Lorry Adverts

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Toby_Zaphod

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I've been looking out of interest at Horsebox adverts & found so many sadly lacking & can understand why they are advertised for so long.

Low Miles? Why not say how many miles, are they lazy & won't bother looking? Don't just assume the odometer tells you miles, most lorries odometers are in kilometers.
Long MOT? Again check your documents & say when it runs out?
Large Payload, say what it is, get a weight certificate, they only cost around £10 at a weighbridge.
DAF, Iveco, Man, Renault 7.5 ton tells us nothing, say what the HP of the engine is. There's a massive difference between 130hp & 170hp in pulling power.
Age of the lorry? They blank out the reg no in photos & never mention the age?
Numerous photos of cab & living but nothing of the horse area? You're selling a horsebox not a mobile home!

Then there's the greedy who buy a horsebox, run it for 2-3 years & then expect to sell it & make a profit of £5,000. I know as I sold the person the horsebox, they used is for 2-3 years, it now looks really tatty but they are asking £5000 over what they paid. Needless to say it's still being advertised & they've reduced the price by £3500 but still no takers...I wonder why?

I suppose the reason for this post is please if you are wanting to sell your lorry put in the advert the things you as a buyer would want to know. If you do the things above you may get some interest in your horsebox.
 
Ive just sold my lorry and i would put the call out to buyers to be realistic about what your budget will get.
Mine was an old lorry but very high quality build and reliable mechanically, it was advertised at £4500 and in the advert i stated that it would need welding round the cab to pass its next test, which i had factored into the price.

the amount of calls i got where as soon as i mentioned rust they were no longer interested or where they expected me to practically give the lorry to them was enormous.
If your budget is £4500 then expect an older lorry that needs work.
If you want a completely rust free lorry with perfect paintwork then you need to up your budget!

I sold mine within 2 weeks of advertising it, i got full asking price for it and it was inspected by thier mechanic before it went. But dealing with the numptys who want a £30k box for under £5k absolutely did my head in
 
Oh how I agree especially about payload, there’s a lovely 7.5t for sale around here but unladen it’s 6.8t and I suspect that was with very little fuel and water and as for 3.5 boxes the reply to enquiring about payload is we’ve never weighed it but it takes our two 16.2’s easily
 
I have my 3.5t advertised and all the essential details are in the advert yet I've been bombarded with questions that I've already answered.

I had someone sending messages at midnight last night and following up with ??? When they didnt get an immediate reply.

My price is reasonable, it was MOT last week and I've spared no expense on it since buying it and its own to any inspection. Its 2001 (also in advert) and while it's in good nick and safe etc it's still an 18yr old vehicle- it doesn't look like a brand new box and that's why its priced as it is.

I've had absolute time wasters out to view it who turn up late and in one case it was so they wouldn't have to tow their daughter/she could drive it and after spending hours viewing/test driving and arranging a second viewing they messaged to say their daughter didnt want a lorry anymore - could they not have been checked first?

Had another woman out who was all over it and then phoned OH who (loudly) said no danger was she spending all his money on a lorry - a conversation that could have been had before the viewing!

Then I had another delightful person arrange a viewing a few days in advance then text after 9 the night before to say her boss makes horseboxes and mine isnt worth anywhere near the asking price. Firstly just cancel the viewing, in good time, theres no need to be rude and insulting. Did she expect me to reply saying shes so right and she can have it for 2k?? Secondly if your boss makes boxes why are you not buying from him instead of bothering me? Thirdly I know the market and the box's worth, theres next to nothing (that's not a van and even older Van's seem to have silly price tags) out there in this area in this price bracket so she wont find anything my boxes age or newer at this price.

People!!! Tempted just to keep it because I cannot be doing with this.
 
