Which would you folks prefer between a john deere and an IHI 6000lb machine? Both being equal as far as shape they are in, year early 2000.
IHI makes a nice "no frills" machine. They have good control and seem to be built well... It might come down to personal preference but I'd take a hard look at that IHI. I know others on this board like them as well...
Probably deere, for the only reason of parts and service.
That will always play into things... If you have a place that can server Deere, go that route... I know the Deere place by me sucks... So I went out of my way a little bit to get New Holland stuff... better dealer support, 20 minutes more of a drive... See if you have an IHI dealer or shop close, you can get parts for them pretty easy. Their service department seems decent in Etown...
Mrfuso and JGibson thank you for the posts. I did own an IHI 35J before(just let it go) great machine never had an issue. I was just wondering if JD might be better because of the parts, BUT IHI seems to be quite popular and growing. I am moving that's why I'm looking for a different machine and why I let mine go. I'm somewhat torn between these two, both seem to be very well taken care of, same weight and power, decent price with low hrs. I've never owned a JD before never bought into the "brand name" thing, I've had a Hein Werner, JCB, IHI and operated a cat 312. Decisions, decisions
Honestly, IMO, if you've run IHI before, and... have been happy with it, I'd stick with that then. You know what to expect and even if you need parts, you'll be able to get them from IHI direct or Napa. It's good that you don't buy into the brand thing, I think that is sort of B.S., I've run LOTS of different farm equipment and most stuff is built pretty good today. With regard to IHI, I think if they spent more money on advertising, you'd see more people know about them... But... That would also make the price of the equipment go up... From the IHI machines that I've run, I really liked them and I look forward to owning one!
I think from a resale perspective the Deere would be easier to resale, simply because it is a common brand. Parts availability is important, but these things (mini excavators in general) really don't see a lot of downtime in my experience. Etown was always excellent about getting any IHI specific parts I needed. As to performance, I think the IHI is built heavier than a similar Deere/Hitachi machine. They (IHI) tend to spec better than a similar Deere last I checked.
Resale is better on the Deere for obvious reasons however the most important factor in my opinion is your local dealer support. If Deere is local then your choice is clear....
I prefer Deere for the service and parts availability, in addition resale is excellent on them too.
Went with the JD seems like a nice little machine well taken care of and low hrs. Thanks everyone for the input.
maddog if you like ihi stay there ,with jd your just paying for the name good luck
Smart choice ! Best of luck with your new JD. How about a picture of your new toy....
Pafarmer; I'll try to get a picture of it in action once I get reunited with it Yanmarman; I don't buy name never have, I shoot for the deal, in this case the deere won. I like IHI and will never knock them, heck of a machine IMHO. I'm unable to give info on the deere yet because of circumstance, once I have worked with it for a bit I'll be more then happy to give an opinion. I do plan to make a ripper for it and it has plenty of work ahead.
does resale value matter when you're digging a hole?