Looking at a 2018 Cat 312F serial # FEFKEXXXXX. Researching shows that most machines are serial # FAKMKXXXXX. I'm assuming the machine I'm looking at with the FEFKE prefix is probably a "gray machine". Manufactured for a different country than the US. Is it a mistake to buy one of these machines? If I do, what kind of problems can I expect? Anybody have any experience with these? TY in advance
Only problem I have had with grey market machines are ordering part by serial number. Everything crosses over just use a known serial number of same machine for ordering parts.
The service system lists two versions of the 312F. The S/N prefixes are KMK and FKE respectively. The FKE is not a grey market machine (even though it may have been manufactured outside the US) otherwise it would not be listed in the system. The difference between the two models is that the KMK-prefix machine is a "full fat" 312F where the FKE-prefix machine is listed as a 312 GC where GC stands for General Construction. If you want to see the differences between the two the Spec sheets for both are attached. In my experience on larger machines the GC models are a bit more "lightweight" than the full fat versions.
IIRC Cat did not make a 312F in 2018 for the US market. The 313FL replaced the 312 in the late 20-teens in the US. Interesting that it's the same spec log just the badging on the tractor on the front page - one is 312F and the other 313FL. Wonder why the different badging?
Yes, but the machine he's looking at is a 312F GC. Right now all the OP has given is the FKE prefix. A complete S/No would enable it to be definitively dated. EDIT: It can't possibly be a 2018 machine. The last FKE-prefix 312GC ever built was FKE00411 on 23rd Sept 2016. There is obviously a possibility that after being delivered from the factory it sat on a dealer's lot until 2018 before being sold but that doesn't alter the year of the machine. Either way all the parts & service information will be available for it, whatever the Serial Number is.
I know my mind was fuzzy on the year but don't remember seeing a 312F or 312FL, only B,C,D and E models.
First line of the 312F GC Specalog - "The Cat® 312F GC Excavator is a powerful and reliable, low-cost-per-hour solution for your light-to-medium duty applications. " The engines are different. The 312F has a C4.4 engine rated at 92 BHP nett, the 312F GC has a C3.4B engine rated at 70 BHP nett. The 312F GC implement hydraulic system has a slightly lower flow rate than the 312F, and cycle times are also slower. For the avoidance of any doubt - these are two totally different animals despite both of them being badged "312F".
Why does Cat do this? Why not designate it on the machine? Just seems to make things more confusing for those who work on them. Years ago I was talking with a truck driver who told me he had gotten a pretty hefty over weight ticket hauling a Cat 320. His dispatch had done the research and told him the weight of the machine and he mistakenly took their word for it. Afterwards he did some checking and found there were 6 different 320s of that series and they all weighed different, and they had found the lightest one.
They do. One model has "312F" decals, the other has "312F GC" decals. Both weigh around the 12,000kg mark depending on attachments, hence the "312" model designation. The only difference between the two is (new) price and performance.