Horse box costs???

[goldypops]

Hi
Procrastinating about what to do about transport and in an effort to make some decision this year!!! can anyone help answer the following:
how much does it roughly cost to insure, tax, mot, plate etc a box thats valued about £3000-£6000????
Trying to decide whether to go the box route, trailer route (I have a 4x4 but hate towing) or just hire a swanky box for £100 each time I need one.
If I only go out 5 times over the summer period then that would cost me £500 which is surely equal to tax, insurance etc???
Thanks!!!

 

[kerilli]

plating can cost anything from £60 to thousands, it's like asking how much it costs to get a car through MOT, depends on age and condition of vehicle. fwiw my old J-reg cargo cost at least £600 a year on average to get through plating iirc, sometimes far more. and that was a reliable lorry! but it needed, over the years, a new power steering pump, new exhaust, rear brakes, etc etc etc.
insurance depends on age of driver, obv, but i'd say at least a few hundred pounds a year. tax is £200 a year +, depends on size of box obv.
if i only used a box 5 x a year, i'd definitely hire one on the days i need it, rather than having the ongoing expense etc.

 

[karenpi]

I would agree with kerilli. If you are using a box less than once a month, hire a lorry or a trailer. Lorries are fantastic but mostly are money pits. Even the newer ones can cost a lot to plate.

 

[Booboos]

I would say that £3,000 - £6,000, athough a lot of money, is not a lot of money for a lorry and you may find that your annual maintenance bills are huge because things will break down one after another. I would agree with the other posters, if you hire you have no headaches with insurance, bills, taxation, etc.

 

[goldypops]

Thanks for your replies - pretty much what I thought! With 2 toddlers I can only really manage to go out once a month with horsey so having a box sitting there is probably impractical!
Concluded that I will either hire (though the place is a bit of a trek away and so inconvienient) or go down the trailer route.

 

[angiebaby]

I've had my Roadrunner 4 years ( 1991); for the first time its had work done; £700 worth to get through the plaiting.
Insurance £330
Tax £165
Plaiting £50 without any work
Diesel, going about 60 - 100 miles a week ( I fill up once a month, around £70 -£80)
I use mine at least twice a week , in winter perhaps once.
But i woudn't be without it, the thought of towing terrifies me!