JCB thoughts please

I am looking for a 160 size machine and have found great deals on some really low hr JS160lc's. I have run several JCB backhoe's over the years and they all performed ok but some seemed a little low on power. I recently ran a JS130 for about 80hrs and for having 3k hrs, not a straight panel on it, no front glass, and overall the poster child for a abused rental machine, i was really impressed with it. I did a search and didnt find much info. Just looking for input. Who has any seat time on a newer one say 2006 and newer? We have a local (but small)dealer for parts/service.

We had a 160 demo out a few years ago after I sat in one at a show and liked the feel of the machine. Once out on the job though, I wasn't nearly impressed as I was the day of the show. Just had a "lower quality" feel than our Deere machines at the time. Strangest thing was that when we grease the machine, we couldn't get any grease to "come out" around one of the pins on the end of the dipper arm. My guys kept dumping tubes of grease trying to figure out why. All we could figure out is that they left out a "casing" around the pin, inside the dipper arm, so the grease was just dropping into the dipper arm cavity and not really around the pin. At least that's how I remember it. Was a strange thing. I don't know how they would even repair that. Anyhow, machine wouldn''t run properly after a couple of hours digging, we limped it to the side and went back and got our Deere to finish the job. Never heard from the JCB salesman again after that.

Personally, I would stick with the more popular brands...

Good Luck

According to Modern Marvels, JCB is the best Earthmoving machine made

We have an older JCB backhoe at work, it works great for loading salt, Its a decent machine. the only problem with it is when we blow a hydraulic line no one around us carries the right fittings for the hydraulics. Supposedly as I am told its a British Pipe thread. I do not know how true that is or not, but our machine was down for a day and a half waiting for the line to be made. I would be interested to know if the newer machines use standard hydraulic fittings or not.

larger jcb exc are basiclly the same as linkbelt and case there all 3 made by sumitomo

WV earth mover said:

larger jcb exc are basiclly the same as linkbelt and case there all 3 made by sumitomo

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Ahh not really........there was a joint venture back in the 90's but not anymore JCB build their own, spent some time with some nice folks visiting jakes heavy manufacturing last November and they were making machines for Brazil,330 it think.
There are some issues with production of their 450 with acquiring a engine to meet the new emissions standards.

They are obviously a good machine or they wouldn't be so popular in Europe and other parts of the world. I think that JCB doesn't have much of a market in the US due to a fragmented dealer network and all the associated issues that come along with that. IMO

Thanks for the replies, still undecided for now. I have talked to several people who have owned them and get mixed results. some with trouble free 3300hrs, and others with many problems. the thing that keeps coming up is parts availability, dont we live in an overnite world?
I broke down and called my Cat dealer, he claims to have some 315CL's 2500-3000khrs for a decent price. I owned 1 cat piece and it was always breaking down and parts were outragious not to mention service was too.
I have been looking at Kobelco as well, nearest dealer is 200mi. away. many on here seem to like them pretty well.

I would be wary of the JSB, there are a lot over here in the uk but that does not mean much when you hear some of the horror stories.
Neil

Parts availability and their pricing is a big issue. If you plan to own the equipment for a longer time that would be the main issue for me, if not I would only buy fair priced serviced equipment from a known dealer.

Summit said:

Thanks for the replies, still undecided for now. I have talked to several people who have owned them and get mixed results. some with trouble free 3300hrs, and others with many problems. the thing that keeps coming up is parts availability, dont we live in an overnite world?
I broke down and called my Cat dealer, he claims to have some 315CL's 2500-3000khrs for a decent price. I owned 1 cat piece and it was always breaking down and parts were outragious not to mention service was too.
I have been looking at Kobelco as well, nearest dealer is 200mi. away. many on here seem to like them pretty well.

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We have two Kobelco's (235SR & 135SR), both have about 5k hrs on them and both run great. They both are good on fuel and haven't really had to replace anything but filters on them. Im a Komatsu fan but kobelco makes a damn good hoe.

my only exp with jcb was on a mini and worked fine but the parts were extremely high and for some reason i had to buy 3 radiators in 4 years there was no way to fix them they were made very cheap and could not take shock 550.00$ and always took at least 7 days to get it and they never would warranty them so traded on a new case and love it 3 years old now with no problems at all and checked several parts side by side with jcb and found some to be as much as 400% more especially pins and bushings for the boom

Well, i need to find a machine within the next week, Cat salesman is still looking but everything he has either needs work or is overpriced, i have found some nice Kobelco 160 & 170 machines. Maybe i will start a new thread as i think i will pass on JCB.

Jcb...stay away from them...i have used most in the range of excavators and in my opinion they are bits of junk i would not want another one as a gift

Not bad machines.....if you get a good one then they are very very good bits of kit in my opinion.....but if you get a bad one then you'll never see the back of your JCB dealer, the firm i work for has 3 of them (145,160 and 220) and i have to say i like the 145 and 220, ive never been on our 160 but it has had a lot of trouble over the 3 years or so its been in service! I personally wouldnt hesitate in buying one if it was my money.....

Toured the jcb factory in GA their backhoes are impressive but you couldnt give me a Jcb excavator, It was slow and choppy when i went to climb a pile with the stick it didnt have enough flow to pull the tracks and the stick at the same time !

So after i told them that my deere would eat it they tried to get me to demo a 330 in calgary, i went to pick it up from the dealer after they had it plugged in for a day or 2 and we couldnt get it started.
last summer i had a canal job where we were bulking dirt from the bottom and throwing it up top I hired a owner oporator of a 460? jcb ... once again i spent more time trying to keep that machine running let alone waiting on him to move the dirt away from the 350D


IMO any thing that is too goood to be true is usualy the case..

Summit said:

Thanks for the replies, still undecided for now. I have talked to several people who have owned them and get mixed results. some with trouble free 3300hrs, and others with many problems. the thing that keeps coming up is parts availability, dont we live in an overnite world?
I broke down and called my Cat dealer, he claims to have some 315CL's 2500-3000khrs for a decent price. I owned 1 cat piece and it was always breaking down and parts were outragious not to mention service was too.
I have been looking at Kobelco as well, nearest dealer is 200mi. away. many on here seem to like them pretty well.

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I think you are wise to stay away from JCB. An excavator is a big investment and besides all the negatives that are being mentioned here resale value should be considered as well. I was going to buy a Kobelco 160 back in 2003. I had one on rent and when all the deals came through (I looked at Volvo and Cat too) the Kobelco was the best deal. I did not especially like the way the machine worked but, as I said, the deal was right. That was up until the dealer's B.S. came to light when I went to sign paper on it. After the deal went South I had issues with ancillary costs on the rent of the machine. I have not set foot in that dealer since and I don't intend to ever. I ended up buying a Cat 315CL and it has been a great machine (as I suspected it would be as I have a Cat backhoe with over 12,000 hours on it). Despite the higher up front costs I am glad I bought the Cat. I now have over 4,600 hours on it and the only time it ever let me down was a blown o-ring on the hydraulic pump. Cat had it fixed within an hour of me calling them. It has had some other minor issues but over all it has been a great machine. I think that most have the same experience and this helps to keep the resale value high (along with excellent service and parts avilabilty). I have heard some complain about parts prices being inflated. While I have not bought parts at all the MFRs, I have at many. I don't think that Cat is out of line when compared to others.