The hidden truth about buying Chinese machines

[@aussiefarmer8741]

We have a dealership in our state "Not" UHI Who sells cheap chinese tractors and they have all amount of major problems. The dealer wipes his hands and tries to get out of warranty and eventually blocks calls. It has not happened to me personally but I have read this on forums during my research. Now there is many tractors for sale with low hrs, people are trying to move them on. I ended up buying a good used case tractor. It kind of put me off. Thanks for the video though Tim.

[@glenpryce]

Good feedback. Especially people reselling at low hours. That tells me everything I need to know😊

[@MethaneHurricane]

These sort of videos are great. We just can't get enough information when it comes to navigating the minefield of Chinese manufacturing.

[@hoyks1]

Chinese companies can manufacture high quality equipment, they will also happily manufacture junk and cut corners if the customer wants the equipment at a low enough price. Its all about structuring the price and therefore the manufacturing process to make stuff that is really good, good or good enough.

[@honeybacres]

Thanks for the look into UHI Tim. It is amazing how much difference in quality there is in Chinese manufacturing.

[@FarmLearningTim]

Yep. Not for everyone but there are some good dealers out there for those who are interested.

[@honeybacres]

@@FarmLearningTim absolutely. You would be made to not consider them though. I remember the disparaging terms people used to describe Japanese made vehicles in the 70s and 80s. You don’t hear that anymore. The good manufacturers will likely keep improving and the not so good will probably disappear. In the meantime people just need to be aware of what is good or not. I have looked at UHI machines and definitely keen but just saving the dollars at the moment.

[@mrrberger]

@@honeybacres Unfortunately the cultural difference say it all. Japanese was always about being better, doing better and achieving perfection. They started in bad and now challenge the Germans. Chinese culture is different, it's all about prosperity, that transformed into personal wealth because of greed. Their thick face black heart mentality to prosperity means you will always get taken for your money. Every step of the deal with Chinese will need scrutiny and checking and adjusting and revisiting until you find all the levels they maneuvered you to make more profit. Real companies don't have time to deal with this mentality so accept it and pigeon hole the products into "unstable and unreliable" so cheap to buy but ultimately end up being the same cost as a good one based on down time and life expectancy plus loss of business. Try asking for wiring diagrams where all the wires are the same colour and gauge so impossible to trace and diagnose or hydraulic systems where parts are both imperial and metric mixed, materials are cheese grade with hard coatings rubbing off as they scrimped on process or bearing sealing that's non existent. Chinese machines glitch, ruin parts and break then cost you endless hours and money trying to solve. Never allow an accountant decide on a machine to buy, always trust an engineer who has a connection to profit, they will also be realistic on its life expectancy. Business I worked for would buy diesel forklifts, run them for 18 months and sell them nett even after tax deductions. The people buying the forklifts would always call us 12 months later asking about spares and service parts and we'd send them to the supplier, many came back and offered to sell the forklift back to us for scrap rate. Nope, it was always a one way trip and 18 months was about it. You'll never get what you expect from a supplier doing everything they can driven by greed.

[@livingadamman7994]

@@honeybacres It might seem like a fair thought but with chinese manufacturing and mentality, could never be compared to japanese mentality and engineering. Apples and oranges no mater what era, today probably more dodgey than ever. It will take forever for consumers to trust Chinese anything with the same regard as Euro, or even japanese manufacturing quality.

[@littlewink7941]

Alway's remember,'you get what you paid for'.@@FarmLearningTim

[@Reestiboy]

I own two XCMG 6 ton excavators....brilliant machines, never misses a beat.

[@joelawrence56]

quarry I worked for had 2 big loaders and 1 big digger... they were value for money!

[@HebrewHammerArmsCo]

I have a small excavator 1 ton for postholes and digging small trenches... Had a few minor issues , but easy fixes.. But I wouldnt be using them for serious work.. The metallurgy just doesnt cut it...

[@rhys5567]

The chineseium is funny. When I was a teen I got one of those budget starter tool sets. I used a chisel as a pry because it was trash. Without putting any pressure on it would bend and I could bend it back with my hand. I'm not that strong. It was comical.

