Whether you have one machine or an entire fleet of construction equipment, you know how much time and money maintenance requires. Costly repairs that come one after the other can quickly add up, forcing you to raise your rates or make budget cuts. What if there was an alternative? With equipment rebuilding, you spend a fraction while optimizing performance.
It may sound too good to be true, but it’s not. Where should you go if you want to rebuild your construction equipment? Unlike buying new or used heavy machinery, it is not something you can do by yourself. Using an authorized Caterpillar dealer like Warren CAT ensures you get the right parts at the best price. Working with certified, experienced technicians is key.
Rebuilding Equipment Is Becoming More Popular
Purchasing new heavy machinery at the list price has become expensive. While prices have consistently increased yearly for nearly two decades, they jumped by an unusually high 8.8% from 2022 to 2023. As costs continue rising, more contractors are turning to affordable alternatives. While many used to rely on repairs, those are also growing more costly.
On average, the cost of purchasing new equipment is roughly 25% of the total cost a contractor will invest over the equipment’s life span — fuel and maintenance account for the rest of the expenses. Unfortunately, repairs become exponentially more expensive the older parts get.
According to the Public Interest Research Group — a United States-based nonprofit — contractors will spend 25% of the original list price on repairs for a 180-horsepower diesel tractor that accumulates around 6,000 hours of use annually. For a $200,000 machine, that percentage amounts to $50,000 in one year.
The Public Interest Research Group estimates contractors will spend an additional $90,000 — around 45% of the original list price — on repairs over the next 4,000 hours. Since they often need multiple types of equipment, their maintenance costs add up quickly.
Repair costs exponentially increase because companies fix the symptom instead of the sickness. Equipment rebuilding is different — it replaces or reassembles worn components, resulting in a like-new machine. Technicians cover mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems, ensuring the finished product is close to the manufacturer’s specifications.
Decision-makers are increasingly choosing this approach because its efficiency is unmatched. With Warren CAT, they can save time and money by rebuilding instead of repairing or buying new. In some cases, the rebuilt machine will outperform the original — technological advancements may have made the replacement components better than ever.
Warren CAT replaces thousands of parts during a rebuild, ensuring you get the best performance out of your heavy machinery for years to come.Warren CAT
How an Authorized Dealership Can Help
If equipment rebuilding seems suitable for your company, turn to reputable providers. Caterpillar dealer Warren CAT has several rebuild programs and can return your machine to like-new condition. Alternatively, it can focus on specifics like hydraulics, power trains or mechanical components.
Warren CAT replaces thousands of parts during a rebuild, ensuring you get the best performance out of your heavy machinery for years to come. Moreover, as an authorized Caterpillar dealer, it has access to vast product support capabilities.
Warren CAT’s experienced technicians have extensive training and use cutting-edge tools. It has over 50 years of experience and is the resident rebuilding expert in Oklahoma, West Texas and the Texas Panhandle. Whether you are located in a large city like Amarillo or a smaller town like Hugo, this dealership has you covered.
Rebuilding heavy machinery by replacing thousands of parts per model is not something you should do yourself. Even if you trust your technicians’ capabilities, allowing a third party to handle the logistics of inspections, tests and part ordering can save you a lot of time and effort.
The Benefits of Construction Equipment Rebuilding
You benefit from utilizing Warren CAT’s equipment rebuilding services for your construction fleet in many ways.
Generating Value by Increasing Uptime
As soon as you repair one part, another one breaks — or at least it might seem like that to you. You likely are in a near-constant state of fixing or tweaking something if you have a reactive maintenance program. If you were to rebuild instead, every component would be at similar levels of low wear, making it easier to replace everything simultaneously in the future.
Making Component Sourcing Simple
Whether you prefer modern or older machinery, technology can glitch and fail, becoming just another part that needs repairs. Crucially, the raw materials that power digital devices could soon be in short supply, so you may find it challenging to source components for increasingly sophisticated designs.
If this possibility becomes a reality, equipment rebuilding will be your ideal approach. Getting older machines to run like new will help keep your business operating when global material shortages delay replacement parts. Besides, Warren CAT maintains an exhaustive parts inventory, increasing your resiliency. Even if another semiconductor shortage does not come to pass, you may still prefer relying on tried-and-true machinery.
Lessening Environmental Impacts
Buying new has adverse indirect environmental impacts. Everything from mining raw materials to shipping the machinery to your base of operations creates greenhouse gases. Your company would have a smaller carbon footprint if you were to rebuild instead. Even if being eco-friendly is not a priority for you, it can please regulators. You could even make it a selling point.
Whether you prefer modern or older machinery, technology can glitch and fail, becoming just another part that needs repairs.Warren CAT
Spending Less to Improve Performance
Rebuilds typically offer better performance at a lower cost compared to repairs. One expert estimates it costs 50% to 75% of your equipment’s list price while providing at least 98% reliability. Despite spending as low as half of the cost of a new machine, it performs like it's fresh off the assembly line.
Equipment Rebuilding Versus Buying New or Used
Parts can only perform at a certain level for so long. Eventually, they get old or wear out. While repairing pushes them above that threshold, the results are only temporary. The problem will begin happening more often, causing maintenance to become increasingly time-consuming and expensive.
Using maintenance programs like Warren CAT’s machine service remains among the most cost-effective ways to ensure peak efficiency. Although its experienced technicians and extensive parts inventory ensure a quick turnaround, repairs are a relatively temporary fix compared to rebuilds.
Although buying new may seem like the obvious choice, it is not feasible for many construction professionals. Those who own small or midsized businesses may not have enough capital to upgrade. Besides, few financial advisers recommend consistently purchasing machines at the list price rather than fixing them.
Rebuilding gets machinery as close to new as possible without requiring a significant financial or time investment. It may be initially costly, but it is more affordable than purchasing a new machine and costs less than repairs in the long term. This approach offers a balanced alternative to standard options.
The Bottom Line of Rebuilding Construction Equipment
If you need to fix a single part, repair might be the right choice. Alternatively, purchasing equipment off the lot may be sound if you have had your current model for years. However, in many cases, Warren CAT’s equipment rebuilding service is the option that makes the most financial sense. Paying half the cost of a new machine to replace thousands of worn components with like-new parts is unbeatable.
