Calling all people with horse lorries. HELP!

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fuzz

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I am trying to buy a lorry. I phoned up about one yesterday and I asked about the millage of it. The person said they couldn't tell me the exact millage as the tachograph that was in the lorry had been replaced so the new one only read 12000km. Is it normal that tachographs only record the millage or do they normally have millage readers on the dashboard like cars do?

Thanks for any help. I'm just trying to work out if they are lying to me or if its normal to record the millage on a tachograph.

Oh its a 7.5t lorry by the way.
 
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I was totally confused by this too :D and have asked exactly the same question and had much great advice from Perfect11 on this subject.

It is normal and most horseboxes out there probably have done more than the stated mileage, so unless a wagon has been a horsebox from day 1 then take the mileage with a pinch of salt.
Tacho heads get changed for what ever reason (cant remember the reasons) so the mileage will revert to zero again or what ever was on the new tacho head that was put in. So if you see low mileage, then it could have potentially done 300k or more. Some ads state recorded mileage, some say genuine mileage.
I was told and have finally learned to accept that mileage means nothing, wagons (7.5t) are built to do 1000's of miles.
Its difficult though as human nature says get low mileage and I came across this when trying to sell my wagon that had a recorded mileage of 276000km, I had calls that then said it was high.
 
The tacho head sits behind the speedometer with the mileage reader on it. It looks eaxctly the same as the one in your car except there is a key at the top which you turn and the speedo is on a hinge and flops down.

You need to make sure that the tacho has been calibrated - it should have a sticker on it, otherwise you will need to get it done and I dont think it is cheap.

When you MOT the vehicle you fill in a form each year stating it is for priovate use and then you don't have to drive it with the tacho working.

You are lucky that the owners are being honest with you about the head being changed :)
 
Thanks for the responses. Its our first lorry and don't quite know these things.

Now all I have to do is to get my dad to realise that the millage doesn't matter cause the lorry is perfect. Typically though, he is determined to get a low millage.
 
I was like that at first but you have to remember that most horseboxes had had a former life as something else. Horseboxes that have always been horseboxes are very expensive.
I rang about a nice looking horsebox, said it had 45000km on it, he then told me it was an ex GPO chassis. There is very little chance an ex GPO wagon had done so little mileage, it would probably do 45000km in a few weeks!!
 
fuzz said:
Thanks for the responses. Its our first lorry and don't quite know these things.

Now all I have to do is to get my dad to realise that the millage doesn't matter cause the lorry is perfect. Typically though, he is determined to get a low millage.
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As others have said mileage means little, condition is everything and what does it matter if its done 500k its going to take 10 years to do another 100k if its like most boxes !!!the same with cars, buy low mileage cars if you do a high anual mileage, and high mileage cars to do a low anual mileage.... it saves a fortune in depreciation...what ever get a mecanic to check it over before you part with your money ...
 
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Yes,please please get a mechanic to check it out,I have just emerged from under a box in my workshop that the buyers paid good money for. I dont think the vendor set out to "tuck them up" having examined the maintenance for the last ten years ( two careful owners((and two very dodgy ones within a few months)). Unfortunately there is an underlying problem with the engine,going way back. AND BECAUSE THE CAB CANT TILT IT IS GOING TO COST LOTS AND LOTS TO REPAIR. You might think this would please me, all that money. Actualy I feel pig sick that there is no simple way to do the job.Always get it properly checked.
 
perfect11s said:
...what ever get a mecanic to check it over before you part with your money ...
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Don't worry my dad won't let me get one without getting a mechanic to check it first. A friend didn't and now its costing them. I'm not planning to make the same mistake.
 
My last lorry was genuinely a horsebox from new - it was about 3 years old when I bought it and so even now has a really low mileage (I sold it to a friend so still know where it is) but current lorry has a 300k plus mileage and OH who is a mechanic was quite happy about that.
 
The most important thing to check out is the weight of the lorry so that you can establish how much payload you have. i.e if the lorry weights 7 Tons then with a horse etc in it it will go over the 7.5 tons limit. Also as above ensure it has a tilt cab.
 
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