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Buying guides

Practical guides to choosing excavators, loaders, dozers and tractors, from a specification-first point of view.

Caterpillar 330 excavator on a pile of dirt — Photo: Matthew T Rader / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Buying guides

Buying a used excavator: a first inspection checklist

Before you pay for a used excavator, you can check a dozen things yourself in about an hour. This list covers what to look at and what to ask for, and when to bring in a specialist.

Alexey Puzanov · Oct 12, 2026 · 3 min read