[@andrewsteele7663]

Good morning, Tim, excellent video. I have a Chinese made Eastwind tractor with all the bells and whistles. I will admit it is a tad big for my little block. But it's a brilliant piece of equipment. And I have nothing really go wrong with. It. I did a lot of research before my purchase. But I would have appreciated a video like this before I set off on my quest. Cheers and thanks.

[@kdegraa]

Didn’t the company selling Eastwind tractors close down? I think they were called Midway Tractors.

[@andrewsteele7663]

@@kdegraa They were Midway tractors. i have not needed parts etc, so I have not been in contact, thanks for that

[@shovelguggelheim8454]

​@@kdegraa I had an Eastwind and loved it. Midway closed but all Eastwind stuff was bought by a Qld company who deal in them and all parts. I'll did through my records for their name.

[@shakes7333]

Bad part about off named gray market equipment is parts availability. No one has time to wait weeks or months for a little part. A lot of down time when one goes down.. Here in the Stats anyway.

[@andrewallen9993]

If you can find parts at all! Usually you have to make them yourself.

[@grahamsengineering.2532]

As a Trade Qualified Mechanical Fitter that works on this stuff and have had many customers wanting parts made because after a few years parts are no longer available. There is no way I would buy chinese made. Vietnamese, Malaysian and Korean are much better quality.

[@thelonewolf666]

a lot have perkins engine etc and well know hydraulics--- usually parts are not too bad, if you stick with one with well known components

[@wellknowninspections3631]

My Experience - I have Rays mobile number and he answers on the odd occasion I have had an question, he didn't answer once but called me back within 30 minutes!! I have a 1.2 tonne excavator I bought approx 2 years ago, Ive done over 100 hours on it at home - on some small acreage. The only issue was I needed to tighten come hoses which leaked some oil - easy fix. I also needed another part to grease the nipples - but it was a flat one on the arm, I couldn't find mine which was most likely in the start up kit. So I dropped in to buy another. Well, not only did they help me but they gave me the connection from another kit which they said they would get an extra one in the next container to replace it. I offered to pay, they refused. I AM SO HAPPY I BOUGHT A UHI, the topic of this video explains why - the number of issues others have had, and myself with a tractor previously from another manufacturer had me worried. Satisfied customer

[@CamperKev]

A very interesting video and Ray seems like a nice bloke who knows the industry very well. Plenty of spare parts available which is good, but if the CCP go ahead with their threats to attack Taiwan, then you can kiss goodbye to anymore spare parts arriving. That's the kind of problems we face, when dealing with a country, ruled by an aggressive authoritarian dictatorship. As the Australian wine growers, the beef, lobster, coal, timber, barley and cotton industry and other Australian businesses, already know too well.

[@harry8506]

You will have the same problem with many big brand names as they source parts from china, take Cat for example.

[@CamperKev]

@@harry8506 Yes that's true. China is the worlds factory. It would affect a lot of industries and products. Hence the reason many smarter companies have started to decouple from China already and are relocating elsewhere. That's why China is now experiencing a huge youth unemployment problem and their economy is suffering. Self destruction and a massive backfire for Xi.

[@andrewradford3953]

Our prime minister cost our economy billions, but china's face saving has taught us they are not a reliable trading partner due to long lasting tantrums. If an imbecile insults you, then you are no better than him for reacting.

[@CamperKev]

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison asked for an independent inquiry into the origin of Covid19. Formally known as the Wuhan Virus, until the CCP asked the WHO (World Health Organisation) to change the name, which WHO did. The request by the Australian PM for an investigation, was backed by most other countries in the United Nations and around the world. A logical step in the right direction to help understand the virus and to perhaps avoid the same situation repeating. A logical request that others agreed with. The CCP reacted with outrage. Implementing Australian trade bans on a number of imports and they made their fair share of threats and demands as well. They did not want an international organisation visiting the Wuhan viral research Lab at that time, nor any interviewing of the Wuhan Lab staff. They finally relented a year later and allowed an international team in. Long after all data, and documents were removed from the virus research lab in Wuhan. Long after staff were hushed up or disappeared. Then the CCP had their own organisation, follow the international investigators around, to make sure nothing was out of line. Hence it was not the PM that cost Australia billions of dollars and the CCP were never insulted, although they obviously took it that way. If the CCP had nothing to hide, then what was the big deal, one might ask ? Just like the CCP's covid death figures (4 deaths per million) and their extended covid lock downs the CCP's investigation reaction is an embarrassment for China. It was nothing more than the type of behaviour that can be expected from a tyrant.

