3.5t box mileage vs chassis age and other questions

[Sussexbythesea]

If you were on a budget looking at 3.5t horse boxes is there an age or mileage that you just wouldn’t consider? I’m thinking max budget £12,000 preferably less if possible to have some money in hand to do any minor works/ adaptations if necessary. If you had to choose would you choose a higher mileage and younger chassis over a lower mileage vs older chassis? Does make of lorry affect that decision?

If I went to look at one what can I check as a lay person? Difficulty is many are the other side of the country within or near that budget so can’t get anyone local to me to check.

Any other buying tips appreciated. I’ve previously had a 6.5t but now would prefer something smaller to carry one 16.2hh.

Thanks

 

[rifruffian]

If you yourself plan to put further high mileage on the vehicle, do not buy one that is already high mileage. On the other hand if your use will be low mileage the purchase of a high mileage vehicle can be considered. A high mileage vehicle that has been well maintained from new can have plenty useful remaining life. Look for servicing, repair, maintenance records.
A lay person looking to spend £12000 should buy from a well established dealer......or if buying elsewhere, pay for expert assessment before payment to buy vehicle.

 

[supsup]

I have a very high mileage 3.5t (230k). The engine is about the only thing that's been absolutely trouble free, but it has needed work/replacement of other bits over time. One thing I'd pay particular attention to is rust on the chassis, as this can lead to MOT failure, and there's a limit to how long you can patch the chassis up with welding. I think this is probably what will eventually be the end of my box. I haven't had trouble replacing any of the internal bits (brakes, clutch, pump, starter motor etc.) as and when they needed doing (though of course it does take money). Based on this experience, I'd probably lean on the side of younger chassis with high mileage. Mine is a 2000 Renault master, FWIW. Another thing that is IMO relevant is that younger models tend to have more electronics that can go bad, and I've known of quite a few people with more modern Renault Masters that constantly have flat batteries related to problems with the alarm system, and the battery is in a really awkward place (between/under seats) with no room to fit an easy-access battery isolator. In that sense, my older model is more robust, and the battery is easily accessible under the hood, with an isolator.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I find 12k a slightly difficult budget for some reason. It was what we kind of set and found we could either get something a bit older/higher miles under that or had to add to the budget and get a better than we needed lorry. We decided on the first option because didn’t want so much tied up in a vehicle that I only lightly use.
This was about 4 years ago now but we ended up paying £9000 for a 98 Master with 104,000 on the clock.
We bought from a dealer, whom in hindsight I don’t think I’d overly recommend as we did have a few teething problems.
My work sold a great lorry for £5000 which did need the floor doing but mechanically and everything else was brilliant. Sadly I’d just bought ours but it’s mileometer stopped working at just short of 200,000 and it had done big miles since so I’d not rule out higher mileage when accompanied by a service history. I think little boxes are better cared for than say your average older high mileage car (which I wouldn’t touch!)

 

[oldie48]

I've got a Renault master, it's the second one that I have had and generally they are easy and fairly cheap to repair. I'd also go for younger chassis/higher mileage but if you can, make sure you have a look at the service record. My present lorry had a fairly high mileage but I could see from it's history that it had been used for longer journeys as a fleet vehicle and had been well maintained which I think is better than one that is used for lots of start stop journeys. the MOT record is very helpful as you can see if it's had failures and why. Mine also came with all the receipts for work done, so i knew some expensive jobs had been covered. the only thing I regret about mine is that it doesn't have a bigger engine but now I have a lighter horse it's less of a problem but with a full up 16.2 it's nice to have enough power to cruise up hills rather than have to change down a lot.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

So we were in a similar camp to you this time last year. Our budget was £15k, but we actually spent a fair chunk less in the end. We were looking for an older known brand but with reasonable miles and got incredibly lucky when we stumbled across a 57 plate Alexander with 85k, albeit halfway across the country! I actually offered a deposit the moment we saw it, as we'd already lost out on a Bloomfield the day before which was bought unseen within half an hour of being advertised!

It had been used as a hire box, so had a FSH as well as paperwork/receipts for all the work that had been carried out whilst they’d owned it. In terms of checks, I would always want to see a weighbridge certificate to verify payload. We also checked the floor, both from lifting the rubber matting and crawling underneath to check for rust spots. We leant heavily on the drivers side wall to look for any give, as we were warned that a few of the known brands often needed reinforcement to prevent the wall separating from the flooring and causing a nasty accident. The other thing we did was run a HPI check online to make sure there wasn’t any outstanding finance on the vehicle and that it hadn’t previously been stolen or written off. And obviously checked how it felt to drive etc.

For added reassurance we also paid to have a reputable horsebox mechanic give it the once over in case there was anything mechanically wrong with it that we’d missed, all in we paid less than your budget and a year on its flown through its MOT and is still going strong, so there are bargains to be had if you look for long enough and are prepared to act fast when you spot one.

 

[ester]

Also re checking there are people all over who will check for you and I would highly recommend you do get them checked.

I would absolutely also go with a known good make, doesn't have to be fancy but does need to be solid.
I'd err on younger chassis and higher mileage if that was the option. They don't come up at that sort of price that often and don't hang around that long when they do.