Chinese Diesels A Half-Price Bargain

Chinese Diesels A Half-Price Bargain TRACTORS New Tractors 5-2-9 The first Chinese diesel engines and a utility-size tractor now being imported to the U.S. are selling at prices 30 to 75% below the competition. "Most diesels sold in the U.S. are foreign-made but China, now under `favored nation' trading status, has only a 4% import tax, versus a 30% tax for other countries. So far, quality of the half-price bargain engines from China has been extremely high," says Mike Waters of Affordable Diesels, a San Diego, Cal., firm marketing the Chinese engines. Waters sells them for irrigation and other stationary engine chores, and as the power source for an electric generator. "We team the engine up with an American-made revolving field-type generator made by T & J in Oshkosh, Wis. The result is the most economical new diesel-powered generator on the market. It's even competitive in price with similar-size gasoline generators," says Waters. A 2.5 kw generator, sells for $1,295, about 50% the cost of other systems, according to Waters. A 7.7 kw generator, with a 4-cyl. engine, sells for $1,995. Sizes range up to a 6-cyl. 30 kw unit selling for $6,495. One of the remarkable features of the Chinese diesels is that each ù including those now sold in the U.S. ù comes with enough spare parts for a complete rebuilding job, and an English service manual. The reason for the extra parts is that in China there are almost no service shops. So, if you buy an engine, you fix it. If needed, spare parts are cheap. A cylinder liner, for example, costs about $15 for a Chinese diesel, compared to about $100 for other comparable size imported diesel engines," Waters points out. "There are no unusual features, and no special tools are needed to work on a Chinese diesel engine." For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Affordable Diesels, P.O. Box 90016, San Diego, Calif., 92109 (ph 714 488-1635).

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