I have the chance to get a CAT 307 at a fair price but am unfamiliar with this unit. Hoping for a little advice from you guys. It has approximately 4200hrs. The owner describes it a having a new undercarriage, 2000 model and runs great "uses it everyday". Not a lot to go on. I hope to take a look at it tomorrow. BTW, I would be considered an operator wannabe by many experienced folks here so please excuse my lack of knowledge in these matters. Here are my concerns: 1) I know the "kind" of hrs may be more important that the number of hrs, but are 4200 considered the middle of this unit's life or entering the end of it's life? 2) Any specific questions I should ask him reguarding the units maintence? 3) A checklist of of things to inspect and any indicators that I should walk away would be appreciated. I'd prefer to take an experienced operator or mechanic with me for the inspection but this just came available. And may still be able to at a later date if it's not gone. Til then, I could sure use some help from you guys. He is asking $15,000 and said he may negotiate a little lower for cash. Simply put, I'm an average mechanic at best and don't want to buy a unit that will contantly require big money repairs. I appreciate any thoughts, suggestions or comments regarding the possible purchase of this unit.
I have no idea really, but this one : http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=7622435& have done over 7000 hrs, and still seems to sell at a descent price.
That would seem to be a good price for that machine if it was even in only "fair" condition. Repairs are expensive and no purchase price other than new can protect you from that. Taking oil samples from the hyd and engine can help in giving you an idea but unless there is a history available of previous samplings its only marginally helpful in my view. My question with these machines is the lack versatility, given its boom configuration of a large excavator. The 16K 307 and others like it are too small for typical large size excavators jobs like digging foundations and ect. Given their size but more so the lack of a swing boom they cant operate as effeciently as a mini. I am certainly not saying they dont have value just that they seem to be a niche machine that does few things very well. The 16K machines with a swing boom on the other hand I think are much more versatile.
we have one at the moment seem to be a very good machine, the fact it can lift 630kg is a huge factor as you wont get close to that with smaller machines/or ones with spastic booms. We had a case cx135 with a spastic boom and it could only lift 540kg and thats a machine twice its size
i had a 307b for a while, yes its not big enough to do big work or small enough to do mini work but they are a good digger. they lift very well and are very stable .the engine is basically the same as the old cat e70 so have proved to be good. they would be very good for a large verity of jobs. track gear and final drives would be the things to look at.the engine should be good. good luck.
Not sure what you mean by 'spastic' boom, are you talking about an offset boom? Also I am not sure whether you got your load ratings right? The spec I found for the CX135 is 1.7 tonnnes over the side and 2.5 over the blade.
Hi, Yeah offset boom is the correct terminology, i am talking about at the end of the boom. If they are not offset booms they should have about 1000-1200kg swl
I ran a 307 for about 2 years , nice little machine. used it for footings, foundations and small pads.. They had enough rent in the machine that the rental company only wanted 7 grand for it to purchase. the company didn't care to be an owner, I wish I had had 7 grand in my pocket that day, It was only 2 years old It's the size of machine I requested although I said a 190 deere, but that was the only one that size the rental yard had available. I wanted it so I could load spoil on a truck setting behind me. that was the only option, other than stay late to pick up the spoils after the grade beams were dug. they were spaced every 12 foot and 100 foot long
I like the 307. I have ran both a C and a B. The C being the better model due to more power and speed. A swing boom or side shifting boom makes them more versatile due to having a tail. They are very balanced compared to zero tail swing 8 tonners. They fill a niche and are very good at it. Some people don't like them because they are too big or too small. But they are a good little machine in my opinion