How many hours is too many?

[Rodney R]

I've been looking around at excavators, and have decided that something between 12 and 20 metric tons is what I need, but for the limited amount of use the machine will have, I can't spend a big chunk of change on buying the machine. I'd like to keep my budget under $20K. I have seen machines sell for that price in the sizes I want, but many of them have 9K hours and more. Just recently, I saw a CAT 312 with a hydraulic thumb that was ready to turn 10k hours, and it was just over $15K. The rule of thumb for farm machinery was that a guy could expect to rebuild an engine anytime after 8k hours. Is that what I can expect with an excavator? How about hydraulics? Motors? I'm not pressed for time in finding a machine, but I probably will not buy one within 200 miles of home. I can do repairs no problem, but I'd rather not buy a time bomb.

Rodney

 

[sultan]

Different makes and models have different lifespans, but they are something like this.

A well made excavator engine goes 15-25k hours without a rebuild. An OK excavator engine needs a rebuild at 10-15k hours.
The hydraulic pumps and motors in any good excavator should go 10-15k, sometimes they last longer if you're lucky, and sometimes they fail earlier than that.

Higher hour machines that have had a recent rebuild are often a good buy. They sometimes have a few little gremlins but they are fine for farm use. For example, I bought a 2000 John Deere 200LC earlier this year for my farm. It had just under 15k hours, but it was recently rebuilt (had about 2k hours on new parts). Rebuilt engine, new hydraulic pumps, new swing motor, new track motors, 80% undercarriage. A machine of that age with 2000 hours would cost $60000+, but I got mine for half that. I did put in a little money to fix a few minor problems but even then it's a huge saving.

It may be good if you take a little time to learn about what can go wrong, go see many machines, and visit a few auctions just to observe and learn before buying your own.

Given your budget, it may be a bit tight but it's doable to get a decent excavator in the size class you want for farm use.

A CAT 312 with under 10k hours and a hydraulic thumb sounds a little too low to me. Sometimes you get lucky with such machines, but often there's a reason for the low price. Ritchie Bros is a good place to learn about the machines, get a feel for prices, and to get a machine on a budget. Just be careful and test thoroughly before buying anything - there's a lot of junk that goes for sale there too.

 

[nzpatch]

the cat 312 diggers that i know around here give a real good run, one i used to drive,one owner from new312bl, has 14000hrs on it and still going ok.9or10k hrs is still ok from my experience.

 

[xcmark]

A friend of mine had a Kamatsu 120 that had almost 12,000 hours on it But it had been well cared for by yhe company that owned it. It had the bottom and pumps rebuilt around 9500 hours , the motor was still good and started good cold. It sold for $18000 6 months ago to a exporter . Compleat manuals and service history was in black and white from the owner that put 11000+ hours on it. Operators and owners can destroy a machine in 2500 hour or make them last for 15,000 hours , really just depends on care.

 

[Marksan]

A friend of mine had a Kamatsu 120 that had almost 12,000 hours on it But it had been well cared for by yhe company that owned it. It had the bottom and pumps rebuilt around 9500 hours , the motor was still good and started good cold. It sold for $18000 6 months ago to a exporter . Compleat manuals and service history was in black and white from the owner that put 11000+ hours on it. Operators and owners can destroy a machine in 2500 hour or make them last for 15,000 hours , really just depends on care.

The last sentence says it all, 4 years ago l brought a 1988 Kobelco 200 with 12262hrs from a Father and son construction company who had had the machine for life. lve just turned 1000hrs in it, ive had to replace the swing motor seal and one idler. l am replacing all the hoses slowly and have brought filters,grease and oils.
Sure its on the worn side of serviceable. However the machine starts in -15 tracks straight, swings within tolerence, no bangs whines etc etc etc etc and (famous last words) shows no sign of somthing about to go south.

lts all in the maintenance

 

[JD450A]

Aye, Hydralic hoses will wear out. No matter what age a machine is. whether it be them rubbing (carry abit of cable armor and some tape and you gradually work and correct this problem) Or the wires rusting out inside.

Self Hire Machines (genrally speaking) are a trap. The bigger the firm the worse it is. View several diffrent machines and go for the straitest one that looks like it's been greased regularly (Blue grease stains are often a good sign)

Maintence is Key here. Big quarry machines in magazines always seem to have an extorcinate amount of hours. But think about it. Quarrys often have dedicated mantince programs and drivers who know how to drive.

A 500hr machine that's been abused will be no where near as good as a 4000hr machine that's been treated as it should.

 

[Rodney R]

Sounds like at about 10-15k hours lots of things need rebuilt. If they've been rebuilt, then that's a big plus. Many abused machines may not make it to a high hour level before they've been wrecked by the idiot in the seat. There's a real good chance I won't be able to go and see any machines (as I've limited myself in what I can look for in price). But it sounds like a machine with high hours only got there cause it was taken care of. Thanks for the replies guys!

Rodney