Hey all. I came across a cat d3 in my area. It is a D3 B, pedal steer, 6 way blade, joystick control, ripper in the rear. It has a thrown a rod and needs a new engine. I have been told a new engine would be around 8k and the labor another 2k. The serial # is 27y02618. The uc is in excellent shape, 90%. It has ROP? But not an enclosed cab. Are there any websites I can run the serial # thru to learn more about it? Or does somebody out there just know more info? What would you pay for it knowing it will need a new engine? Are there many used/reman engines out there? Any help or advise would be appreciated. Thanks, Fred
How much do they want for it. There was a D3B at the local cat dealer in good shape for $19000 last year.
27Y2618 would make it an '84 build, all D3B's were made in Japan. The engine is a 45V series 3204n.a. @ 65h.p. and there should be plenty around as they were a widely used engine. Hope this helps.
I would have to make an offer. I have been told the owner is wanting around 9k for it, but may be willing to take much less as it has sat for over a year now needing an engine and equipment prices are falling from what I understand. I was thinking of offering 4-5k. How much would a used engine cost roughly and would it be reliable at all compared to a new one? Thanks Fred
Being a owner/operator i always look at the what ifs??????? With out machine running you haven't a clue what your getting? Unless you have run the machine before hand or know the owner and can trust what he tell you. So how cheap is cheap,that is the question? In this case thousands of dollar question.I just saying that it doesn't take long to get several thousand dollars rapped up in a machine that may be worth less then wha you have in it when your done ,and you still don't have you work done and machine still needs repair. When when it all come down to getting the right machine to start with,even if it is more money to start with.Good luck
I would probably pass on it. If you get the dozer for $4K, and put $10K in it to get it running again, you've just invested $14K in a machine that still may have other problems. There are plenty of D3B's out there in the $15-20 range that are still good running machines. As a general rule, when somebody is selling a machine that needs work, the reason they are selling it without getting it repaired first because the machine simply isn't worth repairing. They would be sinking more money into repairs than they can get out of it selling it. They are trying to shift the loss to the buyer.
Thanks for all the input. Heres some more to the story. First I found out that the machine has been sitting at the mechanic's yard for 3 years. The owner is a multimillionair who owns several car dealerships in multiple states but also owns a gravel yard. I guess the gravel yard is a business owned and run to use as a tax write off for his income off of the dealerships. The mechanic who has it at his yard has been the only one to work on it and is under the impression that everything else on it is fine, the owner just doesn't want to sink any $ into it and would prefer to sell it but hasn't put much effort into selling it. The owner also has a newer grader that needs some work, the mechanic ordered the parts and then the owner backed out saying he could find another grader for less than the parts cost because the market has dropped so much. So in one way I think the owner just doesn't want to sink any money into the machine and would prefer to get out of it what he can because he sees the market as dropping. As someone said earlier, one of my concerns is you really don't know what else may need replacement until you have it running and I don't want to get into a situation were I keep having to spend more and more money to get it reliable. I realy only want to get it if it is a good deal. Someone said earlier that its a common machine so buying a used engine would be no problem. Are there different sizes of engines off different types of machines that would work? I think if I could spend less than 15k and have a reliable running machine I would feel good about it. I would appreciate anyones input or advise as I am a real greenhorn Thanks, Fred