hey everyone. i was hoping to get some feedback on why you purchased/ operate Volvo Excavators? the good, the bad, the ugly. we are looking to purchase and the Volvo Demo is going very well and just wanted some feedback from everyone else. dealer seems on top of things here in Maryland, so thats not the issue. thanks in advance.
I bought a 2005 210BLC with 2200hrs on it in 2009. Now it has 5500hrs. Mine has been a good machine, runs smooth, cab is Quiet, heat and a/c works good. As far as repairs, a few hoses and resealed the dipper cylinder, new seal in swing gear, pin and bushings that the bucket and thumb pivots on and the engine ECU failed. The engine starts easy down to 0F, mine has intake heater. runs cool in summer. Uses around 7-9 gal/hr of fuel depending on type of work I am doing. Used mostly for demo work, tree clean up, ditching and some new basements. I am not in a high production type of business, only getting 400-500 hours a year on that machine, but I would buy one again.
I own a EC210 Blc, very well build machine. I like it for it's build quality, good fuel consumption and comfort. I haven't had any problems with it, it's on 5000 hours. The only negative is the price of spare parts, I got prices from the dealers when I did a repair quote on an insurance claim, and the prices are absolutely shocking, ease double to tripple compaired with other brands. I don't know if it's only here in South Africa where we get ripped off, or worldwide.
If you work on caterpillar for a while. You'll be all messed up. Hard to get parts and you have to buy a manual for every pice you buy. Not l,Ike caterpillar. Where the support is there 24/7 . Parts and manuals for cats ar wall online using SIS. Volvo is a whole different world. But the operator likes them.. Your choice
The Volvos had better fuel economy, compared to the other brands tested. I think that was the only up side. We had a couple of Volvo 250DL, tier 4. Nothing but bad luck with them. Blew up turbo 3 times on one, then the engine went. It had low oil pressure, but the dealer didn't agree, because it still was at the bottom of the spec, 12psi, so they kept sticking on new turbos. This was all within 2500hrs. On the second hoe, it blew a turbo at 1000hrs, and the engine went at 1400hrs. Push rod poked a hole in the block. The emissions have been a constant reminder of how bad tier 4 can be. De-rating all the time, with no way to repair, except with the dealer only laptop. At least with the Case hoes, we could run a re-gen on the dash ourselves. Parts at the dealership are very pricy. And since its Volvo, there isn't a lot of aftermarket support. Even something simple, like a track link, is Volvo special, due to some special track pitch. Painful.
Newbie here, so take this with a grain of salt. Purchased a Volvo ECR 140 DL, reduced tailswing. Looked at the other major brands as well. Ultately pulled the trigger on the Volvo because it had the most torque, most swing torque, most hp, most weight in its size class. Also, spoke with some contractors who had purchased same model after renting/leading to buy. They all indicated that they thought it best performing, reduced tails wing in its size class. Salesman was great as well and has continued to be very helpful. Like I said, I am a newbie. Bought the machine for clearing land, stumping & general property maintenance on a few hundred acres. So far very happy.