Why are Bobcat Mini and Midi Excavators cheaper than Deere or Cat? I'm looking at 3-5 ton machines all the way up to 8 ton machines in the 5-10 year old range, and most Bobcats are around $10 K cheaper than similar year, condition and hour machines made by Cat and Deere. Are the Bobcats lacking something or is the brand just less popular (and cheaper) in the used market? Anyone had both brands to compare quality/performance?
Bobcat is owned by Doosan
if you dont have good dealer in your area buy one and you will find out why, i have t200 skid steer i live in north alabama and just carried it to mobile because of sorry help from local dealers.
Perception
Don't know about the newer Bobcat's but the older ones weren't as advanced as other brands. I had run a Nagano from Japan with pilot controls and it was way nicer to run than a Bobcat 331. The Bobcat had more HP but the Nagano was a step up in performance and operator comfort.
Resale values are always a matter of perception to start with. Bobcat hasn't been around that long, the engineering is a bit shall we say challenged, repair parts sometimes aren't easy to get and good mechanics always seem to go to work for other dealers after awhile. Operationally I've found that they aren't as friendly on the operators and other makes when I've done inspections on them. Also keep in mind that they have a limited product line while the big boys have all that big stuff to worry about. Limited product line should mean that it is their specialty. What it really means is that they don't have the profit margin per sale to really do some good R&D. If you can deal with all that, a Bobcat might save you some money up front. But in my experience, there aren't a lot of people who purchase a second one.
It has been over 10 years since I serious looked at them this is mostly due to dealer issues. However I also thought there were better options available. They sell a lot of machines world wide, and are still a big player in certainly in SSL/CTL and mini excavators. I always thought the interiors were comfortable and generally well thought out, more blingy than the Japanese models (whether that is good or bad depends on preference). I say that but I never cared for the process it takes to start and move their SSL/CTLs. It looks like they finally cleaned that up with the R series. I also thought they were pretty innovative, their suspension systems on CTLs in the R series looks good (and 870 before that), also the A series all wheel steer machines are certainly innovative (even though they are extremely complicated. The Toolcat is a great idea but seems to have been problem prone since day one, I think they spend a lot in R&D compared to their income, however complicated ideas tend to be just that...complicated. They have lost their marketshare dominance that they used to have in their strongest markets. I don't think there is any one reason for that but several. Competition has gotten better, BC durability I don't is what it once was and longtime BC buyers are not as brand loyal as they once were. Those that owned their legendary models are not as plentiful as they used to be and the product isnt the same as it once was, getting back to that complicated thing again.