Well i went out and bought a thomas 1700 and boy do i love it, it doesnt have the hand controls i was used to but after a little while the foot controls are just as easy to use.I must say for the price of the machine 13500 brand new you cant really get a better deal. I have driven just about every namebrand skid steer out there andthis one does as good if not better a job as the rest of them