Which one would you guys get
I looked at the CAT 305C-CR before buying a Takeuchi. It was nice, leaps above the previous series of CAT mini machines. I would guess the D series has the new emissions and must be a little heavier given its number designation, likely heavier than the 50 series Bobcat. I would expect the lift tables to reflect that. I have never ran an E series Bobcat mini ex but those that have them seem to like them. Perhaps Bobcat finally has a competative zero tail machine. It would be a good run off between these two machines. A couple days demo between the two should tell you what you need to know. Let us know what you decided and why.
Bobcat I think will run rings around the Cat.
Have you run both ? I am hearing great things about the E 50 and have watched Tom G's videos, the machine looks very powerful. Also I need good dealer and part support. I have 10 other pieces of Cat equipment and I have never not had a part within 24 hours but you pay dearly for cat parts....I have never owned a Bobcat are parts Available.
Demo both and buy the one that you like. If dealer support/parts availability is what your looking for you already answered that.
I can see why you shortlisted to the CAT. There are some other nice machines in this class as well. The Deere 60D, Takeuchi TB153FR, CASE CX55 is a new model in this class but build off the same platform as the other Kobelco minis. IHI 65NX is nice if you have an IHI dealer in your area.
The 50 Bobcat has great lifting power, for some reason its more than the new 60 Bobcat. I spent 2 days on a 50 this week and was very pleased.
I noticed that also why would anyone buy the 60? Any negatives on the 50
From what I was told the E50 is made by bobcat in the states and the E60 is made by doosan in south Korea so that might have something to do with it
e 50 and e 60 or the cat we demo'ed a e 60 and it is the doosan machine. it does not have a turbo which immedietly disqualified it. around here there are lot's of bobcat's, cat's and deere's. i would love to have an e 50 but am not prepared to through down 60k. so i guess i don't really have an opinion apart from wanting a bobcat more than a cat just because i am a bobcat guy.
My suggestion would be to price similar parts for both machines at each dealer. From my experience locally, parts at the Bobcat dealer are ridiculously expensive compared to Cat parts. For example, we can order the same Bobcat part out of Atlanta and after paying the shipping is still cheaper than buying locally.:beatsme
Bobcats parts network is suffering since the economy slowed down. Many things are now on back-order. Last week my dealer did not even have the air filters, for my 435 mini, in stock. I'm not sure that the problem there lies with the factory. I think it is with the dealer. Even still most things are not as readily available as they once were (at Bobcat). I have not had any problem getting Cat parts the same as I have always in the past. I also don't think that Cat prices are any worse than Bobcat.
I think u should look into parts and service availability for each machine . Parts cost a good buck for any machine. Bobcat has more attachments than cat but eventually you will need to fix something on any machine. Downtime really hurts when you need to get a job done
I have owned both and give the thumbs up to the E50 Bobcat. I am a pretty loyal CAT buyer but the E50 is an awesome machine that outperforms the CAT in most aspects are far exceeds the published Bobcat specifications, great machine. The bobcat is quite a bit cheaper as well.
Not in my neck of the woods, Bobcat was $6K more for an E45 than Cat was for a 304. Those were the prices I was quoted when just getting numbers a few months ago, done business with both dealers and salesmen for over 10 years.
Wow...No kidding. Looks like you have a winner in the CAT .....just the opposite here....CAT anything cost much more than the other guys machine....Thr E50 is a fantastic peice of iron in all respects....
When I priced the cat against the Bobcat in 2012 they were about the same price within 1K.. I bought the Cat 305.5D and have been very happy with it !!