Thank you so much. Case 580 as a front runner it is!
How often in older (97-2012) low hour machines are hour meters accurate?
In 2014 I was in the market for a used full size TLB. Wanted to buy used but good condition. 4x4, full cab, and extendahoe.
I almost bought a rental Cat 416D with 3000 hrs in Virginia..... then passed on it & looked for awhile at a fairly beat up but good running Case 580 with 4000 hrs in Nex Mexico, but ended up buying a JD 310SG from a farmer out in Nebraska. It had 5400 hrs. and now has about 6000. Still have it. Nice machine. All of these were roughly 2005 to 2012 models.
I did look at JCB and Volvos....but decided to stick with traditional USA TLBs. We do make the best.
I liked the interior and controls of the Cat the best, JD second, and Case a distant 3rd. But after awhile I only looked at Case and JD. That's because both of those makes seem to be better than Cat in the way their design and dealerships help the person who does his maintenance work. That may just be local - but worth checking out. Find out who is helpful to the small operator in your area.
I've bought my share of used machines through the years and don't think that I've ever had any doubts about the hour meters. After awhile you get a sense of whether the meters match the wear. I've always found that they do. So I've come to trust them.
One thing that can confuse you with a meter is a lot of idling time. That's partly because 20 years ago not all meters counted time the same way. And partly because some commercial outfits leave machines to idle for hours. Some meters are electrically driven, and count hours like a clock - if the engine is on, the meter is running at the same hourly rate regardless of RPM. That's common in commercial machines.
The other type of meter - used mostly in farm tractors in that era - was mechanically driven and worked counted hours by engine revolutions at rated speed. So if you were running at half PTO speed, an hour only counted as half an hour. Lots of compact tractors used that method as well.
Frankly, I judge a used machine a lot by the condition and then check the hours. I view hours as being way less important than condition. I do expect maintenance records and for the owner to have a normal selection of spares, literature, and any special tools needed. One think I do to check an engine is I always want to start the machine from stone cold. You learn a lot that way. I never mind paying top dollar for a good used machine that shows it was well maintained. I'm after a deal of course, but I take my deal in excellent condition rather than in price. So when buying used I'm only interested in excellently maintained machinery. If the owner isn't proud of what his machine I'm not interested at all.
If the owner has it serviced at a dealer - and most do - then I always ask them to release the service records to me. My local dealer keeps records by serial number going right back to the original buyer.
While looking, I did pass on two deals I might have considered. On thing I found were a LOT of older TLBs - mostly Case 580s but a few JDs - priced very nicely that were from the mid 1990s and used by by schools, churches, and small towns. They were often low hours and extremely well maintained. Downside there was most of those were economy models without 4x4, AC, or extras. But for the economy-minded buyer who doesn't mind a mechanical transmission that is where I would look. I felt that it was the mechanical transmission that made them want to upgrade. But for me that was an advantage. I was offered several that had 1000/2000 hrs and in spite of the age were good as brand new.
I've used a pre-purchase exam through my JD dealer a few times, although I never felt like I learned anything I couldn't see for myself. But there's just enough of a chance of turning something up that I will do that ... it all depends on the mechanic doing the inspection. You pay his hourly plus travel time from the dealer.
rScotty
