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15 years ago, the outfit I worked for had an 850, I operated it on a few jobs, for 1 year. I think it was in decent condition overall, but do recall the hydrostatic arrangement was an area of concern, as well as a few other components, but nonetheless, it was a stout enough machine to do some hard work. With that said, it's an operators opinion only, I have no knowlege of mechanical aspects of these. I dug a large pond in the rocky mountain soils with it, large boulders to contend with, it held up fine, but in the long run I'm not sure how these did without major work required. It was interesting to read the performance comparison below, I don't think I'd argue, as these were different from anything I ran at the time, but as longevity goes, Cat had JD hands down on that end at the time. 2 different animals for sure. I'd love to demo current model of the 850, I've heard they have come a log way since the old ones, and I'd bet they're a good machine, much improved over the early ones, hopefully more durable from an investment standpoint. I ran a brand new JD 550 in '93, for another outfit. I liked that one hands down, was well balanced, boy did it cut nicely ! Probelm is, they're all nice when new, had a brand new D4 G last year on rental, less than 2 hours on it, right from the dealer, and that was an excellent machine, it's first job was demo work, some real hard work, I took my time as I make sure to take good care of what I get from the rental house, the rates I get and the service I got, is well worth taking care of their equipment, as if it was mine, grease, not being abusive when operating etc. The proprietor knows how I operate and appreciates my respect for machinery,if I ever need anything in a bind, I'm covered, which is nice to know, I kind strayed away here, but renting is another viable option to get work done, I have an older D7, but preferred to rent hands down sometimes, well worth it when you plan your job carefully, these new ones are highly productive and fuel efficient. Back to the subject; Not being familiar with the 850's components, I'd seek the help/advice of a JD knowlegable person, to take a look and help evaluate the machine before dumping $24,000. I'd absolutley want to know that everything is working properly and up to par, knowing that these are somewhat unique and costly to repair. I'd also measure that undercarriage and compare it to what new dimensions call for, to accurately determine the percentage worn, I'd certainly not believe a verbal quote on the actual condition, measurements don't lie. You certainly could find a decent machine for that price, if you look around. My preference would be an older Cat, say a D-6 C which was an excellent performer as was the latter D series, but in all fairness, at least one that has a decent ownership history with proper servicing, has good parts back up, and was not a problematic model for the Mfr. no matter what brand. Far better to spend more up front on a machine that checks out to be in good condtition, and had a solid reputation to perform. That 850 if in good working condtion, with no real problems, and or problems on the horizon, could perform well, depending on the work you do with it, abusive type work will definitely allow it to show its true colors !
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