Price Check How many hours is too many? Cat 416

   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #1  

Martian

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Aug 25, 2011
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Deere
Hi all,
As you probably know I'm looking for a used backhoe. I have several threads about some different machines and today came across a 1990 Cat 416 with 4x4 cab and extend a hoe about 5 miles from my house so it would be perfect to get. (I could almost drive it home) Looks to be in good condition for the age but has 10,692 hours. It seems steep but it's priced at $16500. Which from what I've seen is really good. I was looking at a 310D the same age but the Deere is 2wd no cab and no ext hoe with just over 4000 hours for $11,500. I really like the idea of the ext hoe 4wd and cab. And can see it being worth the little extra money but if the almost 11000 hour engine is going to have constant repairs I don't. Want to deal with it.

Thanks for the help!
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #2  
1,000 hours equals just about 30,000 miles. So there is a lot of run time on that unit. You might want to check with a local dealer on the engine that is in there & get some feedback on reliability, etc., with that many hours......
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #3  
If you'll only be using it for yourself, I wouldn't let that hourmeter scare me off. If you'll be working for hire, then you might want to look for a machine with less time on it.

CAT engines are know for reliability. My cousin's construction company owns numerous pieces of CAT equipment with 10k hours or more. I have a semi truck with over 1 million miles on a CAT motor.

Point is: if it's been properly cared for, 10,000 hours does not mean that it's junk.
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I will only be using it myself for work on some acreage that I just bought up north here in Michigan. It looks real clean which is surprising for the age and the hours so I think it would be well taken care of.

Does anyone have any experience on a 416?
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #5  
I am a heavy duty mechanic and have worked for a local Cat dealer 15 years and I say its more important that the machine was well maintaned than the amount of hours on it. Be sure to check for play in the pins and brgs and extend-a-hoe. Also check hoses for wear, cracks and leaks as having to replace hoses can add up pretty fast. Good luck, Rob
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #6  
Sounds like a fair deal to me. If you get a few years out of it, and have to do an engine overhaul, it still might be a good deal.
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks for the advise. My goal is to have it for maybe 10 years while we're building our place. That sounds like a long time but we have a bunch of land on the water and we already have a modular that works for our needs but we will be tinkering most of the time and making a nice place. I'm not going to be using it every day but it will get its hours. I want to save some money doing the work myself and sell it down the road.

Would you recommend the 416? How is it as an overall machine? Does anyone have any experience on it? Thanks for the help everyone.
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #8  
Haven't used one myself but have hired alot of excavators who have worked them on jobs for me, the operators seemed to think they were good machines. Most of these same guys now have the 420 series now.

Hard to make a recommendation about this machine without seeing it, all of us armchair computer guys would be guessing. Haven't heard anything bad about this model I can remember. Popular machine and parts are readily available for it.
 
   / How many hours is too many? Cat 416 #10  
Looks okay to me, doesn't look beat up. Looked at several of the pics and didn't see much signs of grease, I would inspect it closely and check the pins.

Times are tough, I would offer $13k and try to meet somewhere between. This would help you with some fix ups you will need to do.
 
 
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