I am trying to buy one at the moment. Many adverts do give age, miles and MOT. The 3.5te ones amuse me because they are the most often not to state the payload and talk about taking 2 horses, but the larger ones do usually give payload but sometimes you have to ask for it. I did get threats and abuse from one seller who advertised that his 3.5te horsebox would take two 17hh horses easily when I said that the vehicle must be very light to be able to do so within 3.5tes. I do find it hard to get a good appreciation of the true condition of the older boxes from adverts. I also look up their MOT history on the GOV website and it is clear that some that advertised as mechanically perfect are not - that assumed number plates are not blanked out.
 
Exactly @Hack4fun Mine has a payload (& weighbridge ticket) for 1000kg and that's in the advert, the amount of people messaging me to ask if it will take two big horses is a joke. Yet I've seen similar boxes advertised saying they take 2- teo might fit in but you're travelling illegally. Gah!!
 
Suggest merging this thread with the one about horse adverts being badly written...

I think it's unreasonable for us to expect that people who have something to sell have had any education or training in marketing or in writing advertising copy.

They might be plumbers, teachers, doctors, airline pilots, taxi drivers... and be very competent in what they do for a day job.

But visibly 90% of them can't ask themselves the simple question "if I was looking to buy one of what I've got to sell, what information would I want to see in the small ads?"
 
I’ve been looking for a 3.5t for awhile now and if a box hasn’t sold pretty quickly it’s for a reason. One I went to see was built like a tank but clearly only had a payload for a Shetland. Person is still advertising it for a hefty price.

Another I had checked over, floor was rotten but that could be replaced, more importantly in event if an accident or even an emergency stop the sides were not strong enough to stop a horse going through them. That’s still for sale although they’ve replaced the floor.

Agree that so many ads just don’t give the info you need and that makes me suspicious that I often don’t bother even asking about it.
 
Keith_Beef said:
Suggest merging this thread with the one about horse adverts being badly written...

I think it's unreasonable for us to expect that people who have something to sell have had any education or training in marketing or in writing advertising copy.

They might be plumbers, teachers, doctors, airline pilots, taxi drivers... and be very competent in what they do for a day job.

But visibly 90% of them can't ask themselves the simple question "if I was looking to buy one of what I've got to sell, what information would I want to see in the small ads?"
Click to expand...

I’m not a horsebox expert I’ve just educated myself on the safety and legal aspects as anyone can do.
 
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Sussexbythesea said:
I’m not a horsebox expert I’ve just educated myself on the safety and legal aspects as anyone can do.
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You're right, almost anybody can learn the basics of a subject.

My comment wasn't so much about the safety and legal aspects, more about putting in the effort and imagining somebody else's expectations of what useful info should be in a small ad.
 
Shhh... those of us who love a bargain are always looking for the badly worded or just plain incorrect adverts. They put off the more fussy folks and lower the price if you can be bothered to go and take a close look :D

Who do you think buys the "14.5hh welsh section a" ponies? lol!
Caveat emptor, of course.
 
I’m tentatively looking at the moment. Lack of weighbridge certificates for 3.5t is driving me crazy! I can’t understand why sellers haven’t got them? Would many people actually buy one without when the payload could be so variable?! It’s a more important consideration for me than the year/ mileage!
 
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Melody Grey said:
And another thing!.....MOT fails with no detail on what the fail actually is 🙄
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It's all there on line, at least to 2012 if not 11. Just checked back on mine (2008 vintage) and all info there inc the fail in Feb 2012 before I brought it in summer 2012 and got a coach built body made.
There is also the 'advise' comments too, as I saw on the 2014 test, when we knew it had brake issues.

Biggest bugbear when buying anything equine mechanical, I like to know mileage, year registered, un laden weight, service history, maker and soundness. The latter I can check up on when its physically in front of me, the rest should be in the advert.
 
Horsebox adverts are so annoying. As already mentioned, they go into great detail about the living but often no mention whatsoever about the chassis. But I find advertisers in general becoming so lazy. I regularly see horsey items for sale on FB and all the sellers do is upload pictures and say ‘ask for details’. Surely it’s FAR easier for everyone concerned to list all the relevant details in the ad rather than receive 67 messages asking for the size and price. I never respond to these ads if the seller can’t put full details on. Oh and ‘needs a wash’. Eh? Don’t people wash things anymore before selling ?? I think I really ought to get myself back to 1984 where i belong. Pmsl !
 
