of paying too much.

From spending a few hours looking around online, it looks like new vehicles come up for sale every month or two. Price seems to vary a lot and it's not clear that a higher price means a higher quality. I'm a little leery of spending this kind of money for something I haven't seen in person.

Any tips on how to pick out a good one by looking online? Is there any way to tell if the condition is really as the seller advertises, or do you just have to choose between a.) seeing one in person or b.) taking your chances?

Thanks for any advice,

MakerNM


(Edited to remove details of specific FLU's I found for sale. I didn't mean to point people at the auctions, just to give examples of how it's hard to tell if a vehicle is a good one... but I figure I should err on the side of caution and remove the info anyway. Sorry, I'm new here!)

 

[The FLU farm]

Many seem to be twice as expensive as they should be, probably often because they have nice paint.
But it largely depends on what you'll be using it for and how handy/patient you are.

 

[Speedwoble]

Hydraulic hoses get baked by the sun and then they are expensive to replace. I recommend finding one near you to either test drive or at least look over. They are a unique beast, many people on here have never driven more than one. I didn’t realize some of the things wrong with my second one until I drove my third one. The engines are pretty durable and most have very low hours. They start quite quickly, but a slow start may indicate air in the fuel system.

 

[peakbagger]

Before you get serious about buying one its worth figuring out if one is right for you.

Do you have the tools and motivation to do your own work? If not dont buy one. There are no dealers that can bail you out if you get into trouble. A Freightliner dealer will laugh at you, a mercedes dealer wont even let you in the lot. Case will sell you some parts for the backhoe. SEES have a lot of technical info available but you need to get familiar with it. If you pay someone else to work on a SEE, you are paying them to learn.

Some were bought on a whim and the sellers are clueless. Odds are something is broke and they dont know how to fix it.

Some were rebuilt federal or state facilities. They will have a recap tag on them and in theory all the rubber and flexible components have been replaced. Many were recapped and sent to storage where they were auctioned. I think most folks would pay a premium for a recapped unit.