Hi all, Firstly thank you for looking at this and sorry for the heavy reading but I have some mysteries here regarding the small Cat 12 & 120 Graders. I am a Caterpillar fanatic and I love looking at specs and pricing to further my knowledge on the Cat machines but the Caterillar 12 Graders and Cat 120 Graders pricing has me puzzled ! There seems to be a significant price difference between the older 12H and the 120K, the Cat 12H is always far more expensive. I have read a few threads on here already and they all say that the 12G or H has more horsepower and larger then the 120 series graders but there must be something else as the price difference is astronomical. I have compiled some info with several questions in there but kept it simple and only asked questions on that subject !! I know it seems confusing but it's not, I don't think anyway !! I have added my knowledge on the graders and a few questions below and if anyone could shed some light on my dilemma and broaden my knowledge much would be appreciated. Question 1 It appears that the Cat 12H stopped being made around 2005. I also believe that the engine used on the 12H was originally a 3404 but then they moved to a Cat C7 in the newer graders - Does anyone know when they started using the C7? I think that this engine changeover happened in/around 2005. Did Cat stop making the 12H in 2005? What is confusing is Cat still advertise a CAT 12H 'Global' Grader as a product that you can buy new. Does anyone know what years that Cat changed through the prefixes ? I.E When did they change from 12G to the 12H then the 12K and finally the 12M? Question 2 I have been looking around at pricing and it seems like Cat 12H Graders circa 2005 sell for around $120,000-$130,000 second hand with 5,000-7,000 hours. But I have been looking around on the Cat 120K and they seem to sell second hand circa 2011-2014 at around $110,000-$130,000 with far less hours (1,000-3,500). I just don't know why ? All I can think is that they are made under license for Caterpillar and are really a cheap Koren machine in disguise or something to that extent anyway ? Does anyone know the real difference ? Question 3 Is there a better 12 or 120 grader prefix ? I.E What is the best all round grader, a Cat 120H, 120K, 12G, 12H or 12K ? If you were going to buy one to put it into a dream contacting fleet, which would you choose and why ? Question 4 What the hell is the Cat 12H Global model now ? - I wish that I knew why Cat try to confuse us so Thanks for looking and sorry for the lengthy post but this has been puzzling me for some time now and I would love to be able to figure out all the little differences. Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you guys ! Kind regards, Mark
I think that the 120's are smaller framed than the 12's. The 120's are lighter and cheaper to compete with other brands at the price-point that government purchasers are buying at. The 12's are comparable to the 140's, not the 120's. "Global" products may be powered by engines that don't meet First World emission standards. They are sold in the parts of the world where there is no Tier-anything requirements for sales.
Jim, Thank you for getting back to me, it is much appreciated and clears up a few issues. Thanks again ! Kind regards, Mark
I always took the Global products as ones that were less than tier 4 compliant, for countries that didn't have any emissions standards, like Jim said.
I posted a similar question in a thread called Cat differences. Not sure how to post the link, but you might find it in my profile. There was some discussion on the topic.
Thanks guys, your all stars !! I had already spent some time searching the forum as I didn't want to waste the time and ask questions that I had already been answered but I searched Cat Grader Differences and Difference between 12 and 120 etc. So I missed your post Cuttin Edge. Thank you for sharing it, all done and dusted, I can finally rest ! Thanks again and talk soon, Mark