No title means the document carries all the weight
With a car, a sloppy bill of sale is backstopped by a state title record. With a skid steer there is no backstop. If the machine turns out to be stolen, or subject to a lien, or simply disputed, the bill of sale and the serial number on it are what you have.
So be precise: the full serial number or product identification number (PIN) exactly as stamped, the make, the model, and the hour meter reading on the day of sale.
Liens are the real risk
Equipment is very often financed, and commercial liens are recorded under the Uniform Commercial Code — usually as a UCC-1 filing with the secretary of state where the debtor is located, not against the machine in a DMV database.
A UCC lien follows the equipment. Buying a financed machine from someone who has not cleared the debt can mean the lender repossesses it from you. Before you pay, search UCC filings against the seller's name and business name in their state, and get a written lien release if anything turns up.
What to record
- Serial number / PIN — on a stamped plate, commonly on the frame near the loader arm, inside the cab door, or on the boom.
- Type — tractor, excavator, skid steer, backhoe, loader, dozer, forklift.
- Year, make and model, and the hour meter reading. Hours are the mileage equivalent and the main driver of value.
- Attachments included — bucket, forks, mower deck, thumb. Attachments are worth real money and are the most common source of "I thought that came with it" arguments.
- Sale price, date, an as-is clause, and both signatures.
As-is matters more here
Equipment is sold as-is almost universally, and the sums are large enough that the clause earns its place. It does not protect a seller who actively misrepresents the machine — but it does settle the ordinary argument about a hydraulic pump that failed three weeks later.
If you are the buyer, an inspection by a mechanic who knows that make is the equivalent of a pre-purchase inspection on a car, and it is cheap relative to the machine.