Which To buy used: Cat '98 428c or '01 New Holland NH95

[michalex]

G'day Everyone
I am currently looking around for a used backhoe
Two units which I have whittled down to I am interested in for different reasons lol

Unit 1: 1998 Cat 428c, 8700hrs, 4x4, 4 in 1 bucket, extendahoe, quick hitch, sideshift, shuttle trans, aux piping, no service history, only 1 bucket for hoe

Unit 2: 2001 New Holland NH95 4x4 (I think it might be badged as B95 in other countries) Perkins eng, 4000hrs 4 in 1 front bucket, extendahoe, quick hitch, sideshift, powershift trans, aux piping, full log books, 2 buckets for hoe

The New Holland is a few $k below the 428c, the owner/operator of the NH is forced to sell due to illness. I am really attracted to the low hours & great price, & the fact it has a thorough & documented service history, but I am wary of it being a powershift trans (bigger $$ if need repairs??) & from my searching, whilst there are some good reviews out there for the NH, it seems somewhat of a rocky path

Whereas the 428c is older, nearly twice the hours & has no service history, but Cat does have a good rep, generally is of good quality & I like the fact it has shuttle, not powershift trans & no pilot valves.
:-/
So I am drawn to the two for different reasons.
I was hoping that due to the wealth of experience & knowledge of members, that some may be able to enlighten me a little of any other pros & cons that I may not be aware of, trends of mechanical/reliability troubles that either machine may be known for, or from those that have had extensive experience operating either of them.
I realise buying any piece of used equipment is often a gamble, but was hoping that I may be able to expand on any info my searchin has revealed so far.

As far as the intended use as a property machine, it will be varied, not a lot of extended heavy duty usuage but there will be moving of gravel, maintenance of roads & firebreaks on the property, cleaning up of debris & rocks, some light brush clearing & some trenching at times. There wont be much, if any road travelling. My property is very hilly, some quite steep, & a lot of work will be carried out there, hence why I want the 4x4

So there ya have it, what do you think?? Any advice, experience & information would be very thankfully received

Cheers
michalex

 

[d4c24a]

perkins in a new holland are you sure

 

[michalex]

Gday d424a
Whoops. I must have accidently slipped that in as a crossover of something else I was readingops Was pretty tired at the time lol
Cheers

 

[d4c24a]

sounds like the NH is favorite mate

 

[michalex]

Gday mate
On paper it certainly seems to present the better deal. I am yet to test the 2 machines, I am heading out to check out the 428c today. The NH is bout 10hrs drive away, so will be headed on a roadie down there to trial it in the next few days. .....so that should with help my decision.

With any luck, in the meantime, I might get a few responses from those with experience/knowledge of these 2 machines.

Cheers
michalex

 

[fpgm04]

I have operated a B95 with powershift transmission. I have not operated a Cat 428c. If the B95 was properly maintained, I would personally not be concerned about the New Holland machine at 4000 hours. However, I would be tentative on any backhoe with unknown maintenance history and 8700 hours.

(Assuming you are purchasing from private party, not through a dealer) If you are concerned about future service, my advice is to not only visit the machines, but also visit both your Cat and New Holland dealers. They may be able to provide you more history on each machine and also you will get a feel as to how easy they will be to deal with on a single machine that you did not purchase directly from them.

 

[michalex]

Gday fpgm04
Thanks for your reply
I had a look at the 428c yesterday, while generally not in bad shape, it does show its age & hours, lots of pin bushes need replacing on the hoe & front bucket, it has a quickhitch front bucket which moves around a fair bit in its hitching due to wear.
They had just hit it with the pressure cleaner before I got there :-/ so I didnt get to see any traces of where there may have been oil weeping from cyls, eng etc, tho after running it for quite a while, there appeared to be a significant leak from the front right of eng, the origin hidden behind surroundings so not sure from where. My big concern, is the mechanic I spoke to (salesman was away) that he thinks the machine come from around areas where there had been BIG flooding earlier in the year, & I have this niggling feeling that this machine went under water......at the very least, there was signs of constant moisture in the cab, floor corners were showing signs of surface rust, there was a rust hole the size of a forefinger in the inside frame of the door, and the surrounding panel of the hoe control sticks showed a lot of advanced surface rust on it.....it may have been that the machine was not cleaned out in the cab often & held moisture from rain that has gotten in due to windows being left open, but I am just not sure :-/
It is from a dealer, they have bought it at auction, & the lack of history concerns me a lot...even tho I like it coz it is not adorned with all the expensive to fix electronic bells & whistles, I think this machine is just too much of a risk :-(

I have yet to organise the 10hr trip to go look at the New Holland, but the mechanic I was talking to reckoned they suffered a lot of trans & diff probs, & the cabs were poorly made & didn't stand up to the test of time........I didn't say to him I was considering one, but brought it up in conversation "that a bloke I knew used to have one & liked it", just to see what he had to say bout them coz were discussing various backhoe brands....of course, they didn't have NH in their yard so I guess he isn't gunna promote them lol

Is there anyone else who has knowledge or experience of the New Hollands? The more info the better I reckon. I would feel a lot more confident moving towards the NH if there were more positive reports on them.
Thanks for your time
Cheers
michalex

 

[mudober]

NH 95 my choice. I have operated both and I don't like the cat it is to heavy and clumsy.

 

[michalex]

Gday mudober
Thanks for your input
Are you able to expand on that at all, are you aware of any reliability issues with the NH's?
Thanks

 

[mudober]

I did own a NH lb75b I had the 4-speed shuttle tranny not power shift never had any trouble other than the occasional hose leaking or blowing out The wear pads for the extend hoe are around $1500 to replace the lines are metric flat face o ring seal I put around 1800 hrs on mine before finishing my work and selling it.
I run equiptment for my living and haven't liked a cat hoe till they made the E-series I know other people like them tho I would stay away from any hoe with that many hrs I believe it's ready to start blowing cylinders and no telling what else

 

[trini_fella]

Have only ever operated a 428C, which I absolutely love since I have nothing else to compare it to