Cat 955H

Hey everyone, new to the forum and had a few questions regarding a Cat 955H that my neighbor is selling. I have never owned one before and do not know much about them or what they are worth. I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about the machine and what to look for or if I should stay away. Based on the pictures do you happen to know what year it could be? The current owner does not know much about it other than it ran 4 years ago where it is parked now. What do you think something like this would be worth if I were to get it running? I work on all my own vehicles/machines but I have not done much on diesel engines so this would be a new project for me. Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated! Would love to get this up and running to use on my farm.

Thank you,

Tyler

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If it is not running, it is very difficult to justify paying above scrap price for the unit. It looks like it was rode hard and put up wet!! Probably early to mid 1960"s vintage just guessing without knowing the SE#.
Maybe worth $8K if fixed up in usable condition but one can spend about that much just refurbishing the tracks which look abysmal. . .

Don't know where you are located but the $ for scrap wold be about $1700 here in KS. IMO I would not pay more than scrap price for it unless it is running.
Good Luck as if they are running they are a handy machine around a farm but one might want to consider a skid loader rather than restoring an older Cat. .

Hi Tyler, Jim makes very good points. If money is not an issue, then you'd also need to consider your time, which at this point would be an unknown since it's not currently running. If you can get it started, then you can make an assessment of whether "everything" works. If through some stroke of luck, everything does work satisfactorily, then as Jim pointed out, you're probably up for a few thousand to replace the undercarriage - that's where most of the value of these machines sit. Replacing undercarriage though is a "guaranteed" fix since it would all be new and there's no realistic chance of a failure. You might also be able to use it as-is, if the tracks can be adjusted so they don't fall off as you turn with a load in the bucket. You'd need to weigh all of that against the immediate utility you'd get from a skidsteer or even small loader in good condition but also the price you'd have to pay for one of those.
So offer him scrap price, then get it going and come back here with your findings on how well it runs - don't worry about the undercarriage because we can already see that it's spent

Thank you both for the information! I'm going to reach out to a few scrap yards in my area and see what it would be worth if I have to go that route. I have to finish up a few projects before I make him an offer but will follow up if I'm able to make a deal for it or if I can get it running!