Monthly costs of having a 3.5t?

[Bea332]

The age old dilemma of 3.5t horse box v trailer.

I can't get another car for another 3 years and can't tow with my car (despite what I've seen people tow with - yep saw someone tow with a fiat 500 once...). I currently spend at least £120 a month on horsebox hire.

Looking at towing cars for sale now, I could get one for £100-150 more than what I'm spending on my car (only looking for something that will tow one 14hh pony really). But then there's the issue of getting my towing license and paying for that - what's the average cost for this?

But I've also had a look and I can get a loan/horsebox on finance for around the £150-£200 p/m mark for a £10,000 horsebox. Not looking for something amazing, just one that can take me from a to b safely. Obviously I can get that sorted a lot quicker than a new car and my license. But there's the monthly/yearly costs involved, which I would like a bit more insight into so I can make a more informed decision.

FWIW, I will be eventing 1-2 times a month with training in between. I understand there's pros and cons of both!

 

[Michen]

I think my towing course and test was £600 about 5 years ago.

Re monthly cost it's so dependent. I was lucky with my 1998 box it didn't cost me too much but on average:

£250 for tax
£350 for breakdown and insurance
£250 for service
£500 for other "stuff" eg MOT or a minor repair

But if you need welding or something expensive goes you could be looking at repair bills of a couple of k. A 10k box is likely to need welding at some point, my box had just had a load done and didn't need more in the 4 years I owned it but that was quite lucky.

 

[milliepops]

I'd estimate similar to Michen for annual costs, mine was a little older and I was lucky that mechanically it was great, did need some welding but OH does that so £0 but good to have a bit tucked away for bits and bobs that need repair (had to get a new exhaust made bespoke as no one stocked the right one etc).

 

[AFB]

I kept a proper record of everything I spent on my old 3.5t box and how many trips I made - it cost me £86 per use plus fuel in the 2 years I had it. Granted my storage costs were £30 a month for most of that time which did bump that up and I didn't use it a lot over winter. In hindsight I'd probably have been better off financially hiring as most of those could have been done on half day hire. From a convenience point of view however, having my own was so much easier.

I'm doing the same with my new one which is getting considerably more use and with much cheaper storage costs but having only had it 4 months it's not really worth working out yet as it hasn't come to MOT/service time.

ETA: because of covid madness there was no depreciation to consider - I actually sold it for £50 more than I paid

 

[milliepops]

I was using mine 4 or 5x per week for ages so definitely ended up cheaper than hiring

 

[TPO]

Same as Michen

265 pa for tax

I thinkni was around 230pa for insurance and breakdown

MOT same cost as a car

I had a 2001 for just over 2yrs and spent close to 3k on reinforcing the floor, rewiring internal lights and 2 loads of welding.

Definitely take someone experienced to view any 3.5t and make sure they get underneath it and know about welding.

I think you need to do your sums. Is there no way to change your car sooner even for a fee? That might still work out better than taxing and MOT/servicing 2 vehicles (although trailer would need serviced too).

 

[Antw23uk]

Im umming and ahhing about replacing my towing car and trailer with a 3.5t box. I have a company car though which helps as I'd not need to buy a car to replace my towing vehicle, but every time i do a pros and con's list it always ends up being my trailer and car combination on top which is depressing as i hate towing and i want a little lorry

 

[Bea332]

I'll have to look into how much it would cost me to change my car sooner as I am not sure. Ideally that would be great because like you said TPO I won't have two vehicles to run.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I found it worked out cheaper in general. I used to drive a big 4x4 and we had a trailer.
Swapped for a 3.5 and at the time a VW Polo
The running cost difference getting me to and from work everyday more than paid the upkeep of the lorry.
I’m having to reconsider a bit now as it’s got older and is needing bits doing for each MOT the past years. Also since my daughter stopped riding it rarely gets used. I like the safety net of having it sat there waiting though!

 

[chaps89]

I worked out monthly costs on mine recently when I was trying to decide whether to keep it or sell it.
£28 a month insurance
£26 a month tax
£30 a month storage
£20 a month towards annual service/mot
So just over £100 for day to day costs. I didn’t include fuel as I’d use that whether hiring or in my own box.

In the time I had it I also spent about £600 refurb-ing the inside, I also had a cam belt change done (can’t remember the exact cost) new battery (£100-150) and a set of new tyres (£480) Tyres was just unfortunate timing, on a horsebox you’re more likely to need to replace due to age than wear.
Having done those things it was unlikely they’d need doing again but chances were there would be something else in the future anyway.

I ended up selling, I used to use my box anything from 1 to 3 times a week so it was well worth having. Change in circumstances meant I only need a box once maybe twice a month now.
If I use a hire box twice and on weekends (£100/weekend day so £200), sure it will cost me more that month than running my own but the months where I use it for half a weekday (£40) it works out cheaper.

Boxes don’t like sitting around doing nothing so it made sense that even though I might spend the same amount on a monthly basis hiring as I would running my own, I won’t have any big maintenance bills.

I did get lucky, I bought my box for a very good price off a friend and wouldn’t have been able to afford a towing vehicle and trailer for the same price. I was able to pay for it from savings so didn’t have to factor in any loan/finance repayments.

