Hello all, my first post here. I am looking for a machine to do land clearing, foundation excavation, ditching etc on some property I have just bought. I am going to look at a CAT 315L later this week, the machine is a 1995 and has 13,000 hours on it. What sort of service life is to be expected from the engine on a machine like this? Regards, Alan
If it's been well looked-after, probably about the hours it has on it right now or maybe a little more. Unless it's been done already figure the cost of an engine overhaul in the price if you make an offer.
Nige is probably correct for the average machine in that class, either its been well taken care of or hasn't, due to start being rebuilt or has been done . between 10-15k hours generally looking at engine rebuild, final drive seals, swivel, swing box, pump drive coupler. Try to get service records and then maybe some oil samples.
Thanks for replies. I figured an engine must be getting long in the tooth at that many hours. I figured an hour at highway speed multiplied by 13,000 hours = 780,000 miles! I don't know what an engine rebuild would cost, but I doubt there would be much left over from $10k. The machine has an ask price of $32K Cdn., I suspect I would be smarter to spend 15-20 more at purchase rather than roll the dice on an older machine. Alan
Does the seller have any service records available at all..? If the answer is no, walk away, better still - run............... A brand new long block is US$11,250 new (there is no Remanufactured unit), so figure about 65% of that price for a rebuild of an existing engine.
I don't know the market you are in but that price seems quite a bit much for that vintage and indicated hours. I've seen plenty of that model machine get that many hours and more with decent care. I've also seen plenty that I was afraid to load on the truck for fear the machine would die on the loading ramp. If you want it for your own use it might work OK if you want to accept the risk of a major failure. On the other hand it might be a high risk if you have to earn enough to make the payments and feed the family. Have you decided on what you can afford against what you intend to do?
I don't think I will be pursuing the Cat. I am not looking to make money on this machine, use it for my build and then either sell when done or consider trying to run the machine to make some money when I am finished with the house/shop build. I am hoping that I can get a decent machine, put 500 hours on it or so and sell it when I am done and not loose a whack of cash in the process. I am likely going to Vancouver to look at a Sumitomo SH145u this weekend, it apparently only has 4400 hours. Alan