I was wondering what everyone's opinion is on the best 160 class hoe. I'm looking at stepping up from a backhoe (JCB 214S) and am looking for as much reach as I can get. However, I don't want reach at the expense of having a piece of junk. The local JCB dealer is trying to get me to trade my backhoe in on an '05 JS 160 that has 50 hrs on it. Any opinions on the JCB's? There are dealers for Case, Link Belt, Kobelco, New Holland, Cat, Volvo, Hitachi, Deere, Komatsu, Doosan, and JCB in town, so parts shouldn't be a problem. Just looking for everyone's thoughts. Thanks!
Kobelco and new holland are the same thing, just different labels, but if you get either get the kobelco. We had a 160 for a while, great machine, now the new ones are actually a 170
Deere/Hitachi's are some of the best, followed by Cat IMO. Linkbelt/Case are good machines as well, I liked the older Kobelco's but I'm a little undecided on the new ones as of lately. Komatsu builds a good, smaller hoe, I know a guy that's had 5 Komatsus all the way from the old dash 3's up to the new dash 8's. He runs a new 200 and a 120-7 I believe. I've heard interesting stories about JCB equipment as a whole, some not so very good stories about their excavators. To be honest, if you can afford to go with any other brand other than JCB, I would go that route.
This! For Sale Btw, Found It On Machinerytrader.com
buy it, buy it!
Thanks for all the replies so far, everyone. I guess that the appeal of the JCB is that they'll take my backhoe on trade and give me a good dollar for it. If I could sell the backhoe privately, I'd most likely look for another brand. It seems JCB's resale value sucks. However, the price on this one is pretty good- $100,000 cdn. But looking at machinery trader, it looks like there are 200 hour machines to be found between $70,000 and $95,000 at auctions in the states. What I really want to know, is- has anyone had any time operating a JCB 160? From your experience, are they any good? And the other brands- are they all good, or are there some to stay away from? Thanks again for the replies.
haha, oh jeez if I could I would. Little clean up on that machine and it is looking sharp.
The JCB is a great machine (I'm a little biased). The undercarriage is Burco (CAT rail), engine is Izusu (same as Hitachi, some Deere, and others), Hydraulics are Kayabi (sp?). It's a good machine. Based on the same platform as the Case/Link-Belt machines (buckets are a direct pin fit). Additionally, you have a strong dealer up there!!