Well i'm giving up on the JCB idea. My local Cat dealer has been trying to find me a good clean used machine with long stick and Aux. Hyd. with little success. I have been looking and would like some input on the Kobelco's more so the 160-170's, they sure look nice. Dealer support wont be as close as Cat but im not opposed to try another brand and from what ive read on these forums the Kobelco seems to be pretty well liked. Around here it's Mostly Cat, Deere, Case. I need to find a machine this week. What would you buy and why?
You need to find a machine this week? If your that desperate can't you rent one till you find the right one to buy? You might even consider a rental purchase agreement. Make sure that the dealer support is actually support. I once worked for this guy and the dealer was 1.5 hrs away. The counterweight was loose and the mechanic came out to tighten it. Oh no! he didn't have a big enough wrench or socket to fit the bolt. They were a small tractor place that decided to sell heavy equipment. There was no dealer support.
we have a sk 160 01 model has about 8800 hrs now no complaints just the normal wear and maint repairs hyd pump at 6500 - 2 motor mounts and a muffler at 8000 - ac quit at about 5000 never checked it out still has original undercarrige except front idlers and top rollers at about 7000 due to bad bearings which was strange because those things normally go last . just had rad recored at 8500 . its sounds like a rough couple thousand hrs but i think we are through the worst of it for now .engine has been great still starts really well down to about 10 dgs .has recently sat for 10 weeks and started within 3 seconds also only uses about 1 qt of eng oil every 100 hrs
Let me re-phrase that,,,, i need to decide "which" machine this week. the purchase needs to happen within 2-3weeks. I did a search on kobelco on the forums and found alot of good reading. Although most of the machines talked about are older than what we are looking at, 2006-2008. This machine is getting a custom application put on the stick with a tilt rotator assembly, that is why i need to chose the machine asap to get it built and coming, 2nd reason is the rental yards wont let me put a tiltrotator or a "custom attachment"on there machine.
I like the Kobelco 160 sized machine, it's quick and powerful. However I have owned two 315's over the years. For the area I worked in, Kobelco parts were at least 50% higher than the same Cat part and the Cat and Kobelco dealer are literally across the street from each other. The Cat dealer in my area can run circles around the Kobelco dealer, offer cheaper parts and service rates as well as a cheaper purchase cost. Dealer service and pricing vary widely across the US. My suggestion would be to pick 3-4 parts that would need replacement in 1,000 or so hours and price each part at the dealers, in order to determine who is more expensive. Initial purchase price is obviously an easy one but the lifetime parts and maintenance costs are not so easy to see. Look at service labor and mileage rates, number of techs, number of service trucks, size of parts warehouse, etc, etc. All of this is as important as in the initial price.
I would not hesitate about a Kobelco. I have 5 at this time with no problems out of the ordinary.
are you sure cat wont they pretty much let you put anything on there equipment as long as you dont break it.
I would think that as long as you return it in it's original state you could put whatever attachment you want on it.
ya up here in ontario they will put the attament on it for you even when they drop it off lol they dont care as long as you rent it for a month and take care of there stuff
Go with the 315 i ran one for over a year, lovely little machine, nice seat position good controls and very good heater