The company I work for is looking at Volvo 300 size excavators due to the price difference about 50000.00 less than Cat or linkbelt any thoughts would appreciated. thanks
In UK/Europe Volvo are considered premium excavators. I have a wheeled 360. Very nice to operate, comfortable cab, good power and reliable. Here parts and service are second to none, but not sure what the dealer network is like in the US.
The dealer here is poor at best very few parts in stock.
They use to be Smasung excavators, almost the same type of construction from a daewoo/doosan and Hyundai, but since they where painted in Volvo colors people tend to like them more...
Here in our area Volvo dealer support/service is exceptional and Volvo makes a VERY good Excavator contrary to what some might think Volvo Excavators are descendants from Akerman Excavators. I can tell you from personal experience they have roomy, comfortable cabs, are powerful are extremely fuel efficient and reliable too. Dealer support is critical in the decision making process, even the best machine will need dealer support from time to time, if it's not there that should be a deal breaker. Good luck.
volvo bought samsung the first one just a different color the b's had volvo engines POS :IMO no good dealer =no a good machine
We had 8 A40D Volvo trucks parts and service is why they are gone now,but 40 to 50000.00 less than the completion will make the owners look at them.
If the dealer is no good I would look at other makes with a good dealer. Rubbish back up would be a deal breaker for me. Graham
Good day Hargrove The product is only as good as the dealer support, unfourtunatly you only find this out when you hit trouble. Part of customer dealer cooperation is built by contact from both party's. Often its benificial to visit the dealer meet the support folk and get some impression of who can help, dealers change along with people and what has been good in the past may well fall down with some personell leaving. Just some thoughts may be of help. KInd regrds Uffex
Volvo is an awesome excavator, but they don't last as long. In my opinion Link Belt is the best all around excavator. They do have somethings I like better in volvo, but Link Belts last a long time. They have great resale, great power, smooth, comfortable etc. The 300X3 is a great excavator as is the 300D, but If I were you I would get the Link Belt
Seamac, you would have been right about 15 years ago, but the ex-Akerman machines were too expensive to be competitive, so Volvo went in with Samsung. There's no Akerman in the new Volvos. They have a good rep here, and a good dealer network. I haven't been on the new machines much, but enough to be impressed.
We have recently acquired 2 new EC300D's and a EC160D. So far, the 160 has been a good machine. The 300's (one of which is my everyday machine) have had some issues. To be more exact, they have both had issues with re-gening. Also, they don't compare to a Cat 330. Maybe a 325 at best.
I ran a Volvo 460 for awhile. Nice cab. Plenty of power in my opinion Volvo are a very nice machine. Let the big dog eat
I run a Volvo 305 , very good digging power excellent fuel economy and operater comfort is descent despite the fact it's a short radius machine and has smaller cab, one problem worth mentioning is it has burnt oil since new , the dealer says Volvo will stand good for it , when it gets too a certain point , otherwise a good machine .
LiecaMan, Your dealer should have a document that you can use to record your oil and fuel consumption. I would request they print you off a handful of them and religiously fill them out. Make sure you fill it out completely and regularly. Oil consumption is measured by hrs and fuel consumption. Also some oil consumption is normal.
I have a 2005 Volvo EC210BLC 5500hrs, 2000hrs on it when I got it. It has been a very good machine to own and operate. Very few problems. the dealer here is ok, good service help, parts are not on hand most of the time but will come next day most of the time. I realize I don't put a huge amount of hours on per year but I would buy one again. I tried a 2008 deere 200lc and I liked the Volvo better. The Cat, Komatsu and JD dealers here think there machines are made of gold.
Witter, thanks i will check into that, I usually add about 5 litres every 500 hours , any thoughts on whether that's normal?
Two major issues I`ve seen with anything that says Volvo. Relays and ECU programs. They will go through relays with no other circuit problems more than any other machine. Change relays and keep going till the next surprise. I have seen machines get unloaded from the transport and parked, get back in it and it won`t start. Search fault codes and it has lost the program in one of the ECU boxes. Get it reloaded and all is good. Price will probably overcome any issues no matter what brand you are looking at.
I would say that is probably above normal. But you really need to have it all documented. Sometimes we perceive things are worse than they end up being. Not saying you arent accurate but you need it written down. Also if the machine is used very lightly the oil consumption is likely to be higher. I would definitely be check for signs of leaks also, and don't forget the turbo can be a good source for those leaks.
