Your Excavator Doesn't Care About Your Budget
And neither does your customer.
Let's imagine the scene.
You've got a 20-tonne excavator sitting on a construction site.
It's supposed to be digging.
Instead, it's doing absolutely bugger-all.
The operator is sitting in the cab scrolling through his phone.
The customer is standing next to the machine looking increasingly irritated.
The trucks are waiting.
The project is waiting.
And you're on the phone trying to find a hydraulic pump.
You finally get a price.
R45,000.
“Bloody hell. That's expensive.”
So you start shopping around.
R42,000.
R39,000.
R35,000.
Eventually, you find one for R28,000.
Brilliant.
You've saved R17,000.
There's just one small problem.
It arrives four days later.
And it isn't quite right.
Welcome to the wonderful world of false economy.
YOUR EXCAVATOR DOESN'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO SPEND
This is something every plant owner eventually learns.
Your excavator has absolutely no interest in your budget.
It doesn't care that you've had a bad month.
It doesn't care that your client hasn't paid you yet.
It doesn't care that diesel has gone up.
It doesn't care that SARS wants another cheque.
And it certainly doesn't care that the hydraulic pump you need costs R45,000.
When a component fails, the excavator has only one opinion:
Fix me.
And preferably yesterday.
That's because an excavator is not an ornament.
It's a production asset.
It exists to generate revenue.
Every hour it isn't working is an hour it isn't earning.
YOUR CUSTOMER DOESN'T CARE EITHER
This is the part that hurts.
Your customer doesn't care why your excavator is broken.
They don't care that the supplier is waiting for stock.
They don't care that your mechanic is busy.
They don't care that the part is sitting at a warehouse in Johannesburg.
They don't care that your supplier offered you a R10,000 cheaper alternative.
They want the work done.
And they're perfectly entitled to expect it.
If your machine is digging foundations, loading trucks, moving material or doing bulk earthworks, the project doesn't stop because your excavator has developed an attitude.
The job carries on.
And if your excavator can't carry on with it, somebody else might.
THE CHEAPEST PART CAN BECOME THE MOST EXPENSIVE PART
Let's take a simple example.
Your excavator normally generates R8,000 per productive day.
Your hydraulic pump fails.
You receive two options.
Option A
R50,000
Available immediately.
Option B
R35,000
Available in five days.
The natural reaction is obvious.
“Take the R35,000 one.”
You've just saved R15,000.
Except your machine sits idle for another four days.
Four days × R8,000:
R32,000.
You have saved R15,000 on the component and potentially lost R32,000 in production.
Your R35,000 pump has effectively cost you more than the R50,000 pump.
That's before we even discuss:
transport;
installation;
finance costs;
operator wages;
project delays;
penalties;
unhappy customers;
or the possibility that the cheaper pump isn't as good.
The maths isn't complicated.
The mistake is looking at only one number.
THE PRICE OF THE PART IS NOT THE COST OF THE REPAIR
This is one of the biggest mistakes we see in the earthmoving industry.
Someone phones and asks:
“How much for a final drive?”
The answer might be R40,000.
They phone somebody else.
R35,000.
Someone else:
R30,000.
They think they've found the winner.
But the real calculation should be:
**Purchase price
transport
fitting
downtime
probability of failure
warranty risk
future maintenance= total economic cost**
Now the comparison becomes much more interesting.
A R30,000 final drive isn't necessarily cheaper than a R40,000 final drive.
It depends on what you're getting.
DON'T GET ME WRONG — WE LIKE CHEAP
Let's make something very clear.
Vikfin sells used OEM and refurbished OEM excavator parts.
One of the reasons customers buy from us is because we can often save them serious money compared with buying new OEM.
We like saving customers money.
We just don't believe in saving money stupidly.
There's a difference.
If we can supply a good used OEM component for R40,000 instead of a new OEM component for R100,000, that's potentially a fantastic saving.
But if a R25,000 component has a significant risk of failure while a R40,000 component is known to be in good condition, the extra R15,000 might be money well spent.
