how much does it cost to keep 3.5 lorry?

Not much really (touches wood franticall!!). Mine costs less in tax than my car, think the 6 month disc was £115 and it has a normal car MOT plus service at usual car prices, depending on what needs doing obviously. Mine is also very fuel efficient.
I think it's cheaper to run and drive than our Audi A3!
 
ive got a little 3.5t box and wouldnt go back now i took my insuracne out when i was 23 and tbh really wasnt that bad miles cheaper than my car insurance. and the fuel is AMAZING i put £20 a month in my wagon and is used twice weekly and this does me perfect. soooooo much cheaper than 4x4 n trailer.
 
Mine is ancient so not very fuel efficient but still cheap to runi think

Annual costs excl. fuel

Tax - £220
Service - £150
MOT - £45
Parts/Tyres - £200 (that's my budget although usually much less than that)
Insurance - £260ish
Breakdown - £125

So that's £1000 a year plus fuel for everything
 
Thanks (:

How often do you get it serviced?

Who do you use for breakdown cover?

I would be carrying one 16.2 dutch warmblood and probably a small pony occassionally x
 
Warmblood39 said:
I would be carrying one 16.2 dutch warmblood and probably a small pony occassionally x
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If possible - take it to a weighbridge when you first get both in it along with all the other 'crap' that you usually take - that will then settle any weight issues
 
I get mine serviced annually, before the MOT and then it usually goes in again for any work that needs doing. e.g. mine just had MOT and service and brakes will need doing at some point this year, so plan to book it in for that before Sept (lorry not in use atm apart from the odd trip to vets as pony on box rest).

Insurance with KBIS, breakdown with http://www.ohto.co.uk/

My 14.2hh Welsh D weighs just shy of 500kg so can only take her on her own (or with a very, very small pony) as payload for mine in is under 1000kg.
 
The payloads vary massively. Mine had a 1.2t payload so I have more flexibility but I rarely take more than my one horse anyway. The newer boxes 'tend' to be lighter but not necessarily.
 
Warmblood39 said:
Ah ok ROG do u know the payload of a vw 3.5t ?
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They tend to be very heavy, friend had a nice one to travel 2 young ponies (both under 13.2hh at the time), she got it weighed and it was 3100kg ish with everything on apart from the ponies and people, so she had to sell as could barely travel one of them legally.
 
Warmblood39 said:
Ah ok ROG do u know the payload of a vw 3.5t ?
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They are all different depending on the build so the only real way is to use a weighbridge - for your nearest one contact either local council or police

You can go directly to and from it overloaded without penalty - unless the overload is extreme and considered to be unsafe
 
and just thought I'd ask you all where do you look for lorries for sale? I have looked on ebay but what other sites are good?
 
yes over my budget too unfortunately.

How did you know it was mechanically sound? I don't have a clue about anything mechanical.

Did you bring a mechanic with you to inspect?

I think I will have to hire an experienced mechanic from somewhere to vet any box I am interested in. I have no idea where I would find one though!
 
jaffa2311 said:
yes over my budget too unfortunately.

How did you know it was mechanically sound? I don't have a clue about anything mechanical.

Did you bring a mechanic with you to inspect?

I think I will have to hire an experienced mechanic from somewhere to vet any box I am interested in. I have no idea where I would find one though!
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I took my dad and an experienced friend (both very good with vehicles but not qualified mechanics) to view but as it was cheap (I paid £1800 ebay auction) we decided to take the gamble, didn't know 100% if it was sound until got it properly checked after buying, but as it was cheap we were prepared to take the risk, if it hadn't of been we would have sold on. If I was paying more I'd get a proper pre-purchase inspection done, if you google it there are plenty of places about that offer the service. Like this http://www.ohto.co.uk/html/inspections.html
 
I got mine from travel two. They are worth a call/email even if you don't see anything they have currently that's in budget/right for you. So helpful and will look out for whatever you are after. Really helpful when I was looking and had no clue about anything mechanical.
 
Im so glad Ive read this. I didnt realise that the payload was so variable in 3.5 tonne lorries.

Planning to buy one next year, so Ive got a LOT to learn!

Good luck with your lorry search OP:)
 
I have a VW LT35 and love it. It's not got the biggest payload (I have just over a tonne) so with my elephant of a horse on it I have to keep the stuff I carry to a minimum and can't ever take two in it...but it's such a work horse of a lorry and feels VERy safe compared to some of the others I've tried!
 
I don't have a puicture with him in it but my ceiling height is 7'8" and my horse is 17.1hh Irish Draught.
 
I have a big horse in mine too. From memory head room is 8 foot and my 17/2 boy travels very well in it. IMO he has no less head room than a lot of the big lorries I see at shows.

I found it was cheaper to buy a van chassis and have a new conversion done btw for those looking. You may find you can get a much newer lorry for the same money this way. I saved a good 4k, but it took a lot of leg work to find a decent van in the first place, a lot are damaged and I found one that had had 60k miles taken off the clock (an AA check saved the day!).

In terms of running costs mine costs £215 to insure (KBIS), £210 to tax, then MOT and any servicing bits it needs. It had an £800 service last year so fingers crossed will be good for a couple of years now! (it's 55 reg).
 
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