What Used Skid Steers and Track Loaders Are Actually Worth Right Now: A 2026 Resale Data Breakdown

Sep 22

4 min read

If you're deciding between a used skid steer and a new one financed through BFC, the used-equipment market's actual numbers matter more than gut instinct. EquipmentWatch's resale database — built from roughly 284,000 real resale listings tracked between April 2025 and March 2026 — gives a genuinely useful picture of where used skid steer and compact track loader values actually stand right now, and it tells a more interesting story than "prices are up" or "prices are down."

The Headline Number: Prices Are Flat, Not Falling

The average used skid steer sold for $39,205 in Q1 2025 and roughly $39,900 by Q1 2026, after touching $39,599 in Q4 2025 — essentially flat across a full year, with normal quarter-to-quarter noise rather than a real trend in either direction. That flatness is worth pausing on, because it's not what a lot of contractors assume is happening in a market where new-equipment costs and financing rates have both been moving. Used skid steer values held their ground through a year when new-machine list prices kept climbing, which is exactly the dynamic that makes a well-maintained used machine a genuinely reasonable hedge — or, for a seller, a genuinely reasonable time to list a machine you're ready to trade up from.

The Quieter Number: the Used Fleet Is Aging

The average age of a used skid steer sold on the resale market climbed from 6.9 years in Q1 2025 to 7.3 years by Q4 2025 — a real shift in less than a year. Read alongside the flat pricing, that's the more telling number: buyers are holding onto machines longer and financing new purchases less often, which is backed up by EquipmentWatch's own financing data showing new financed skid steer sales down 9.6% year-over-year (from 10,471 units to 9,465) while used financed sales slipped a much smaller 1.9% (to 8,511 units). Contractors are stretching the life of what they already own rather than trading up on the usual cycle, which is exactly the pattern you'd expect when financing costs and equipment prices both feel tighter — and it's also exactly the pattern that eventually creates a wave of deferred replacement demand once conditions ease.

What Low-Hour Machines Are Actually Fetching at Auction

The auction side of the market tells a sharper story than the blended averages do. Across the same twelve-month window, the top 20 best-selling compact track loader and skid steer models at auction brought $48,000 to $60,000 — the single highest recorded sale was a 2021 John Deere 330G with just 171 hours, which went for $60,000, essentially new-machine money for a unit with barely any wear on it. Most of the top auction results shared that profile: low hours, recent model years, well short of the 4-to-439-hour range that dominated the top sales. The lesson for a seller is direct — hours matter more than calendar age at the top of the market, and a genuinely low-hour machine, even a few years old, can command near-new pricing. The lesson for a buyer is the mirror image: don't assume "used" automatically means a discount if the hour meter is low enough.

Resale Value by Age Bracket — the Range You'll Actually See

10+ years, high-hour (3,000-5,000 hrs): typically $8,000-$14,000
5-10 years, mid-hour (1,500-3,000 hrs): typically $14,000-$25,000
Under 5 years, low-hour (under 1,500 hrs): typically $25,000-$45,000+
Government surplus auctions: mid-size machines commonly $10,000-$18,000 regardless of the brackets above
Top-tier, near-new auction sales (under 200 hrs, recent model year): $48,000-$60,000, essentially new-machine pricing

What This Means If You're Buying

Flat resale pricing plus a slower replacement cycle means there's real inventory sitting on dealer and auction lots right now from contractors who bought during the last strong stretch and are only now getting ready to trade — a genuine buyer's window if you're patient and know what you're looking at. It also means the gap between a well-kept used machine and a new one financed through BFC is narrower than the sticker prices alone suggest, once you weigh in warranty coverage, current-generation features like the P-Tier and Pro-trim upgrades we've covered elsewhere on this blog, and the simple fact that a new machine's clock starts at zero hours instead of whatever the seller is telling you. General contractors, landscapers, and demolition crews all shop across this exact used/new line depending on cash position and how heavily a machine will actually get run — there's no universally right answer, only the right answer for your utilization and your balance sheet.

What This Means If You're Selling or Trading

If your current machine is under 1,500 hours and less than five years old, this is a legitimately strong window to sell or trade — flat pricing means you're not catching a falling market, and low hours are commanding a real premium at auction right now. Contractors sitting on a higher-hour older machine shouldn't expect much movement in what it's worth month to month, since the flat pricing trend applies across the board, not just to newer units. Either way, BFC buys and sells equipment alongside financing it, and we let contractors list their own used equipment for sale for free — worth checking our current inventory before you list or shop elsewhere.

Financing New or Used

BFC finances both new and used skid steers and track loaders. Down payment expectations depend on your credit profile — strong, well-established businesses can sometimes finance with little to nothing down, while other profiles fall into a wider range depending on the full picture, and some contractors get moving with just a first payment. For more on the current lineup, our skid steer and track loader buyer's guide covers what changed across the major brands this year. Apply directly to get your own real numbers.

Next Steps

Ready to buy, sell, or finance? Start at our home page, apply for equipment financing to get your real numbers, or browse our current buy/sell inventory if you're weighing a used machine against new. And if you want more breakdowns like this one, subscribe to get new posts like this sent straight to you.