Cat vs. Volvo

Tigerotor77W said:

Maybe you could point out some of the sites, then: I googled

"Cat C6 problem"
"Cat C6 C7 problem"
"Caterpillar C6 problem"
"Caterpillar C6.6 problem"

and didn't see anything on the first page that suggested that there is a widespread issue with them (nothing even from forums, where such complaints would surface). I can easily be wrong, of course, but I didn't find anything in a quick search. Perhaps I didn't search hard enough, but I would have expected something on the first page if this was a serious issue.

I hate to be so confrontational about this, but I do believe that your issues are hardly representative of the entire mid-range engine population. I'd invite you to contact Toromont and ask specifically to talk to the district rep in your area (or the sales development manager) if you feel there's a problem.

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Well if you must know Tigerotor.... I know of a serious issue with all of those engines. I heard a nasty rumor and I have even seen it myself that these engines don't run on hopes and dreams. You have to constantly put fuel in them... all the time jeez. :duh

I'd go with a CAT over a Volvo just out of sheer personal preference.

Burnout said:

Well if you must know Tigerotor.... I know of a serious issue with all of those engines. I heard a nasty rumor and I have even seen it myself that these engines don't run on hopes and dreams. You have to constantly put fuel in them... all the time jeez. :duh

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Haha, well glad to see I'm not totally insane... although this fuel thing, I thought pixie dust existed for a reason?

Good lord I sounded like a dbag when I typed that reply! Ooops. Didn't mean to be so rash, Xx...

I would have to go with Volvo, but I am partial I work for a dealer, we are selling alot of exc. and we are having very few problems.

I guess I'm not alone. XxTrasHxX, you may have gotten unlucky and gotten lemons, and maybe the C7 is somewhat less reliable than other CAT engines, but there is no such major flaw in these engines. There are tens of thousands of C6 and C7 engines out there, but I rarely hear of problems with them. Suggesting that only "less then 35% are good" is completely absurd.

P.S. Tigerrotor, you're right about that flaw - CAT engines generally burn more fuel than their oriental counterparts; but I find they (or at least the older ones I have more experience with) usually last longer than the oriental engines too.

Tigerotor77W These are just my own personal opinions on dealing with the new cat motors, its fine if you don't agree, its all about personal preference .As for talking to Toromont I do 3 times a week for the last couple months and with cat warranty directly, but right now we are 15k in the hole and hopefully the parts will be covered by cat warranty to get some money back also this is not even including the loss in production from having a piece of equipment down for a couple of months. The list based on my person experience running and repairing heavy equipment for the past 20+ years and that's why its subjective, maybe you can make a list of your favorite equipment in the different classes post it so that MrAndrew1907 can get more then 1 opinion. I'm just trying to help.

"Opinions are like a-s holes ,everyone's got one"

No worries mate, I agree with you. I just didn't think it was fair to put a fairly broad warning across all C6 (or C6.6, really) or C7 engines. I hope you can get it worked out with Toromont -- and again, try asking for one of the Cat reps. I don't know what the formality is to get ahold of one, but usually they're good people and a great deal of fun.

XxTrasHxX said:

Tigerotor77W These are just my own personal opinions on dealing with the new cat motors, its fine if you don't agree, its all about personal preference .As for talking to Toromont I do 3 times a week for the last couple months and with cat warranty directly, but right now we are 15k in the hole and hopefully the parts will be covered by cat warranty to get some money back also this is not even including the loss in production from having a piece of equipment down for a couple of months. The list based on my person experience running and repairing heavy equipment for the past 20+ years and that's why its subjective, maybe you can make a list of your favorite equipment in the different classes post it so that MrAndrew1907 can get more then 1 opinion. I'm just trying to help.

"Opinions are like a-s holes ,everyone's got one"

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I understand your frustrations and I hope all goes well with your machines and Toromont. Having expensive machinery down for months is very painful. As Tigerotor said though, I don't think it's fair to label all C6/C7 engines bad given your [surprisingly bad ] individual situation.

Burnout said:

Well he is from Okanagan which is British Columbia... Would mean the Volvo dealer is Strongco, Cat dealer is Finning, JD his Brandt Tractor, and Hitachi is Wajax.

Strongco isn't exactly known for stellar service. Finning and Brandt have great service although yes Finning is a little snobby if you aren't a huge company. Wajax..... mixed reviews. I know guys that have had great service, guys that have had crap service.

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Correction - the Volvo dealer in BC is GREAT WEST. Strongco has Ontario-east and Alberta.

There's lots of comments about computers and diagnostic systems. I think these are quite comparable on any new machine today. There are differences in fuel consumption and quality of construction but it varies by machine.

Bottom line, most mainline brands have a lot of technology and good quality. What differs is some functionality, the degree of "bells and whistles", and the quality of service/support standing behind the machine.

You have to decide if any of the bells/whistles have real value to you or not. Most importantly, take time to learn the dealerships. Every machine breaks down. Getting it running and reliable in the longterm will depend on the people you deal with and the company(s) standing behind them. It's an investment and you want to get what you pay for.

Good post. How are things in NC?

I know I'm a Cat guy usually (though I won't be working there after graduation), but I can't help but wonder how the competition sees Cat. I'd love to get in touch and chat if you ever have the time.

I don't actually drive heavy equipment but I work in the pipeline industry. The most common equipment here is cat, followed by Volvo then the odd komatsu, hitachi, case etc.

I have to say, the cat dump trucks are bloody ugly as hell, especially the 740 with a black grille. Looks awful. Also the cat side booms are noisy. The Volvos just seem way more refined. Many of the operators do prefer the refinement after 12 hour days.