[@jasonpeters3228]

These Chinese machines flooding the market are helping drive down the cost of good low hour used name brand machines for those of us who want a professional quality machine with parts and service backup.

[@pipingmad11]

The UHI yard in Brisbane looks dodgy. It is in a dirt yard with a donga office. The mechanic there let some truths out and said their 4 in 1 will claim to lift say 400kg, but in reality can only do about 200kg without breaking. The tractors had a fair bit of rust on them from new. There is a facebook group dealing with warranty issues and how UHI won't fix the problems. Chinese manufacturers do not support models for long. Try and find FOTON parts. Trident used to have a 40hp model and got rid of it after a couple of years and now do a 45hp. Chinese also do random changes to models depending on which factory makes them at which time. A possible positive is that a lot of manufacturers seem to have the same engines. Foton, Lovol, UHI, Trident.

[@kevintengvall4642]

Hi Tim, I bought a chinese tractor a couple of years ago, I couldn't be happier with it, However when it came to replacing fuel and oil filters etc the infformation on them (including the tyres) is written in chinese, getting the right ones took me a fair while on the internet finding the Australian distributer ( the local one was not a help) now I know where to go the problem seems to have gone away. new buyers of chinese gear need to be aware of this.

[@FarmLearningTim]

Yes absolutely. Pays to go with a larger dealer.

[@garybonz]

Plenty of spare parts is good but for how long ? Months . . . Years . . . Decades ?

[@tonyfamilton8982]

wait to you car needs parts ,5 weeks from usa to nz 4 weeks from australia cheers

[@philipingram1667]

Parts and warranty would keep me from buying anything Chinese especially how the state of the world is this week. Also the machine value on a trade/sale would likely not be much if anything close to what you paid. If you want a machine that is for one job or a new machine for hobby use, it may work out for you.

[@glenpryce]

This video is good but....there's also a lot of useful info in the comments. Nobody knows these tractors than existing owners. After reading many of the comments, I will pass on UHI😊

[@andiharper4498]

Who manufactures the UHI tractors? What brand engines do they have?

[@tonydoggett7627]

Try and drill the mild steel crates the attachments come in. Impossible.

[@MethaneHurricane]

I cut some of that up with a plasma cutter and it also reacted in a weird way. But to be fair, I don't think they ever pretended that it's mild steel. It's just some garbage alloy used for packaging.

[@stevenwilkinson3598]

Sounds like a complicated mine field 🤯

[@2nostromo]

Yeah blokes... build a relationship with tier 1 CCP. Brillliant

[@chrisnoname2725]

Because the American government is good for everyone's freedoms and John Deere just want to help their customers, right? You're acting as if dealing with China is somehow new or only just a threat now, but wasn't for decades before. We should be rejecting junk products no matter where they're from and against propping up hostile governments. At least this way there's a chance of getting something cheap and will get the job done if you only need something for a little use. Like a butcher shop having a terrible forklift, but it's better than using a tailgate and pallet jacks. What benefit do we get from giving foreign aid or paying Indonesia's military?

[@robertmillar2037]

Exactly. Absolutely stupid.

[@glenpryce]

😂 good point mate​@@robertmillar2037

[@Jared_Albert]

my advice is put any heavy equipment on a scale and that will give you alot of insight into how well built it is

[@egdiryellam68]

I have a pile of poor quality junk out the back, most if not all is Made in China, don't want any more. I wonder how long this post will last?

[@FarmLearningTim]

Probably as long as Your Iphone.... Which was made in China....

[@CitizenAyellowblue]

@@FarmLearningTim😂

[@jotk9440]

Great reply ​@@FarmLearningTim

[@ibrahimhaneef6684]

Thank you for the update

[@bekabeka71]

Wow those red tractors are really good looking

[@garybalasa3158]

Yeh NO thanks, dealt with China most of my career i still say nothing but rubbish from a build quality prospective, lets not even talk about reliability and spares, not serviceable parts but big ticket items and to top it off finding a mechanic to work on them, long way to go yet, breaking the US market has about as much chance as you winning tattslotto.

