buying a trailer ---- how to tell if its stolen as well

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parsley

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I am going to look at an Ifor Williams trailer tommorow - it has an aluminium floor and the owner says that it is generally good condition - 10 to 12 years old. OH is coming with me as he is the spanner man but I was wondering if anyone can give me tips on what to look for. I know to look that the manufacturers registration plate - to check its there but is there anything else I can do to make sure its not stolen?

Thanks to anyone who can help me
 
I think you have to look at things very similarly to what you would look at on a car.

Check that the chassis identification plate is still attached, doesn't appear to have been defaced or altered in any way & that the rivots fixing it to the chassis appear original.

Check that they have the correct keys for the trailer, i.e. jockey door key & hitchlock key. Check around the locks that there are no marks that the lockes were drilled out & replaced. Also check for any damage around the wheel area where a wheel clamp may have been forcibly removed.

Also always buy from a house, see that the seller actually lives there, you see him going in & out of the house. Some may sell from a driveway where someone is on holiday? Do not offer to meet halfway & buy on a garage forcourt etc. as this is a recipe for disaster. Ask if the seller has any of the original paperwork for the trailer.

Hopefully you will get a feel for the circumstances & if you have any doubts at all walk away. Don't run a risk because if it is later found out that the trailer you bought is stolen you will lose the trailer & also the money you paid
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Most deals go through without any problems & hopefully yours will...Good Luck
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As Gucci_B says, ring Ifor Williams to check the trailer out. If you get the serial number and ID number from the trailer (on the tow bar), they can tell you who the registered owner is (or was when it was first purchased), the colour, year of make and whether or not it is / has been stolen.

If the trailer is 10-12 years old, it will not have the serial number cut out of the A-bar. Instead it will have the number punched into the frame.

Make sure that there is no sign of rot in the woodwork is is good condition as this will indicate how well looked after the trailer has been.

Just one thing, I thought (but may be wrong) that the older Ifor Williams trailers had marine ply (ie timber) floors. I thought that the aluminium floors was only introduced over the last 5/6 years, but I may be wrong. May be worth checking this out when you give them a call too. Or perhaps this has been added over the top of the timber? Don't want to worry you unnecessarily, but worth a check.
 
my friend went to see a trailer and while she was talking to the seller her oh phoned ivor williams with the number and it turned out the trailer was stolen. so he phoned the police and the trailer was seized....fwe weeks later he had a phonecall of the insurance company the stolen trailer was insured with, the ex owners (who had theyre trailer stolen) had bought a new trailer with the insurance money so the company offered the trailer for sale to my friend, so they ended up with a trailer after all
 
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