Used CAT Mini Excavator Buying Guide: 5 ECU Data Points Every B2B Buyer Must Pull Before Wiring Payment
It seemed like the machine was clean–very clean. The main reason is that the paint in the tracks was pretty fresh – I could still smell solvent – and when I sat in the cab the seat cover was stiff like vinyl-new – not the 1200 hours kind.
A regional equipment broker, the seller, was able to tell the potential buyer the meter reading, which was posted on a spec sheet as 1247 hours. Low for a 2019 model. Derek’s list was extensive, he had a hydraulic pressure gauge, even went over the undercarriage for wear, and took a sample of the hydraulic oil. Everything visual passed. The broker was trying to hurry him on, saying that there was another buyer coming the next morning from Ohio.
This is what Derek didn’t do–he never connected to the ECU.
Derek was followed by his mechanic three weeks after it was wired and his mechanic could not seem to clear a persistent problem with the fuel pressure. Normal process–connect the CAT Electronic Technician software, get the diagnostic history. The ECU revealed the facts in 90 seconds: In-hours: 3891 hours. Not 1,247. The instrument console had been replaced and a few things were hoped for.
This way, Derek never got this money back. When the lawyer sent the first letter, the broker had gone out of business and dissolved the LLC.
Go over to any used equipment lot & see where the seller’s gaze rests. Undercarriage wear. Bucket teeth. Pitting on Hydraulic cylinder rod. They will give you a flashlight and squat with you and be the “transparent” dealer!
It’s theater.
Data sources for the table above:https://www.equipmentworld.com/equipment/article/14947212/inspection-checkpoint-how-to-inspect-a-used-excavator
These aren’t negotiable. Simple. Brutal.
Ever. It doesn’t matter if the seller says that he or she tied up a new buyer or that this deal has to close by 5 pm on Friday because of tax reasons or that Mercury is in retrograde. Any seller that doesn’t wait for me to be able to verify the ECU data is not a seller, it was a pressure campaign to ignore the verification process for 48 hours.
I’ve lost exactly 2 deals because they wouldn’t allow me to get the ECU opens before paying. Neither machine was sold in a week to anyone but the initial purchasers. Once more, one of these other didn’t ever call, but I saw the machine listed again, 11 months later, which had 400 less hours on the meter than when I first viewed it.
The issue here isn’t even if it is worth pulling out data from the ECU, it’s if you want to walk away from people who don’t allow you to do so.
What 90 seconds of data extraction does is, it’s the difference between a $28,000 mistake and that machine that can operate for another 3000 hours without a significant repair. Spend those 90 seconds. Every single time.
