Hello, new to the excavator world. Want to get into a 320 Cat. Hillview Equipment in Milford Ma have a great selection of Cat excavators for sale. They are all around that 5-7k hour mark and painted… should I be worried about turning clock hours back? Going to be giving them a call this week to inquire. Any comments appreciated!
Welcome to the Forums! Glad to have you. There is always a chance of tampered hour meters. Best suggestion is see the machine in person in order to determine the overall condition of the machine.
Beware of the newest scammers
There's far too many POS people in the world today. Unless I've had a good working relationship with a business I wouldn't fork out a single penny until I'm ready to pick up whatever I've purchased.
If you find a machine you like and are really interested in buying, ask them where they got it. If they got it from the previous owner, ask for that person's name and phone number so that you can call them to get some history on the machine. Many places won't provide you that information, some will say they need to check with the previous owner first to make sure it's ok for you to contact them. I've had some success with contacting previous owners over the years, and in so doing you can ask about service hours, previous repairs, and so forth. If they got it from an auction, ask what auction and when. So you can do some detective work and call the auction to inquire about the hours when it went through the auction. As everyone always cautions, beware of new paint making a worn out machine look great.
I think the dealer is legit - Street View · Google Maps Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps. www.google.com Picks of equipment on MT show the blue building in the background. Regardless I wouldn't pay a dime until I sat in the seat, operated the machine and was happy with the condition for the advertised price. Their iron looks like it just came from an RB auction. YMMV
They have a very good reputation. most of their stuff is older and mostly cat…looks like most seem to get a fresh coat of paint.they are located in the same town as Milton Cat. 1 buddy bought a 906 loader several years ago and was very happy with his experience. Another buddy just bought an older cat 325 excavator in December(I think 2005 range)and has been happy as well…had a small issue and was taken care of from hillview. regarding hours…ask them if they have or if they can put a computer on it to verify the hours. we bought a cat 308 from a very reputable local to me reseller that bought from an auction and hrs were way off…meter and screen said 3200 hrs..we had a sensor issue that a local mechanic came out and plugged his scanner on it and he happened to notice that it read that the machine had 5700 hrs. Was able to get a large rebate from the seller but will never buy anything without putting a scanner on it.