[@philliangbeihai5388]

Why do you promote Chinese products when they slap high tariffs on our farmer's and wine. 👎

[@chongshenchang9367]

Because he's getting paid for that promotional video. Money money..

[@MrPopo-nn7kp]

Shouldn't be selling to them anyway

[@bonkerjohn1543]

Great video!

[@TheSeastar19]

If you want the truth here it is. Any of those machines that have been re - branded UHI, you will not be sure of quality. Any of the major brand items like XCMG and the Shantui dozers and Zoomlion products, these will be OK but of course XCMG and Shantui are not all that cheap these days so you are still spending a large chunk of change for a machine that is made in China and when and if you ever go to sell it then this will be the time that you will see the difference in buying Komatsu or Caterpillar over a lower cost Chinese brand. (in other words your phone won't ring with potential buyers or if it does it does it won't be very often anyway) Unfortunately you pay for the brand name and when you sell the machine secondhand the next guy will pay for the brand name too.

[@anthonycorrone4967]

Great insight mate. Honest answers and they know what Aussie market requires. Just think back to where Hyundai were 30 years ago to where they are now!

[@motardktm640]

Care to disclose what you're getting out of this little infomercial?

[@FarmLearningTim]

UHI are a sponsor as advertised at the start of the video and on my website.

[@arcadianforge8104]

@@FarmLearningTimyou have not disclosed sponsorship at the start of the video. I suggest you improve transparency.

[@FarmLearningTim]

@@arcadianforge8104 There is a clear message in the top left of the video at the start that states the video contains sponsored content. Questions and responses in the video were factual.

[@yohahnboogaloo8158]

China copy …….not create

[@thisarfingai]

"For years, we have paid a premium for the big names. Then, in the search for even more profit. They took their manufacturing to China. Produced at a fraction of the cost. Still sold for a premium. Massive profit. But that has now backfired. These Chinese factories are so familiar with building brand names. They can sell their own version for what it really costs."

[@andrewradford3953]

A similar attitude towards Japan in the 70s.

[@yohahnboogaloo8158]

I’ve got a 200 dollar Chinese sliding saw . Exactly same as makita but blank plate where makita brand goes. Same colour .. People made mistakes getting china to build there stuff because all your intellectual property… gone with no copyright….

[@dano6845]

Not much crazy innovation in these types of machines. As long as they run reliably I don't see the issue. Resale value is the thing that would make me hesitate.

[@FarmLearningTim]

I do note that you bought the $200 copy.

[@dieseldavetrains8988]

Simple thing is not to buy any of their second rate junk to start with...A friend of mine bought a new Chinese bus (Yutong), body work fell to pieces and the motor was always breaking down, once bitten twice shy. Is this video an "informercial" pumping up their tyres for them, please disclose?🤔 Chinese made railway wagons, especially grain hoppers, have a very poor reputation for reliability and quality...you get what you pay for I guess.

[@FarmLearningTim]

It’s about exactly what you have seen. There are tiers in Chinese manufacturing and if you choose the wrong one you get what you experienced. I think I asked fair questions.

[@andrewallen9993]

Built down to a price not up to a standard without any spare parts back up.

[@johnberry1107]

Eh, mate! Same as buying Japanese 60 years ago. Stay safe.

[@alf7589]

Every piece of Chinese machinery I’ve bought is junk, it’s a very short term solution and not worth the headache in my opinion

[@rhys5567]

I find they are the same machines but no quality control.

[@FionnbarrBoggs]

2o11 Chinese road sweeper come two Ireland brilliant and they had Italian pump's in machines and 10000 euro cheaper

[@coevicman3685]

mmmmmmmmmmm. Western brand distributors have to have 5 million dollars of spare parts in house in Australia. Sometimes a special part gets flown in. I will stick to western brands second hand than go through possible hart ache. Chi items good for hobby use.

[@ciaranconeely8579]

👍👍👍.

[@UltraMagaFan]

You could have a Cat 301.7 with 3000 hours on it would still last longer than those brand new Chinese made mini excavators. Used American made equipment is better. If I ever need to buy a cheap machine I’m just going to head to my local auction instead.

[@jamierobinson2466]

Junk .