I have always had the privilege of buying new are close to new equipment in the past. My standing rule was buy them with 12 to 1,500 hours and sell when they hit 6,000. Now that I have started a new company and have no partners with deep pockets a $200,000 machine is out of the question. I need a 345 but a 330 will do. Cat has always been my choice. Cat is what I was brought up with. I know what to expect from Cat service, performance Etc. I'm looking at a 2003 330 with 14,000 hours on it in the high 60s It seems to be in good shape and hasn't been in the rock. A friend has a 02 Hitachi 450 with 8,000 hour for around 100. Both these options scare the crap out of me. I need a big hoe and cash is looking to be my only option. I know I can RPO one but if you can't get the financing at the end all you are doing is paying big rent. Any thoughts? I know people run machines out to 25,000 hours or more. All I remember about the days when I had D6D's, 7G's and a list of other old used equipment was hoping that whatever machine was going to break down that day would do it before 3:00. That way I would have time to get parts for it so after working on it till all hours of the night it would be on the job the next morning. Although is fun to think of those good old days when red fuel was 58 cents a gallon and my hair wasn't turning grey I don't care to relive them. I do most of the small repairs in house. Trackhoe's with all the complicated hydraulics are above my limited skill set. All I keep thinking is if I do this there will be a dealer service truck parked at my pit every week. Please tell me I'm wrong! P.S. I'm a dirt guy not schooled in grammar so please excuse the mess ups in spelling Etc.
Anybody who has been in this business for a longer time than you want to admit has seen a lot of changes in not only design but better machines all around. I remember cable blade dozers and Cat pans to move dirt. Sure the new machines are for the most part an electrical nightmare, their design and mfg. has changed for the better. I remember excavators wirh booms broke off, scraper goosenecks split down the side. We even managed to crush the main frame on a D-8h trying to push load two 736`s with two D-9`s BEHIND the D-8. Not a pretty picture from a mechanics point of view. Engine life is greatly improved as compared to the old pull the lever watch the arm move the throttle on the injection pump days. Obviously you have seen the cost go up along with all the changes of making it a nightmare to work on yourself without calling the dealer eveytime something goes bad. Hitachi or Cat ? Take the Hitachi. Will out dig the Cat hands down, and every bit as reliable. IMHO.
Thanks. I'm just not sure $100,000 for an off brand hoe with 8,000 hours is the right thing to do. Wish more people would give me there input.
Hitachi is an "off brand" hoe?
deere and hitachi if im not mistaken are the same minus the fact one is isuzu powered and the other one has deere power. and i hear very good things about Hitachi excavators
Sorry, but I've only owned Cat except for a huge mistake in buying a D41 kamatsu. It's resale value in cat that gives me security. In Texas Cat is king. I once rented a JD 470 and thought it wasn't any more productive than my 336.
$100k for an 11 year old hoe sounds a bit steep to me. I got my John Deere 200LC at a similar age, with a rebuilt engine and new (reman) pumps, for just $27k CAD. Mind you it's less than half the size of a 450, rather banged up and scratched, and needed a few pins and bushings to be replaced, but it should still give a rough idea of what you can get for the money. I'd be wary of a machine with 14000 hours on it unless it has had all the main components rebuilt/replaced. I really like CAT 330Cs, I think they were the best machine of their size class when they came out, but at 14000 hours things would be quite worn out. There's nothing wrong with Hitachi excavators, they're good solid machines. If you could bring the price of the 450 down to under $75k, I'd say you should consider it provided the machine's in good shape.
Me thinks you have already made up your mind as far as what brand you want if you consider Hitachi an "off brand." The comparison of the old series Deere isn`t apples to apples if you will to todays machine. Yes Deere and Hitachi are basically the same except for engines. Hitachi using Isuzu except for the 200 I think it is. It uses a Hino, and the 450 on up uses Cummins up to the 1200 unless they have changed that also.
2 machines seems a bit limited. You should look at a few examples of each machine, to see how the excavators you are considering compare. http://www.machinerytrader.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=9039405 (That's a 330 with less hours than your example and younger than the Hitachi)
We have 8 Hitachi machines at work all around 17 t, I work at the wharf loading logs for export to China the machines we use range from brand new to 9000 hrs all are excellent machines I would not hesitate on a Hitachi machine they are well made and durable .
We have a 450 Hitachi with 16000 hrs. It is still a good machine to run. Still productive and uses no oil. I would take Hitachi over Cat from an operators standpoint.