Horsebox mileage, Im confused!

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Louby

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Ok I am officially thick :D BUT I need to know once and for all as its so confusing.
Im talking 7.5t and chassis that have had a previous life ie parcel, post office etc before converting to horseboxes.
I realise that mileage isnt a massive issue as they go for ever but some ads say genuine mileage, some say recorded mileage and what I understand by this is that the tacho has something to do with the mileage not being as much as it really is??? MOT certificates are no use as it isnt recorded on there ...... or wasnt on the 2001 wagon Ive just sold.
Whats brought this up is a horsebox Ive seen with very low mileage, I enquired and was told it was previously a GPO box which would make me think it would have done a decent amount of miles?
I remember my mechanic saying something like 'forget the mileage, whats shown isnt always right' so how are you supposed to know the mileage is and why is the mileage not correct, as in what has the tacho got to do with it?
Sorry if that sounds confusing but I am confused :eek::eek::D
 
Sometimes a chassis will have had a new engine put in.

For instance my horsebox (3.5t in this instance), the odometer reads nearly 193,000 but the actual engine has done less than 2000 miles as it was fitted with a new engine prior to me buying it. You are not allowed to change the odometer, but if a new engine has been fitted there should be a certificate proving this - I have one for my box.

I don't know about tachographs etc though.
 
My OH is a mechanic so I've asked him.

Don't worry about the taco they can be changed from vehicle to vehicle and whatever the displayed mileage is on the speedo it isn't important because commercial vehicles are built to do the mileage, it's not like a car where they are worn out after 10yrs of 100,000 miles. The main thing to look for on an older commercial vehicle would be crash damage or rot. There are databases where you can check vehicle mileage and history for a price e.g. HPI
 
Thanks for that, just wondered why the mileage isnt the actual mileage and what the tacho has to do with it. This horsebox Ive seen says 60k km which is unbelievably low for a wagon with its former life, I could understand if it had alweays been a horsebox or was younger. Just seems unfair as people will buy what they think is a low mileaged box when really it isnt?? Or maybe Im getting the total wrong end of the stick?? I would much prefer a wagon with say 150000km than one thats done 500000km. Some say low mileage but is it really low mileage?
Sorry, just been bugging me for a while :D
 
The tacho isn't needed in all circumstances on a vehicle at that weight, it will have been used when it was a GPO vehicle but you don't need one for a 7.5t private box.

If your worried about the mileage it will have been logged on the HPI database at MOT's, service histories or change of ownerships even though it isn't on the MOT certificate.

If the mileage isn't genuine (speedo's can be changed) as long as you have a mechanic check the vehicle I wouldn't worry too much.
 
As already stated, in lorries they can change the tacho, odo and engine - so without a full service history you are not quite sure what you are buying!

However FSH is not that easy to get hold of, and although it says its has "X" done to it, you also really cannot be 100% sure they bothered to do that.

The main thing is to review for wear and rust, although telling the difference between 150k, 250k and 500k km's isn't easy. However if 150k, everything should still be quite good, as in pedals not too worn, doors not feeling slack and floor not worn out etc.

I went a different route and bought a wagon off a dealer with only 22k km on the clock. This had been a council lorry and basically underneath is pristine and barely looks worn in. The cab on the other hand was trashed, which goes with having bin men in it for 4 years!

I got a letter from the dealer stating that they had bought many lorries of this age and the mileage is genuine, which should help me if I want to sell it in the future.
 
