A used set of tracks is rarely cheaper than it looks, because the price on the listing is the smallest number in the transaction. The number that decides whether the purchase made sense is what it costs to run those tracks against your existing sprocket - and that is where a machine with a worn drive sprocket discovers it has bought two problems instead of one solution.
Last updated: October 5, 2026
This guide covers where used tracks are actually sold, how to verify a set remotely before you pay, the check that decides whether used is viable on your machine, and when a new track is the cheaper answer.
Where used excavator tracks are sold
There are four channels, and they carry different levels of risk and paperwork.
Heavy equipment marketplaces aggregate listings from dealers and sellers, usually with some form of buyer protection and a dispute process. The protection is real, but it covers the transaction rather than the part - it will not tell you whether the pins are stretched. Auction platforms sell whole machines and components, sometimes with a third-party inspection report attached. Where a report exists it is worth reading closely: what matters is what the inspector measured, not the grade they assigned. Local dealers and refurbishers are the channel with the strongest inspection, because the seller has a reputation in the region and a physical location to be held to; they are also the channel with the highest prices and the shortest supply. And the classifieds and social channels offer the widest choice with no verification at all, which is fine if you can inspect in person and risky if you cannot.
For a machine in Canada, one practical filter cuts through all four: is the set in the country, and can you or your mechanic see it before money moves? A used track that arrives from another province with a problem costs the freight in both directions to resolve.
How to verify a used set remotely
Remote buying on these parts works if you insist on two things and accept the limits of both.
Measurements, not descriptions. Ask for the pin and bushing diameters, or the remaining Sprocket Rail Height, measured with the tool the seller has, against the original specification. A photograph of a track proves nothing about how much life is left in it; a set of numbers can be compared to the tolerance figures for your machine. Video that shows the whole belt. Ask for footage that walks the full length of each track, both inner and outer surfaces, with the seller explaining what they see as they go. Watch for missing lugs, cracks at the shoulders, exposed cord and uneven wear down one side, and ask specifically whether the tracks have been run as a matched pair on one machine - because a pair that came off two different machines is two single tracks, not a set.
Two useful cross-checks come free with the paperwork: the machine the set came off, and the hours that machine had run. A set that came off a machine in your size class with hours that match your own expectations is a much better bet than an unlabelled pair whose history nobody can state, whatever the tread looks like.
Two more questions are worth asking before money moves, because both change what the set is worth. Was it run as a matched pair on one machine, and was that machine working in the same conditions yours does? A pair that came off two different machines has two different wear histories, and a set that spent its life on turf will not have the same remaining life as one that has been through rock. Neither answer is disqualifying on its own - but a seller who cannot answer either is telling you something about the documentation you will get if the set arrives with a problem.
What a used set is actually worth
Price a used set the way you would price a new one: by the hour, not by the asking price. Take what the seller is asking, add freight and the labour to fit it, then divide by the hours you realistically expect from it given the measurements you have been given. Run the same calculation on a new track of the correct size, including whatever warranty attaches to it, and the comparison is honest rather than emotional.
On a machine that works every day the new track usually wins, because the used set's uncertainty is priced in machine-days rather than dollars, and a failure costs the schedule. On a machine that works occasionally, or as a spare set to keep a second unit running, a well-measured used pair can be the sensible purchase. What makes either decision defensible is the same thing: the measurements, the machine it came off, and the condition of the sprocket it is going to run against.
The check that decides whether used is viable
Before you buy, measure the pitch of your existing track and the tooth condition of your drive sprocket. Then compare both against what you are being offered.
Two mismatches matter. If the used track's pitch is worn beyond the tolerance for your sprocket, the teeth will climb the links and the remaining life of the used set is spent quickly. If your sprocket is already worn, the used set will be destroyed the same way a new one would be - only faster, because a used belt has less margin. This is the reason a used track often makes sense only when the machine's undercarriage is in genuinely good condition, and the reason a set that arrives with a fully worn sprocket attached is worth less than the tread suggests.
The mixing question follows from the same logic. Combining a new sprocket with a used track, or a used track on one side and a new one on the other, leaves the assembly with two different wear states, and the newer part does more than its share of the work. Whether it is a track or an individual component, how a sprocket behaves with different chains and tracks is the mechanism to understand before you commit, and the same principle applies to top and bottom rollers, which will wear to match whatever belt runs over them.
When a new track is the cheaper answer
Used tracks win on price and lose on predictability, and for some machines the trade is not worth making. If the machine is a production unit with a schedule, the cost of an unplanned failure is measured in idle days rather than in dollars per track, and a set with an unknown number of hours left is a risk you are taking on someone else's behalf. If the undercarriage around the tracks is worn, the used set will not last long enough to justify the labour of fitting it.
Where a new track is the answer, the purchase is defined by three numbers and a fitment check: width, pitch and link count, cross-referenced to your machine's model and serial number. Buying by size and machine fitment is what makes the replacement predictable - and it is the reason a new track sold by machine fitment is a quantifiable purchase in a way that a used listing is not. If you are fitting a set yourself, the sequence for replacing tracks on a Bobcat 331 follows the same steps as on any machine in this class, and it is worth reading before you start rather than midway through.
Either way, the starting point is the same: whether you buy new or used, the tracks have to match your machine, and the range of undercarriage parts is organised by that fitment rather than by what happens to be in stock.
This article is part of the rubber tracks guide, which covers how the size code works, tread patterns, compounds and buying a set in Canada.
FAQs
How much do used excavator tracks cost?
Pricing on used tracks varies with size, brand and remaining life, so the useful comparison is not the asking price but the cost per hour you expect to get: purchase price and freight, divided by the hours the set is realistically good for, against the same figure for a new track with a known specification and warranty.
Where can I find used excavator tracks for sale?
Heavy equipment marketplaces, auction platforms, local dealers and refurbishers, and general classifieds. The channels with the strongest inspection process - local dealers and refurbishers - are also the most expensive, and the ones with the widest choice have the least verification. Where you cannot inspect in person, insist on measurements and full-length video.
Do used tracks fit all excavator models?
No. A track is defined by width, pitch and link count, and all three have to match your machine's undercarriage. A used set is no different from a new one in this respect - the size code, not the machine brand on the listing, is what determines whether it fits.
Can I combine used and new undercarriage components?
You can, but expect the newer part to do more than its share of the work. A new sprocket driving a used track wears the track quickly, and a used track running beside a new one on the same machine wears unevenly against it. Where one part of the assembly is being replaced, checking the condition of the parts it runs against is what protects the money you just spent.
What should I do with old excavator tracks?
First judge whether they can serve as an emergency spare: a track that still holds correct tension with intact lugs has a second life in that role. If it is stretched, cut or down to the cord, send it to a tyre or rubber recycler rather than general waste, and keep the dimensions, link count and hours of the failed set on file, because those are the numbers you need for the next order.
