Why We'd Rather Sell You a R50,000 Used OEM Part Than a R200,000 New One

Let's start with something that might sound like bad business advice:

At Vikfin, we'd sometimes rather sell you a R50,000 used OEM part than a R200,000 new one.

Not because we're charitable.

Not because we don't like making money.

And certainly not because we have suddenly discovered that running a business is optional.

It's because we believe the best customer is an informed customer who gets genuine value from dealing with us.

If you save R150,000 on a part and get your excavator back to work, you're happy.

If you're happy, you'll come back.

And if you come back, we have a business.

It's really not that complicated.

The Parts Business Has a Trust Problem

Let's be honest.

Buying machinery parts can be a frustrating experience.

You phone three suppliers.

One tells you it's R180,000.

Another says R140,000.

A third says:

"I've got one for R65,000."

Your first reaction is:

What's wrong with it?

That's understandable.

Because in this industry, there is a huge difference between cheap and good value.

A cheap component that fails in six months isn't cheap.

A cheap component that doesn't fit isn't cheap.

A cheap component that arrives three weeks late isn't cheap.

And a cheap component that damages another component can become spectacularly expensive.

So our philosophy isn't:

"Sell everything as cheaply as possible."

It's:

"Give the customer the best solution for the money."

Sometimes that's new.

Sometimes it's aftermarket.

And sometimes it's a good used OEM component.

Why Would Anyone Pay R200,000?

There are perfectly good reasons to buy new OEM.

If you're running a brand-new excavator worth R4 million, you probably don't want to put a questionable second-hand component into it.

If the machine is under warranty, there are obvious considerations.

If a component is safety-critical or highly stressed, buying new may be the sensible option.

If the manufacturer has an excellent new replacement available at a reasonable price, go for it.

We're not anti-new.

We're anti-automatically assuming new is best.

Because sometimes it isn't.

Let's Talk About the R50,000 Part

Imagine you've got a 15-year-old excavator.

It's worth R800,000.

The final drive has failed.

The dealer quotes you R200,000 for a brand-new OEM replacement.

That's 25% of the value of the entire machine.

You could buy it.

But should you?

Then you find a used OEM final drive for R50,000.

It has come from a machine of the same model.

It has been inspected.

The necessary components have been replaced or refurbished.

It's ready to go.

And there's a warranty.

Suddenly the economics change dramatically.

You've saved:

R150,000.

That's not a small discount.

That's money that can stay in your business.

It can pay an operator.

It can service another machine.

It can help fund another excavator.

It can pay down debt.

Or it can simply stay in the bank.

And the machine still does exactly what you need it to do:

Work.

We're Not Selling Scrap

This distinction is important.

There is a massive difference between scrap and used OEM components.

When we buy an old excavator, we're not simply buying a pile of metal.

We're buying an enormous collection of engineered components.

Some will be worn out.

Some will be damaged.

Some will be beyond economic repair.

But some will be perfectly good.

Our job is to figure out which is which.

That's where the real value lies.

We dismantle machines.

We inspect components.

We identify what can be reused.

We refurbish where appropriate.

And then we put those components back into the market.

In other words:

We're not selling old parts.

We're selling useful engineering that happens to have had a previous owner.

A Used OEM Part Has a History

There is actually something quite reassuring about a genuine OEM component that has already spent thousands of hours doing exactly the job it was designed to do.

It has been tested in the real world.

It's not an unknown design.

It's not an unproven manufacturing process.

It's the original engineering.

The question isn't whether it is new.

The question is:

What condition is it in now?

That's why inspection matters so much.

The Vikfin Business Model Is Built Around This Idea

We deliberately buy older excavators.

Why?

Because we believe the machine's economic life and the life of its individual components are two different things.

An excavator may be uneconomical to operate as a complete machine.

But its:

• Final drive

• Slew motor

• Hydraulic cylinders

• Valve bank

• Engine

• Cooler pack

• Tracks

• Idlers

• Track adjusters

• Wiring loom

• Counterweight

• Bucket

• Linkage components

may all still have considerable value.

So we separate the machine into its components.

The excavator dies.

The parts don't have to.

And That Is Actually Good for the Customer

Let's say you're running a 20-ton excavator.

The machine is ten years old.

You don't necessarily want to spend R200,000 fixing it.

You want to spend as little as reasonably possible to get another few thousand hours of productive work from it.

That's completely rational.