That aside, when weighing up 3.5t vs trailer, trailer still needs insurance, service and storage so I figured I’d only really save on mot and tax and that maintenance might be slightly less.
I also drive about 25k miles a year so was concerned about fuel costs if my only car was also a towing vehicle.
If I hadn’t had my friends to buy I’d have had to buy on the open market and purchase price between a 3.5t and a towing vehicle & trailer was pretty similar back then.
Plus then I’d have to tow if iwhich I really don’t want to do so 3.5t it was for me!


For me it all came down to how much I’d id use it.

I will say there is not a lot on the market 3.5t wise at the moment and they are pretty pricey right now too so not a great time to buy unfortunately

 

[Kat]

If you only need to carry one small horse you could get a box and tow car that you can tow without needing to do the test. @ROG can tell you more about what combination would work.

There are normally clauses that enable you to change your car sooner, it is more expensive but compared to running a whole second vehicle it would be worth it.

 

[cheekywelshie]

I tow 1 small horse with a Dacia duster and a downplated Bateson derby

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

(ETA: please don't take this personally, I have no idea of your age or you're current financial status. I just thought it would be things worth thinking about for you or for anyone who may be thinking about it and come across this thread in the future).

A few financial things to consider if you're getting a loan or finance on it, it will be a depreciating asset so you will end up paying £200pcm for a lorry that may only be worth £4k in 5 years' time, another thing to consider is that as the years roll on you will be paying the same amount in finance as now but it will be costing more in repairs etc, so you will need enough wiggle room to be able to pay both, as if you can't afford it you will likely have negative equity should you want to stop the financing agreement and return it to the lender. You are renting the asset until it's fully paid, it's never officially yours throughout the duration of the finance, nor the loan if the loan is secured on the horsebox.

You will also then have two finance agreements to your name, so you will be paying both interest on the finance you have on your daily vehicle and interest on the finance you have on the lorry, which can feel quite galling. Should you be intending to buy a house or similar this will also have a huge negative effect on your affordability. It may also have a negative impact on your credit score should your debt/income ratio be changed largely by it, although this will recover over the course of the finance.

Whereas on the flipside, if you upgrade the car you will be paying one finance with one set of interest, the test is a PITA but is a one off thing, and you can change/return/upgrade your trailer at will.

 

[milliepops]

Just an aside. I sold my 3.5t for more than i paid for it....

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

Each time I’ve looked at this a box has been a better option for me. I was looking at a Touareg but something with a high mileage around 80-100k was still around the £10K mark. As my only vehicle the fuel consumption and costs would be high and the tax was over £500 a year. The final thing for me personally was that they are huge and I only have a short parking space that used to be a garden in front of my terrace.

Horseboxes don’t depreciate that much compared to cars as they don’t do the mileage. Even an old box provided well cared for and a good design will keep its value and sell easily. I’ve recently bought a 2002 which was a Horsebox from new with only 17k on the clock for £12K. I’ve used it loads and find it so easy to drive. In the past I had a 6.5t which was lovely but did take a lot more looking after.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Mine costs about £700 a year before it turns a wheel. It's a 2012 build on an 08, built to my order. No storage charges as in my own yard.
Thats for tax, insurance and breakdown, MOT and general service cost prior to test.

I put aside £4-500 a year for spares and repairs.
This year has been a drain as I got 4 new tyres in the spring and its getting a new floor in the next couple of weeks. But that said, its not really needed much in the last few years at all, just a minor water pump issue and a re set of the dash computer apart from general wear and tear service items like brake discs etc. I'll factor in a front end respray next spring.

In all, I reckon it's still cheaper than hiring once a month as round here its £100 a day on average.
It's fine to sit about too tho I did pootle it once a month to collect feed and pet food during lockdown 1.

Might think about trading newer next year but that's only at the thinking stages.....

 

[chaps89]

Mine costs about £700 a year before it turns a wheel. It's a 2012 build on an 08, built to my order. No storage charges as in my own yard.
Thats for tax, insurance and breakdown, MOT and general service cost prior to test.

I put aside £4-500 a year for spares and repairs.
This year has been a drain as I got 4 new tyres in the spring and its getting a new floor in the next couple of weeks. But that said, its not really needed much in the last few years at all, just a minor water pump issue and a re set of the dash computer apart from general wear and tear service items like brake discs etc. I'll factor in a front end respray next spring.

In all, I reckon it's still cheaper than hiring once a month as round here its £100 a day on average.
It's fine to sit about too tho I did pootle it once a month to collect feed and pet food during lockdown 1.

Might think about trading newer next year but that's only at the thinking stages.....

if you do, will you let me know? Just incase by then I’m wanting my own again

 

[The Xmas Furry]

if you do, will you let me know? Just incase by then I’m wanting my own again

Will do x
Probably unlikely as I trust it and know it v well since getting it built, but I'm not ruling it out yet.

 

[Bea332]

Thanks everyone - you've given me a lot to think about. Going to do my sums and figure out which would be the best solution for me personally. This weekend has shown me how desperate I am to have my own transport but I also want to make it sustainable long term!