Julia0803
Well-Known Member
I think I’m going to sell my 3.5t box. Trying to weigh up the cost of having it whilst not using it all the time and it being bigger than I need, Vs knowing it’s a good box that’s never really had any issues/possibly having a vet emergency and having a panic trying to get transport. I think I’m leaning towards selling but not convinced either way. Trying to mull over my options and would appreciate others thoughts.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation and regretted selling?
I bought it in early 2017 as a new build on 60 Reg chassis because I needed a 5 seater cab due to taking eldest son to summer PC rallies in the week and having to bring along his younger siblings. It’s a coachbuilt and it’s super roomy inside as we thought we’d be getting another elephant sized horse 16.2+ because son was growing like a weed.
However, we’re now down to just the one, my son is at uni and doesn’t ride anymore. So little 14.2 Coblet is swimming around in there with enough room for a big horse. Even if we get another horse in the future, when teenaged cob retires (hopefully not for a v long time!) I’m 5’4ish and wouldn’t want anything over 15.2 absolute max so don’t need a box built for something big.
I don’t drive it as much now as I only really compete in endurance half a dozen times a year, plus going to training sessions/going out locally for different hacking etc. I’m probably driving it just as much to ‘take it for a spin’ for its health as I am actually using it as a horse taxi.
Now I don’t need such a big box (admittedly not big in the grand scheme of things but feels that way to me!) I think I’d feel more confident in something a bit smaller, one of the van style boxes like equisport.
Previously when I was taking it out once a week or more I was a more confident and it helped we were almost always going out to local venues so I knew the routes, knew how to avoid low bridges/single track lanes with few passing places etc, whereas now I’m going 50+ miles away and don’t know the area at all (I remember having a minor meltdown when the motorway was closed and all the traffic was redirected through a village and kept seeing ‘low bridge ahead’ signs thinking how the chuff am I going to 3 point turn it in all this gridlocked traffic on a small high street. As it happens the bridge was fine but I was sweating out of my eyeballs till I saw the sign with the actual height on it).
I don’t use it as much over the winter, just to hack somewhere different or for training at the gallops- which I technically don’t NEED to do, so thinking I’d save a lot of money (have to pay to park at our yard, plus regular tax/Insurance etc) if I sold now, and hired for the 2/3 times I want to do some more EGB on September/October it and then buy something smaller in the spring. Do boxes, like horses, sell at premium in spring/summer when people are keener to enjoy the nice weather? (Tho not seen much of it lately!)
Has anyone sold their boxes recently, did you do it privately? Through Facebook or somewhere else? A lot of the ads on horse quest etc seem to be for brand new boxes direct from the builder (last time I checked at least).
Or did you go via a dealer? The builder I bought it from said he’d buy it back when it came to selling. Obviously less stress and hassle to do that, (tho would require someone to take a day off work to drive there in convoy with me and bring me home) but they need to make a profit so not sure how much of a chunk they’d take.
I know a friend recently looked at selling her box (older, smaller van type) too a dealer that was selling lots of older van types and he offered her just over 50% of what he was selling similar models for, which is a lot! She decided against it and is thinking of selling privately and downsizing to a trailer, but is in the same position, flipping between sell and keep.
I’ve heard terrible things about a company called The Horsebox Seller, (I think that’s right), taking boxes and not paying the owners on completion of sale, but wondered if there is anyone people might recommend? Is there a common % that you’d expect a dealer to offer in terms of trade price vs private sale?
What have others done and how did you find it?
Thanks very much, for getting this far through my jumbled thoughts and ramblings!
Has anyone else been in a similar situation and regretted selling?
I bought it in early 2017 as a new build on 60 Reg chassis because I needed a 5 seater cab due to taking eldest son to summer PC rallies in the week and having to bring along his younger siblings. It’s a coachbuilt and it’s super roomy inside as we thought we’d be getting another elephant sized horse 16.2+ because son was growing like a weed.
However, we’re now down to just the one, my son is at uni and doesn’t ride anymore. So little 14.2 Coblet is swimming around in there with enough room for a big horse. Even if we get another horse in the future, when teenaged cob retires (hopefully not for a v long time!) I’m 5’4ish and wouldn’t want anything over 15.2 absolute max so don’t need a box built for something big.
I don’t drive it as much now as I only really compete in endurance half a dozen times a year, plus going to training sessions/going out locally for different hacking etc. I’m probably driving it just as much to ‘take it for a spin’ for its health as I am actually using it as a horse taxi.
Now I don’t need such a big box (admittedly not big in the grand scheme of things but feels that way to me!) I think I’d feel more confident in something a bit smaller, one of the van style boxes like equisport.
Previously when I was taking it out once a week or more I was a more confident and it helped we were almost always going out to local venues so I knew the routes, knew how to avoid low bridges/single track lanes with few passing places etc, whereas now I’m going 50+ miles away and don’t know the area at all (I remember having a minor meltdown when the motorway was closed and all the traffic was redirected through a village and kept seeing ‘low bridge ahead’ signs thinking how the chuff am I going to 3 point turn it in all this gridlocked traffic on a small high street. As it happens the bridge was fine but I was sweating out of my eyeballs till I saw the sign with the actual height on it).
I don’t use it as much over the winter, just to hack somewhere different or for training at the gallops- which I technically don’t NEED to do, so thinking I’d save a lot of money (have to pay to park at our yard, plus regular tax/Insurance etc) if I sold now, and hired for the 2/3 times I want to do some more EGB on September/October it and then buy something smaller in the spring. Do boxes, like horses, sell at premium in spring/summer when people are keener to enjoy the nice weather? (Tho not seen much of it lately!)
Has anyone sold their boxes recently, did you do it privately? Through Facebook or somewhere else? A lot of the ads on horse quest etc seem to be for brand new boxes direct from the builder (last time I checked at least).
Or did you go via a dealer? The builder I bought it from said he’d buy it back when it came to selling. Obviously less stress and hassle to do that, (tho would require someone to take a day off work to drive there in convoy with me and bring me home) but they need to make a profit so not sure how much of a chunk they’d take.
I know a friend recently looked at selling her box (older, smaller van type) too a dealer that was selling lots of older van types and he offered her just over 50% of what he was selling similar models for, which is a lot! She decided against it and is thinking of selling privately and downsizing to a trailer, but is in the same position, flipping between sell and keep.
I’ve heard terrible things about a company called The Horsebox Seller, (I think that’s right), taking boxes and not paying the owners on completion of sale, but wondered if there is anyone people might recommend? Is there a common % that you’d expect a dealer to offer in terms of trade price vs private sale?
What have others done and how did you find it?
Thanks very much, for getting this far through my jumbled thoughts and ramblings!
this forced me to find a transporter and later a self hire box.