1L every 100hrs is nothing to get to excited over.
I agree with Ben. Also, something to consider, does it use all 5 L in the last 200 hrs or does it spread it out over the whole interval? My Cat Challenger will use a gallon (4 L) in 50 hrs if you get over 200 hrs on an oil change. It will only use a ½ gallon in the first 200 hrs. Next point, are you waiting for the oil level to get to the add mark before adding? My Detroit will eat as much oil as you can feed it if you add oil when it's only down halfway, and it will get there in about a 1000 miles. Then, it takes it until about 8000 to get to the add mark. I never add oil until it gets to the add mark.
Hey shimmy what kind of oil do you run in your challenger. we have had machines that would consistently use oil between changes ( increased consumption as oil broke down). We were responisible for pm service over a few thousand hours stretch. Switched to deo from cat and oil usage was not noticeable at service time . now cat oil was at least 25 % high priced so in the long run Idk witch would give lowest overall maintenence cost because many more factors to consider. Just wondering if any one else notice certain oils use more between oil changes than others. A Lil off topic by the way.
We run 15-40 Rotella T. Just my experience but both the tractor and the Detroit used more when we first switched the oils. The Cat had John Deere oil and the truck had Mobil Delvac. Took a couple of oil changes for the consumption to drop, but it did. The Cat used 2½ gal the first change, then 2, then ½, and that's what it stays at. The truck used 3, then 2, now I add a gal at about 8000 miles, then it gets changed when its down again. Sometimes it'll be at 12,000 miles, other times I've been close to 15,000. It kind of depends on what I'm doing. If I'm having a lot of short cycle, short hauls, I usually get around 22-2500 miles per week. Longer weeks I'm putting on close to 3000 miles, so it usually works out to changing oil about every 5 weeks.
Thanks guys for your input , yes we are waiting to add until it's at the add mark , Shimmy1. Is that a 60 series Detroit your talking about, we have one in the float tractor and it is the same way with using oil until it gets to a certain point, then it holds it's own til next service interval.
Ya buddy. I know of at least 6 more firsthand the same thing, yours makes 7. My uncle figured it out on his '97 Pete about 10 yrs ago. You could add 3 qts per week all the way to oil change, one week he forgot, he always filled fuel on way to the house, 1300 miles later when fueling he realized he didn't top it off before he left and it was still a little above the add mark.
I have just spent 12 months breaking in a couple of new Volvos, EC380D and EC480D, (the 38t is mass excavations configuration) I have been told by others with smaller Volvos how good they are on fuel?, Not so with the larger machines and even running in economy mode all day they love a drink? They are nice to operate although the 38T seems to sit better then the 48T and overall they work alright and we haven't really had any issues in 1200 hours? as for service it's always OK while ever still under warranty so we will see how they are once it's over, (CJD Equipment)
demoed a 300 size digging mainline sewer for about a month. From everyone in the company it was weak and very un balanced. light counter weight.
I'm not much on the smaller ones, but the larger ones perform similarly to the Cat D & E series machines and burn a lot less fuel. I'm a big fan, and would run them if the dealer support was better in the areas I operate. They're my favorite brand of excavator in the size range I use, which is the 75,000 & 100,00 machines.
You get what you pay for?, I have just spent the past year running in a EC480D along with jumping on a EC380D we brought at the same time and while I agree there nice inside there still only a Samsung as far as I am concerned? Not that there was anything wrong with Samsung but like I say 'you get what you pay for"... I have a few mates with smaller 16t to 28t and they all rave about how much fuel they save but it's not the same with the 480 and even running it on economy all day it loves a drink? in fact the 38t isn't to far behind? Also with the 38T we have had a few issues with the piston letting go and not holding grease so we are forever pulling the idler in when trying to walk, 3 times they have been out for the same thing in 800 hours! As for service, "There all still good while ever the cheque is still new and the warranty is alive but then there all the same, M.I.A when needed...
I am very interested in fuel consumption figures if any one has some for a right tuf days graft.
I've been running a EC300D digging mainline deep sewer. As far as I am concerned, it's junk. Not enough power. Not enough reach. Not a comparable 30t machine. Also, it has 850hrs on it and the dealer has had to come out 4 times now for the same EATS issue.