I am a little torn, choosing a used backhoe, hoping to get some opinions. A few options that are out there at the moment in my price range are as follow: 1994 JCB 214, 7000 hours 1990 Cat 416, around 6500 hours 1992 Case 580K, 4800 hours The JCB and the Cat both have a 4 in 1 bucket, all have 4 X 4 and extendahoe. The Case is a little more cash, but I am familiar with a Case (had an older 580K). I know roughly what goes wrong with a 580K as it gets older, what about older Cats and JCBs? Special things to watch out for?
Go the CASE every time, 18 months ago I was in the same place , a dealer had two JCB's and CASE 580SK's ranging from $21~$37K USD (yes machines in Australia are expensive, even fifteen years old that is typical money). People on this forum helped me conclude the CASE 580SK was the best and I thought I wouldn't regret that, which I haven't it is legendary, easy to fix and cheap all round for the amazing capacity it has. The JCB's there were reasonable looking, but leaked oil and appeared to me to be difficult to work on so I steered clear of them, we used to have Land Rovers on the station here and they were a shocker to maintain. Caterpillar I can't comment on, big name others' will know what to say there, good luck.
We get the older 416 through the shop and the only problems we see are sloppy pins, leaking cylinders and rust in the cab. I am not an operator so i can't comment on how their power is compared to other brands.
I see from the forums that the JCBs tend to leak a lot as they age, that is a problem, given my property is on the beach and I have a well, two bad areas to be losing fluid. I am still leaning towards the Case, despite being more cash, but I am open minded. I like the 4 in 1 bucket the Cat has, not sure how much of a difference it makes. I guess if it is a huge thing, I might be able to retrofit a 4 in 1 on the case, not sure if it is plumbed for it.
I have a case 580k series II. I like case because you have multiple parts suppliers, which means cheaper than other brands. It has a 390 engine which will go for 12-15khours. check the king pins and axle pin for fit. The only downside is the transmission/shuttle arrangement. its all in the rear housing, and not easy to repair as I understand. so make sure shuttle is ok. They also do not road very well, 3rd gear up a small hill can't be done, I think the converter is undersized. other than that good backhoe. Mine has 8700hr still going fine. Jcbs have a bad rep. John deere are also good machines but in my area cost more.