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Whoopit

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Oldham, Manchester. For my sins!
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How many of you have bought a horsebox or trailer for absolute peanuts? My friend saw a 7.5t wagon for £1,500 - old, not the best looking and was going to buy it before she found a 3.5t for £3,700 - old, a transit type looking sort . . . Cheap transport makes me suspicious - not that I lord it around in a posh box or trailer (I have neither nor can I afford presently) but how many have successfully bought a cheapo and it's been ok??
 
anyone i know thats bought cheap boxes, trailers etc have ended up spending the money down the line on repairs reconditioning etc. I always think you get what you pay for. I say this as an owner of a 'bargain' jeep that is now literally brand new inside as we had to replace everything!

The only old ones i'd trust are if i knew the owner and they looked after it
 
I just my pro renault master conversion for £3.5k, the person that bought it now has a box which has recently had £2k of work done :). It does need more doing to get it totally up to scratch corrosion wise but buyer well aware and functionally and mechanically sound, all cosmetic :). Nice box though really, and ticked lots of boxes for me for what I wanted out of one, my mechanic always maintained he'd had 10k boxes in that drove much, much worse! and the much newer box on the yard seems to be off the road every couple of months for something electric- advantage of an older one! Mine will need a bit of tlc to keep her ticking over (deemed 'character' I think) but then so does this 2007 posh coachbuilt!
(I would have kept it myself had the pony not broke!)
 
I spent £2000 6 years ago on a 1982 Ford Cargo. OH is a mechanic so I don't have to take labour into account on average it has cost me £800-1000 a year to keep it on the road include Tax, insurance, breakdown cover, MOT/Plaiting and repairs. There are bargains out there you just got to be careful
 
ester said:
I just my pro renault master conversion for £3.5k, the person that bought it now has a box which has recently had £2k of work done :). It does need more doing to get it totally up to scratch corrosion wise but buyer well aware and functionally and mechanically sound, all cosmetic :). Nice box though really, and ticked lots of boxes for me for what I wanted out of one, my mechanic always maintained he'd had 10k boxes in that drove much, much worse! and the much newer box on the yard seems to be off the road every couple of months for something electric- advantage of an older one! Mine will need a bit of tlc to keep her ticking over (deemed 'character' I think) but then so does this 2007 posh coachbuilt!
(I would have kept it myself had the pony not broke!)
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Mine wasn't that cheap but similar age (coachbuilt) - I was advised for my budget I was better off going old because most things could be fixed with baler twine and a hammer :lol: no weird expensive computery problems to go wrong. Just had a load of welding done for MOT, but very handy OH did it for me which lessened the pain a lot!
 
Ha yup, essentially they will need welding back together but that is a hell of a lot less complicated than it could be. It's all just mechanical.

While my mechanic was leant between the front seats fiddling with the alternator contacts last week before pick up 'just character' he shouted! (I think he is inclined to like old stuff too ;))
 
I do think it is a case of buyer beware, there is some amount of crap out there, but by the same measure, there is also so gems. If it sounds too good to be true, as they say.

You really need your head screwed on, and a mechanic with you when buying, and don't touch anything that "will pass MOT"

If its not MOT's already why not?
 
I bought a cheap trailer (about £1k - it's a three horse). Spent about £1k on it. It's now up for sale for £1k (I'm starting to note a theme here lol). Now have a £15k 3.5t convertion sat outside. It's just been done and drives well, so hopefully that's my 'cheap' version of the £30k ones lol
 
24yo lorry for £1600 ...

Needed new radiator + I redid the floor and a few little welding jobs + general safety check of ramps,etc, by a reputable builder and we were good to go. ( ~ £800 to get it on the road. It did have an MOT but expiring a few weeks after purchase)

Sold it as a 30yo lorry 6 years later having used and loved it. Never let me down! I know I was v lucky -- I did have a very mechanically minded friend who checked it over when I bought it and assured me he could easily rebuild the whole engine if need be. Obviously it had work over the years but we kept chugging on ....
 
I'd love a little lorry but am concerned about buying anything within my meagre budget (it's probably ok if you have a mechanic in the family). Plus, bearing in mind that it costs about a £1000 a year to keep it on the road and I wouldn't be using it every week, have decided that it works out about the same price to hire and at the same time have peace of mind that goes with a well maintained newer than I could afford lorry.
 
She's been desperate for transport (as am I but my money tree hasn't flowered yet) and I was worried she might just have bought the first cheap thing she found that hadn't sold already! Will make sure she gets a decent mechanic to check it out - her Dad vetted bother previous cars she bought and she had to scrap within a mo th so I'll insist she gets her wagon properly looked at!!
 
Whoopit said:
She's been desperate for transport (as am I but my money tree hasn't flowered yet) and I was worried she might just have bought the first cheap thing she found that hadn't sold already! Will make sure she gets a decent mechanic to check it out - her Dad vetted bother previous cars she bought and she had to scrap within a mo th so I'll insist she gets her wagon properly looked at!!
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Fingers crossed. You can find gems out there.
The first 3 people who looked at mine when I was selling pulled faces and I could tell they were not convinced. They thought it was old, unreliable, not worth the money, etc.
The 4th person almost ripped my arm off - forced a deposit onto me, picked it up the next day. 30 yo lorry with 12 months clean MOT. I run into her at all the local shows and she couldn't be happier. She loves it like I did, and I think the willingness to look after and learn about these little lorries perhaps part of the "luck" ... The older ones are mechanically easier to fix but they also usually need a bit more tlc ... lol
 
If they're cheap, then there's probably a very good reason. You'll end up paying more out in repairs etc., down the line than had you bought something new.
 
peanut said:
I'd love a little lorry but am concerned about buying anything within my meagre budget (it's probably ok if you have a mechanic in the family). Plus, bearing in mind that it costs about a £1000 a year to keep it on the road and I wouldn't be using it every week, have decided that it works out about the same price to hire and at the same time have peace of mind that goes with a well maintained newer than I could afford lorry.
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I certainly thought about that but the advantage of just being able to up and go for a hack elsewhere at no notice or book and then have to feel like I had to go somewhere in the pouring rain because id paid hire! In the end she cost me nothing to have for the few months I had her :).
 