Years ago I was selling a lorry. I put overall length in ad as it was quite a long 7.5 tonne. Had long discussion with lady and just felt it wasn’t for her but she came to view and first comment was oh it’s quite long. Grr
 
Last Horsebox I sold I advertised it honestly on Facebook. I put full details in the advert, a shed load of photos & pitched it at reasonable price. I has loads contact me wanting to view & one wanted to buy it unseen? First person who came bought it, it sold in under 24 hours & was paid for & driven away in 48 hours. If you are not greedy, honest with advert & show plenty of photos then you should have no problem selling. If it's not selling or little interest is being shown then you need to look at your advert & review it. Something is wrong, probably the price?
 
Melody Grey said:
I’m tentatively looking at the moment. Lack of weighbridge certificates for 3.5t is driving me crazy! I can’t understand why sellers haven’t got them? Would many people actually buy one without when the payload could be so variable?! It’s a more important consideration for me than the year/ mileage!
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They probably do but as the lorry has a low payload, they claim they don’t know and hope someone will take a chance.
 
Muddywellies said:
Horsebox adverts are so annoying. As already mentioned, they go into great detail about the living but often no mention whatsoever about the chassis ...
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In my limited experience there are lots of buyers who are more interested in the living than anything else. I start with payload (because I need a lot), size of horse area (because I have two large horses 18hh+) and overall length because of limited parking. Then I look at vehicle and its age/history including MOT online. Living takes up space and payload and as long as there is a small space and storage then I will be happy. However, I have learned from talking to many that my approach is not the usual one.
 
Hack4fun said:
In my limited experience there are lots of buyers who are more interested in the living than anything else. I start with payload (because I need a lot), size of horse area (because I have two large horses 18hh+) and overall length because of limited parking. Then I look at vehicle and its age/history including MOT online. Living takes up space and payload and as long as there is a small space and storage then I will be happy. However, I have learned from talking to many that my approach is not the usual one.
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Well it would be your advert that would catch my eye and I would respond to (if it was what I was looking for)
 
Hack4fun said:
In my limited experience there are lots of buyers who are more interested in the living than anything else. I start with payload (because I need a lot), size of horse area (because I have two large horses 18hh+) and overall length because of limited parking. Then I look at vehicle and its age/history including MOT online. Living takes up space and payload and as long as there is a small space and storage then I will be happy. However, I have learned from talking to many that my approach is not the usual one.
Click to expand...
I suppose it depends on your priorities. When I was looking for my lorry I had ponies so size of horse area and payload were of lesser importance to me as they could comfortably be smaller. However a good living was essential as I used to show up and down the country and did stay in the lorry for upto a week at a time, heck during the few weeks where societies cram in all the championship shows I think I did 10 days straight in the lorry.

So for me the priority was mechanical soundness, good floor, safe horse area, good living then provided the payload was over 1ton I wasn’t too worried
 
The advert for my Lorry would read DAF 45 A mans box, no 80s kitchen cabinets or living area that looks like a bordel, no lockers in the horse area, heavy strong ramp. As tall and wide as a 7.5T lorry can be.
The cab a joy to tilt, comes with handle, easy to work on the freshly jet washed engine,engine oil changed every year with 15w-40
all technical information on a memory stick. Spare engine ECU and wiper motor. All tyres new.
 
I was lucky a few years back to be able to have a lorry built, a conversion btw lol but my main priority was the horse area, I had it done on a shortish chassis and just day living, had a great payload, tilt cab and could legally carry 3 horses. I think too many people look for a flash paint job, top living and basically forget about the rest. As for 3.5t, too many people seem to not want to know the payload, afterall its stalled for two 16.2 so why bother asking, tongue in cheek of course!!
 
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