The machine doesn't need to be new.

It needs to be profitable.

This is a fundamental difference.

We aren't trying to make your excavator new.

We're trying to make it productive.

We Don't Want to Sell You Something You Don't Need

This is where our philosophy gets slightly unusual.

If you phone us looking for a R100,000 component and we know you can solve the problem with a R30,000 component, we'd rather tell you.

Why?

Because we want you to trust us.

And trust is worth more than one sale.

If we sell you something you don't need, perhaps we make more money today.

But we've potentially lost you as a customer tomorrow.

If we save you R70,000 and solve your problem, you've got a very good reason to call Vikfin the next time something breaks.

That's how we think about the business.

The Cheapest Part Isn't Always the Best Part

There is a caveat.

We don't believe in cheap for the sake of cheap.

Suppose you have two options:

Used OEM: R50,000

New aftermarket: R40,000

We aren't automatically going to recommend the R40,000 option.

Maybe the aftermarket manufacturer is excellent.

Then it could be the right choice.

But maybe it's an unknown supplier with a questionable track record.

Then the R10,000 saving might be a terrible bargain.

The question is always:

What gives you the best combination of price, quality, reliability and availability?

That's the equation.

Sometimes We'll Tell You to Buy New

This might be the most important thing in this entire article.

If new OEM is the right answer, we'll tell you to buy new OEM.

If a good aftermarket component is the right answer, we'll tell you to buy aftermarket.

If rebuilding your existing component is the right answer, we'll tell you to rebuild it.

And if a good used OEM component is the right answer?

That's where Vikfin comes into its own.

We're not interested in forcing every customer into the same solution.

We're interested in solving the problem.

Because the Customer's Problem Isn't "I Need a Part"

That's only the surface problem.

The real problem is usually:

"I've got a machine that isn't making me money."

That's a completely different thing.

You don't wake up in the morning dreaming about buying a final drive.

You want your excavator digging.

You want your operator working.

You want your project moving.

You want your customer happy.

You want your finance payment covered.

You want your machine earning money.

The part is simply the means to that end.

There's Also a Bigger Reason to Reuse OEM Parts

There is an environmental argument here too.

Every time we put a good used component back into service, we potentially avoid manufacturing another component.

That means less:

• Raw material

• Energy

• Manufacturing

• Packaging

• Transport

• Waste

We're essentially extending the useful life of engineering that already exists.

A 15-year-old final drive doesn't know it's 15 years old.

If it's in good condition and properly refurbished, it can potentially do another few thousand hours.

Why throw it away?

This Is the Circular Economy Without the Corporate Buzzwords

You'll hear a lot about the circular economy these days.

Reduce.

Reuse.

Recycle.

At Vikfin, we're doing something very simple:

Reuse.

Take a machine that has reached the end of its working life.

Recover the valuable components.

Put those components into other machines.

Keep those machines working.

And keep useful engineering out of the scrap pile.

It's not complicated.

It's just sensible.

So Why Would We Rather Sell You R50,000 Than R200,000?

Because R50,000 might be the right answer.

If we can save you R150,000 without compromising the reliability or usefulness of the machine, why wouldn't we?

You win.

We win.

The machine goes back to work.

A perfectly good OEM component gets another life.

And everyone walks away happy.

That's a much better business model than trying to extract the maximum possible amount from every transaction.

The Vikfin Philosophy

We started Vikfin with a simple idea:

There has to be a better way to buy excavator parts.

Not everything needs to be new.

Not everything needs to be expensive.

Not everything needs to come directly from the manufacturer.

And not everything that comes out of an old machine belongs in the scrap yard.

Sometimes the best solution is sitting inside an excavator that someone else has already written off.

We find it.

We recover it.

We inspect it.

We refurbish it where necessary.

And we give it another job.

Because ultimately, we're not really in the business of selling used excavator parts.

We're in the business of keeping machinery working.

And if we can save a customer R150,000 while doing it?

Even better.

So the next time someone tells you that the only sensible option is a R200,000 brand-new part, take a breath.

Ask a few questions.

Do the maths.

Look at the age and value of the machine.

Consider the downtime.

Consider the risk.

And then ask:

"Is there a good OEM part already out there that can do the job?"

There just might be.

And if there is, there's a good chance Vikfin knows where to find it.

Flexible. Fast. Friendly. Affordable.

Vikfin — keeping good OEM engineering in the game.