I think there are decent bargains to be had if you buy wisely and buy quality. I bought an old Ifor 505 for £800 with a new hitch, a hitch lock, but a dodgy wooden floor. Put an aluminium floor in it and has a couple of rotten panels fixed up - I guess I spent about £700 extra. Used it for some years and got £1200 when I sold it.

Next was a 1992 Lefland Daf 7.5 ton for £3500. I've had it nearly 3 years, had a few issues but nothing major. Just spent £1500 getting it plated, £800 the first year. I love it, but it doesn't work out cheaply if you add it all up!
 
I'm in the process of trying to buy a cheap box. I'm looking at a few and won't buy anything without a pre purchase inspection. (One I had yesterday failed)

I'm looking at getting something cheap and cheerful and then upgrading in maybe 18 months when I've had time to save a bit more and I have more idea about what I actually want
 
Of course at the other end of the scale we bought an ifor 505 classic just before the initially problematic 506s came out.
I checked with Mum for someone last week, in 8 years we lost less than £500 on it, was serviced for about £70ish a year but never really needed any new parts iirc. That was too a local dealer too so he would have sold it for more, he had an interested buyer lined up and paid full asking price!
 
someone at my yard has spent £30 on a lorry that you'd think was worth £50k, they break down a lot, and its been back to the manufacturer, who cannot find an issue!

if it seems too good to be true, it probably is
 
VikingSong said:
If they're cheap, then there's probably a very good reason. You'll end up paying more out in repairs etc., down the line than had you bought something new.
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this sentiment always makes me lol. noone who can afford to buy something new, buys something cheap and old when it comes to horse transport!

define cheap, I bought my 7.5t Merc for £4K, its a 94. Awesome lorry, well looked after, solid-perfect for us.
 
I paid £1500 for my transit box (27 years old at the time) it's been a bit of a money pit, I'd dread to add it up but probably a few grand has been spent on it

Do I now have a lorry worth £4500?

No.

BUT I have had transport (of sorts!) for two years that I wouldn't have had if I had been saving up, the repairs have been done in stages as I could afford things

The box itself is very sound and could be moved on to a new chassis and indeed seems to have already been moved to this rusty transit (god knows what from!) - something worth considering if you think in the future you might be able to afford to upgrade the van part - cheaper than buying a whole new box

Don't go in to it with completely empty pockets though!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
this sentiment always makes me lol. noone who can afford to buy something new, buys something cheap and old when it comes to horse transport!
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I never said they did?

MotherOfChickens said:
define cheap, I bought my 7.5t Merc for £4K, its a 94. Awesome lorry, well looked after, solid-perfect for us.
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You need me to define what cheap means for you? Really?

When a vehicle (or anything, for that matter) is sold cheaper than it should be, nine times out ten it's because there's an underlying issue. You got lucky. Good for you. Most people I know weren't.
 
The thing is as well as WelshD says you may end up paying more for repairs but that is hopefully more of a trickle of money which is easier for some than

I do think there are different definitions of cheap too, cheaper than it should be? I think most things go for what they are worth, who defines what they 'should be'? you easily spend 20-30k on a nice newish 3.5T box, does that mean anything under 10k is cheap and will need lots doing to it? cheaper than 5k? or only the 2.5k and less bracket.
 
VikingSong said:
I never said they did?



You need me to define what cheap means for you? Really?

When a vehicle (or anything, for that matter) is sold cheaper than it should be, nine times out ten it's because there's an underlying issue. You got lucky. Good for you. Most people I know weren't.
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you're the one who said 'buying new'. if I waited to buy new, I'd still be waiting and the thread was about whether it could be done which plainly it can be.

ester and WelshD put it better than I can be arsed to.
 
Depends on the lorry, I've got a G reg 7 1/2 tonner with plating until Jan, that I put up on eBay starting at £1500 on the auction site, I started her at that price because she is a 20 year old box, she is in need of some tlc and will need work doing on her and I need to get rid of her as I cannot keep her where she is.
Anyone buying a box for a price like that must reasonably expect to spend some money on her at some stage either after purchase or in the future, otherwise she would be over £5K.
There are few "Bargain" boxes, as a buyer you need to decide whether you want to balance a lower purchase price and higher maintenance costs against higher purchase price and potentially lower maintenance costs. If you have someone who has the knowledge, the time and the facilities (and the desire) to do a lot of the work at home then buying a lower cost box is a better proposition than for someone who will have to pay a commercial HGV fitter/engineer to do the work for you.
Anyone thinking that they can spend £1500 to buy a perfect 7 1/2 tonner that is immaculate, will sail through its next plating and cost peanuts to run is frankly deluding themselves. There is a good argument between 3.5 tonners and 7 1/2 tonners, you need to balance higher running costs against the ability to carry two big horses and a full set of equipment with water, spectators etc etc. If you think that you can carry all that and two large horses in 3.5 tonner that has a fitted living then you are either deluded or driving illegally in an overweight lorry.
 
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