So really the mileage is correct unless the speedo has been changed, in which case when its MOT'd it would show up as being less than the year before?
Sorry to go on and on, just been really confused about it all. We know a HGV driver whos done over 200k miles in 2 yrs, so 60k km seemed very low for a GPO wagon that was that for 3 to 4 yrs before becoming a horsebox.
Thanks to you and your OH :)
 
Louby said:
So really the mileage is correct unless the speedo has been changed, in which case when its MOT'd it would show up as being less than the year before?
Sorry to go on and on, just been really confused about it all. We know a HGV driver whos done over 200k miles in 2 yrs, so 60k km seemed very low for a GPO wagon that was that for 3 to 4 yrs before becoming a horsebox.
Thanks to you and your OH :)
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Tacho heads get changed some times more than once If its a ex PO 7.5 ton well put it this way thers thrased and there is hammered they are mosty both!!!!!! some do starship miles, a friend who deals in trucks once had a job lot of them they all looked shot but ran great because they need something its done as is the case with most trucks they have to have an safety inspection every six weeks dont worry what is on the clock its how it runs and condition and even if its done 500,000 + its going to be 10 years for the average horse box to do another 100k most horse boxes end up scrapped because of rusty cabs and old age not mileage ...just get them checked out by a good mecanic and you will be fine....
 
Ahhh, that it, the tacho head :)
Right, just to shut me up once and for all, how does changing the tacho head effect the shown mileage. Does it put it back to zero again??
 
Louby said:
Ahhh, that it, the tacho head :)
Right, just to shut me up once and for all, how does changing the tacho head effect the shown mileage. Does it put it back to zero again??
Click to expand...
stop worrying about the goddam mileage :D but FYI the tacho head stores the mileage so when they get changed they will show the mileage of the new one or the recon one sometime they get set to the correct mileage to match the old unit but this seems to be rare.....
 
he he he :D:D:D
Honest Im not too worried about the mileage, nose is growing as I type :D, but I cant help wanting something with less than more if poss. Ok I'll shut up :D
Just wanted to know the reason really. Whispers .... I will give the GPO box a wide birth though I think.
 
On average a truck will do about 40 to 50,000kms per year so a normal mileage for a five to six year old truck will be about 200 to 300,000 kms. This mileage is nothing to worry about and its more down to the maintenance schedule which determines how good the chassis will be. There are low mileage trucks out there but there is probably 20 normal mileage to 1 low mileage to 5 high mileage in any truck auction/sale.

If the mileage showing on the tacho head is showing less than normal then get a HGV mechanic to look at it. If he's worth anything he will be able to spot straight away whether it has done the very low mileage the tacho head is stating or has had a new head. underneath there will be some give away signs, for example if parts have been replaced that don't generally wear out before 200,000km have been replaced then it is unlikely to have done 60,000km etc

If the tacho ever goes wrong(the bit that records driver's hours etc) then the whole unit gets replaced including the part that displays mileage. If it is a new head then it is normally supplied reading 00000 and a tacho sticker fitted behind the head is fitted which will give the former mileage before the head was fitted and the date the head was fitted. This sticker is easily removed and if somebody was trying to hide the fact that a truck had got 500,000km on an old head and then 100,000km on a new head then it would be easy to peel off this and report the truck as being low mileage at 100,000km. If a second head is fitted the same sticker is fitted but the second hand mileage is fitted.

When looking at trucks be more weary of one that says low mileage etc than one that says it has done 250,000km. The low mileage ones are only normally 50% genuine with the other half being rogues who prey on the unknowing and instead of getting one that has done low mileage because you didn't want one that had done a normal mileage you may infact be getting one that has done high mileage and been disguised well.
 
Thanks for that, its a minefield isnt it.
The one Ive just sold had about 270000km on it, it was a 2001, the floor and pedals, seats werent overly worn but the steering wheel was. Im told by a HGV driver we know that his steering wheel goes smoother and smoother with half that mileage? Mechanically wise, that was left to someone else, I aint got a clue.
I was just interested to know the reasoning behind all this as for the layman, mileage does play a part, I had callers saying they wanted less mileage and some not bothered so if mine was correct??? then it probably wasnt a bad buy and those looking for less mileage, like I was :o could probably end up with something thats done more.
I better shut up now otherwise Perfect11 will have me bannished lol :D:D:D
 
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