Heavy Equipment from China

[CM1995]

People in business with machinery have made the mistake of buying all one brand and sticking to it exclusively - and then get treated badly by the manufacturer, because they rarely return the customer loyalty.

I never did, I bought Cat and Komatsu, and made sure Cat paid dearly for treating me like a doormat.

Well I guess I am in the small minority. Keeping our little fleet all Cat yellow has done well for us for support from not only the dealer but from Cat corp.

Last time I saw a commie sales rep was 2015. Actually it was the sales manager that stopped by the job and we had a nice chat. I gave him my card and said I would like to open an account, just email the paperwork. Didn't receive anything..

We have a cash account at the commie dealer for aftermarket items. It's just as easy to put it on the Amex and gain the points than fool with a formal charge account. Still haven't talked to a salesman, I guess they don't need the business.

 

[Zewnten]

Well I guess I am in the small minority. Keeping our little fleet all Cat yellow has done well for us for support from not only the dealer but from Cat corp.

Last time I saw a commie sales rep was 2015. Actually it was the sales manager that stopped by the job and we had a nice chat. I gave him my card and said I would like to open an account, just email the paperwork. Didn't receive anything..

We have a cash account at the commie dealer for aftermarket items. It's just as easy to put it on the Amex and gain the points than fool with a formal charge account. Still haven't talked to a salesman, I guess they don't need the business.

I’ve seen several companies have good luck with this. Have a bad experience corporate or the dealer bends over backwards to make it right. If they know you’re always ready to jump ship? Not so much.

 

[cfherrman]

They have to know you will jump ship otherwise they won't make it right

 

[CM1995]

They have to know you will jump ship otherwise they won't make it right

Not in my experience.

 

[nicky 68a]

I have to agree with Oz dozers statement.
Here in the UK you’d be surprised how badly Finnings and other big dealers treat their customers.
It seems to be a case of ‘if you think we’re bad,go try elsewhere’.They don’t actually say that,but it’s there.
However,we fell into unofficial recession Oct 22 in my opinion and some of the big boys are sharpening their pencils quite dramatically.
As for Chinese stuff,it’s there wether we like it or not.

 

[Welder Dave]

The gravel pit I know will change suppliers if they start getting poor service. They have a mix of mostly Cat machines but there's a few Volvo loaders in the mix including a big 350 they bought a couple years ago. The purchase of the Volvo 350 was in part because of some issues with Finning. Generally Finning treats them pretty good though. The Volvo dealer needs to give good service too or they'll buy a different brand next time. They tend to turn over machines on a regular basis but some they keep longer. They farm about 2000 acres as well and try to change over when the warranty runs out. It must be nice to have that kind of money.

 

[OzDozer]

If the Volvo 350 performs anything like the smaller Volvo loaders, then Cat should be getting worried.

Around here, the Volvo loaders have increased in sales enormously, and the last two to three years, I've been inspecting used loaders for clients wanting good used machines - and I recommended the purchase of several good used Volvos to them - not only because of their condition, but the fact that they show all the signs of being built better than many Cat loaders, and they had a good track record as regards minimal repairs that had carried out.

They all took my advice and bought them, and every one of them is performing well, with a great of satisfaction from my clients.

 

[Welder Dave]

The gravel pit had some Volvo loaders in the past including a 180. They said the 180 was faster than the Cat, would run circles around it in the pit! Then the service from the Volvo dealer slackened a bit and they bought a bigger Cat. I think the same thing kind of happened with Finning so they went back to Volvo. They might have liked the Volvo better or got better pricing but I'm not sure. They aren't hard up for money. They said it's good to not rely on just one brand and having another brand in the mix keeps the dealers on their toes. The dealer(s) can't assume you're going to buy their machine just because you did in the past. If a dealer looks after them they'll be rewarded. If the dealer takes too long for a service call or parts, don't expect to be rewarded.

 

[PeterG]

My name is Mark, I'm from Germany and I just started a construction company so I'm looking for used construction equipment at a reasonable price to start with

Wow! This thread has gone awol. You say you are looking for used construction equipment. WHAT TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION WILL YOU BE DOING AND WHERE? I doubt you will find any used heavy equipment with a China brand name on it. In Europe you will find good used equipment such as Takeuchi. Take a look in the area around where you will be working and see what everyone else is using. Also as said by others figure out if you're Company is going to handle your repair work, or have a dealer do it. Many construction companies just rent or lease equipment per jobs, go to auctions, or just start off with older smaller equipment and work there way up to bigger equipment. Good luck!

 

[Welder Dave]

The OP has never responded since starting the thread in 2019!

 

[CM1995]

The OP has never responded since starting the thread in 2019!

OP's loss. Look at all the great info he's missed out on..