Cheap is good.
Cheap and wrong is expensive.
Cheap and unreliable is very expensive.
THE REAL PRODUCT IS UPTIME
Here's the uncomfortable truth about excavator parts.
You aren't really buying a hydraulic pump.
You're buying the ability to put your excavator back into production.
You aren't really buying a final drive.
You're buying the ability to move the machine again.
You aren't really buying a swing motor.
You're buying productive hours.
That's what matters.
The physical component is simply the mechanism that makes it happen.
This is why two suppliers can quote you different prices and both be offering perfectly legitimate products.
One might be offering:
used OEM;
another refurbished OEM;
another aftermarket;
another new OEM.
The question isn't:
“Which one is cheapest?”
It's:
“Which one gives me the best combination of cost, reliability, availability and risk?”
SOMETIMES YOU SHOULD SPEND MORE
This may sound like a strange thing for a parts company to say.
But it's true.
There are times when spending more money makes complete sense.
Suppose your excavator is working on a critical project.
You have two weeks left on the contract.
Your customer is relying on you.
The machine generates R10,000 a day.
You can buy:
A R30,000 component that takes seven days to arrive
or
A R45,000 component that can be delivered tomorrow.
Spending an extra R15,000 might save you six days of downtime.
Six days × R10,000:
R60,000.
You've spent R15,000 more.
You may have saved R60,000.
That's not spending money.
That's buying uptime.
SOMETIMES YOU SHOULD SPEND LESS
But the opposite is also true.
You don't automatically need the most expensive solution.
Imagine you own a 15-year-old excavator.
It's worth R600,000.
The machine is mechanically sound.
It has plenty of productive life left.
But the hydraulic pump fails.
The dealer quotes you R150,000 for a brand-new OEM pump.
You could do it.
But perhaps a reputable used OEM pump is available for R55,000.
If the used pump is properly identified, inspected and suitable for the application, spending another R95,000 may not make economic sense.
The machine doesn't become more productive because you paid more for the pump.
You have to match the repair to the economics of the machine.
THIS IS WHERE EXPERIENCE MATTERS
There is no universal rule that says:
New OEM = good.
Or:
Used OEM = good.
Or:
Aftermarket = bad.
That's far too simplistic.
The reality is considerably more complicated.
The right solution depends on:
the machine;
its age;
its value;
the component;
the application;
the workload;
the availability of alternatives;
the condition of the component;
the supplier;
the warranty;
and the cost of downtime.
A hydraulic pump on a machine working 12 hours a day in a mine is a different economic proposition from the same pump on a machine doing occasional farm work.
A final drive on a machine with 18,000 hours isn't necessarily the same decision as a final drive on a relatively new machine.
Context matters.
STOP SHOPPING FOR PARTS. START SHOPPING FOR SOLUTIONS.
This is where we think plant owners can change the way they buy.
Don't phone five suppliers and ask:
“What's your cheapest price?”
Phone them and explain the problem.
Tell them:
Machine: CAT 320
Problem: Hydraulic pump failure
Machine hours: 9,500
Application: General construction
Required: Machine operational as quickly as possible
Budget: Preferably sensible, but downtime is expensive
Now you're having a useful conversation.
A good supplier can then say:
“We've got a used OEM pump for R45,000.”
Or:
“We've got a refurbished unit for R60,000.”
Or:
“There's an aftermarket option for R38,000, but we'd need to confirm the manufacturer and lead time.”
Now you're making a decision based on information.
Not simply chasing the lowest number.
THE CHEAPEST SUPPLIER ISN'T ALWAYS THE CHEAPEST SUPPLIER
Here's another trap.
Supplier A:
R35,000
Supplier B:
R40,000
Supplier A sounds cheaper.
But Supplier A takes seven days to deliver.
Supplier B has the component on the shelf.
Supplier A charges R5,000 freight.
Supplier B charges R2,000.
