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Compact Equipment

Mini Excavator Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

A guided, do-it-yourself pre-purchase inspection checklist for used wheeled skid steer loaders from Bobcat, Caterpillar, John Deere, Kubota, Case, New Holland, JCB, Gehl and other makers. No mechanic needed: each check tells you what to look for and what counts as a fail, from ownership and hours to the safety interlocks, lift arms, hydraulics, chain drive, tires and engine, plus a guided operating test. For track loaders, use our Compact Track Loader checklist.

Buy this checklist

$29.00

90 days of access. Inspect and compare up to 12 items of this type.

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What you get

  • No mechanic needed. Most checks need only your eyes, a flashlight and a tire gauge; a few optional deeper checks go further if you have the tools or bring in a mechanic.
  • A guided checklist written for this kind of purchase: every question says what to look for and what counts as a fail. Ready to use the moment you pay.
  • Inspect on your phone: answers save as you go, with photos and notes on any question.
  • Send it to a mechanic, supervisor, colleague, or employee by text or email. They need no account.
  • A report that puts the problems first, with photos, times and location.
  • Inspect and compare up to 12 vehicles, machines or trailers of the same type with one purchase, side by side, before you decide.

Known problems, checked

Comes with a guide to the known problems and red flags to watch for.

How it works

  1. Choose a checklistPick the one that matches what you are buying, and pay by card. No account to set up first.
  2. Add what you are inspectingEnter the item, the asking price and where it is. Add as many as you are considering.
  3. Inspect it, or send itWork through the checklist on your phone, or send it to a mechanic, supervisor, colleague, or employee to do for you.
  4. Read the report and compareSee the problems first, with photos. Put your options side by side and decide.

What it covers 80 questions

  • Records and Identity8 questions
  • Frame, Boom, Arm and Cab Structure7 questions
  • Pins, Bushings and Cylinders5 questions
  • Hydraulic System8 questions
  • Undercarriage8 questions
  • Engine12 questions
  • Cab, Controls and Electrical8 questions
  • Operating Test9 questions
  • Bucket, Quick Coupler and Attachments6 questions
  • Transport2 questions
  • Kubota Only3 questions
  • Bobcat Only3 questions
  • Final Review1 question

A sample of the questions

  • Serial number (PIN) plate
  • Cab or canopy (ROPS)
  • Greasing
  • Hydraulic oil level and condition
  • Rubber tracks
  • Engine oil level and condition
  • Safety lockout lever
  • Safe test area

This is a sample. The full checklist is yours when you buy.

Before You Start

You don't need a mechanic. Most questions need only your eyes, a flashlight and a few low-cost tools, and each one tells you exactly what to do and what counts as a fail.

You do need the machine to be operated. If you are not an experienced operator, ask the seller or someone you trust to run it while you watch. Never stand within the swing area or under the boom.

Allow about two hours, including at least 20 minutes of operating.

For tracked mini and compact excavators of about 1 to 10 metric tons (2,000 to 22,000 lb), diesel: Bobcat, Kubota, Caterpillar, John Deere, Takeuchi, Yanmar, Kobelco, Komatsu, Volvo, Develon (Doosan), Hyundai and similar. Not for wheeled or electric excavators.

Before you go, ask the seller to:

  • Leave the engine cold. Some checks need a cold start.
  • Have the bill of sale or purchase receipt, keys, manual and service records ready.
  • Clean the undercarriage, so you can see the tracks, rollers and sprockets.
  • Park it in a clear, level area where it can travel and swing, and, if you want a digging test, where the ground is free of buried pipes and cables.
  • Have a competent operator available.

Go in daylight. Never get under the machine, the raised boom or a raised track.

Answer every question as indicated. Skip the sections for equipment or a make the machine does not have (answer Not applicable).

Questions marked "Deeper check" are optional extras that need special tools. Skip any you can't do, or ask a mechanic to do them.

Write readings in the note, and add a photo of anything that fails.

Bring:

  • A flashlight
  • A tape measure and a stake or painter's tape, for the drift test
  • A basic multimeter, for the battery and charging voltage
  • A clean rag, for the cylinder rods
  • A clean card or stiff paper, for the blow-by test
  • A watch or phone timer
  • Gloves and paper towels
Tools for a Deeper Inspection (Optional)

You don't need any of these to use this checklist. For the questions marked "Deeper check", or if you bring in a mechanic, these are the tools needed, as well as those in Before You Start:

  • A hydraulic pressure gauge with adapters for this machine's test ports, and the service manual figures
  • Oil sampling kits and a lab (hydraulic, engine and final drive oil)
  • A cooling system pressure tester with adapters for this machine
  • A scan tool or dealer service tool that reads this make
  • Wrenches for the final drive check plugs
Sources and Standards
  • FieldDone pre-purchase inspection protocol for mini excavators (October 2026)
  • Your machine's own operator's manual and service schedule, matched to its serial number
  • NIOSH, Preventing excavator quick coupler attachment struck-by fatalities and injuries (2024-102)
  • Kubota KX040-4 operator's manual
  • Kubota KX040-4 brochure
  • Bobcat excavator service schedules
  • Bobcat machine inspection