Supplier A gives you 30 days warranty.
Supplier B gives you six months.
Supplier A doesn't know whether the component fits your serial-number range.
Supplier B asks for your serial number before quoting.
Suddenly the R5,000 difference in price becomes almost irrelevant.
The quote is not the deal.
The deal is the entire package.
AND THEN THERE'S THE “CHEAP PART FROM CHINA” QUESTION
We get asked this one a lot.
And the answer isn't:
“China is rubbish.”
That's nonsense.
China manufactures an enormous amount of the world's industrial equipment and components.
There are excellent manufacturers.
There are also manufacturers producing products where quality control may not be what you need.
The question is:
Who made it?
What is their track record?
What exactly are you buying?
Has it been tested?
What warranty applies?
What happens if it fails?
A reputable aftermarket component can be an excellent option.
An unknown component bought solely because it was 40% cheaper?
That's a different proposition.
DON'T FORGET THE MECHANIC
There's another number that often gets ignored.
Installation cost.
Suppose replacing a final drive costs:
R40,000 component.
R15,000 labour.
R5,000 oils and consumables.
R5,000 transport.
You're already at:
R65,000.
If the component fails shortly afterwards, you're not just replacing a R40,000 part.
You're potentially paying the R15,000 labour again.
This is why reliability matters more as the installation cost increases.
A component that takes five minutes to replace is one thing.
A component that requires half a day of specialised labour is another.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE MACHINE IS THE ONE THAT ISN'T WORKING
Think about that sentence.
You can own a R2 million excavator.
It can be beautifully maintained.
It can have low hours.
It can look fantastic.
But if it's sitting in the yard because you've been trying to save R20,000 on a component for the last two weeks...
it's currently worth precisely what it's producing.
And that's nothing.
An excavator earns its keep when it moves dirt.
Not when it sits under a roof looking pretty.
WHAT VIKFIN ACTUALLY TRIES TO DO
At Vikfin, our philosophy is pretty straightforward.
We don't want to sell you the most expensive component.
We don't want to sell you the cheapest component just to win the order.
We want to find the most sensible solution for your machine.
Sometimes that means used OEM.
Sometimes refurbished OEM.
Sometimes aftermarket.
Sometimes new OEM.
And occasionally the answer is:
“Don't spend the money. That machine isn't worth repairing.”
That's not always the answer a parts salesman wants to give.
But it's the answer a good business partner should sometimes give.
Because we're not trying to make one sale.
We're trying to build a business that customers come back to when the next excavator breaks.
YOUR BUDGET MATTERS.
BUT YOUR BUSINESS MATTERS MORE.
Of course you have a budget.
Every business does.
But the budget shouldn't be the only number in the equation.
If spending R10,000 more gets your machine back to work three days sooner, that could be the cheapest decision.
If spending R100,000 on a new component doesn't materially improve the economics of an old machine, that could be a waste of money.
The answer is different every time.
That's why we don't believe in the simplistic:
“Buy the cheapest part.”
Nor do we believe in:
“Always buy new OEM.”
We believe in something much more useful:
BUY THE RIGHT SOLUTION.
BECAUSE YOUR EXCAVATOR DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BUDGET
It doesn't care whether the pump costs R30,000 or R60,000.
It doesn't care whether the final drive came from a dealer or a used-parts specialist.
It doesn't care whether you negotiated a fantastic discount.
It has one job.
Work.
And your customer has one expectation.
Get the work done.
So when that excavator breaks down, stop asking only:
“What's the cheapest part?”
Ask:
“What's the smartest way to get this machine earning again?”
That's a much better question.
And it's the question we try to answer every day at Vikfin.
Because our business isn't really about selling excavator parts.
It's about getting excavators back into production.
Getting You Back to Work Fast.
Vikfin
Used OEM & refurbished OEM excavator parts.
CAT. Komatsu. JCB. Volvo. Doosan. Hitachi. Sumitomo and more.
The right part. The right price. The shortest practical route back to work.
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