New horsebox rusting after only 18 months!!

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chocolategirl

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Hi everyone. Looking for opinions on this please. Bit long sorry so please bear with me. I approached a coach builder who had built a horsebox for a friend of mine and on his recommendation, I contacted a company he had used a lot for second hand chassis's and agreed over the phone to purchase a 57 plate daf and it was delivered direct to the coach builder. This was in about may 2014. I collected my stunning new horsebox on 3rd October 2014. Forward to today and I've started noticed rust spots popping up all over the cab with one particularly bad one on the drivers side above the step up into the cab. This vehicle has been barn stored from the day I collected it and though I do use it regularly I've only done approximately 7-8000 miles in it since purchase. I've complained to the coach builder about the rust but he is saying that that's the problem with buying a second hand chassis. What's everyone's opinions to his response as I don't feel it should be rusting after such a short period of time. If it had been prepped properly before being sprayed, surely it shouldn't be rusting already. Btw the spray job was about 4K! Thanks for reading!
 
Think yourself lucky it is only the cab, friends of mine bought a new build on a used chassis that was so corroded underneath when taken in for it's test 12 months after purchase they were not allowed to drive it home as it was so bad, the garage that took it in for repair felt it must have lived very close to the sea and been damaged by the salt water previously and bought very cheaply, this was a well known company and they got no compensation although they didn't try as hard as they could have done.

It sounds as if corners have been cut with your box.
 
£4k sounds like a very cheap paint job, unless it was only the cab that was painted. It sounds like they didn't prep the bodywork properly before spraying. A decent job can take ages and will cost accordingly. do you have an invoice detailing a breakdown of the costs?
 
I would expect a 57 plate wagon to have a degree of rust on it so depends really. Do you have any idea of the condition of chassis you bought before it was converted was any rust treatment/welding done. Do you have an invoice with details of what was used during the spraying so you can do your own research on potential life span.

I have a 1997 daf and every year I hope my mechanic is going to condemn it so I can persuade hubby I need a new one and every year he tells me not to, in fact he always strongly advices me against getting a 06-62 range plate as theres apparently a list as long as your arm of stuff that needs replacing at those ages. This year is the first year I've had an advisory on my MOT test for rust on the cab and even now my mechanic tells me not to get rid but to just buy a new cab and fit that to my lorry, and this guys a coach builder so my buiness for a new one would go to him anyway.
 
Very hard to make a call. My feeling is that if he had prepped it properly it wouldn't be bubbling up yet, but on the other hand you did buy without a vetting as it were......

The £4000...was that the painting component of the total build, or just for the cab re-spray? Again, it all balances out in the total job price....so is the whole thing was super-cheap, then....


Can you post pics of the rust spots?
 
Problem is it isn't new. I think you will need to find out about the spraying process and if this is reasonable or not, and argue that case. Are you a BHS gold member. They may be able to advise what your rights are.
 
Afterthought. There's a big difference between a few rust spots which can be sorted out easily - OK you're not thrilled with the builder, but it's not really a tragedy - and being sold a complete heap. You really need to have an expert opinion on what it's like underneath....now that sounds easy, but a lot of people will make a drama to cover themselves (and after all it IS an 8YO vehicle) but on the other hand some might just give it a cursory glance. Not easy!
 
Difficult one tbh. I have a 1996 reg daf that Im told is in fab condition and to keep hold of it. I had some rust on the doors sorted last year and they did a great job matching the old paint colour and it cost £130, I can see spots coming back though now. Id be a bit peed off too but yours is almost 10 years old now and some seem to fair better than others. Ive had newer wagons that were in worse condition than my old one. I think 4k was a lot to pay for the spray unless its an all singing dancing paint job. My basic spray on a wagon I had converted a good few years ago was £1500 and that was from the guys who converted it who ripped me off with the conversion! I was quoted the same to respray my current wagon which is a large in one colour last year, metallic obviously more. I did think that was good though. Getting back to your issue, I have to say I dont think you will have any comeback, mainly down to the age of the vehicle as I think they will just use that as a get out. I hope Im wrong there though and you manage to get it sorted.
 
With a vehicle of that age one would expect rust to come through. Unless the entire chassis/cab was taken back to bare metal and primed and re-sprayed then I am afraid that one can expect rust to come through.
My advice would be to keep any rust that comes through under control be getting it removed, treated and re-sprayed.
 
Thanks for replies so far though they don't sound too encouraging . I think k part of the problem is my friends lorry done by the same guy and is nearly 5 years old on an 04 plate has literally no rust at all on it and that lives outside all the time. I guess she's just been very lucky on the face of it! I'm surprised 4k is thought of as cheap for a spray job? Wow I'm in the wrong business lol! I'm taking it to my local paint shop today for a 'professional' opinion.
 
If they were doing a respray job, then they had to "key" the bodywork for the new paint. Rust, if bad, should have been picked up then, ground right out, and primered before painting. Trouble is, you can uncover all sorts of horrors when you go digging. They certainly shouldn't have painted over rust.
 
turnbuckle said:
So, what did the paint shop say?
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Didn't make it today as the guy came tO fit the new diesel tank this morning! There's £670 I'll never see again! Will have to take it Monday now. So very disappointed with the coach builders attitude. I think I just assumed if I looked after it and kept it undercover always, it would last me for years? How wrong I was!
 
£670?

Have just Googled and they come in at about £300.

So that's £370 for about 2 hours work!

REALLY hacks me off how some people seem to enjoy skinning retail punters.

Sorry, mild rant!

Of course PERHAPS it was a very rare variant. And perhaps the job was very difficult due to corroded parts or much bodywork to be taken off. But you know, I doubt it....

Is the paintshop a car or lorry one?
 
turnbuckle said:
£670?

Have just Googled and they come in at about £300.

So that's £370 for about 2 hours work!

REALLY hacks me off how some people seem to enjoy skinning retail punters.

Sorry, mild rant!

Of course PERHAPS it was a very rare variant. And perhaps the job was very difficult due to corroded parts or much bodywork to be taken off. But you know, I doubt it....

Is the paintshop a car or lorry one?
Click to expand...

Trust me, taking off a fuel tank is a pig of a job, although I did mine without a pit which made it much harder. You can't just drop it down, you have to slide it across so really a 2 person job. A little steep, but with lorries everything costs at £40 plus an hour for a fitter. That's why I do a lot myself.
 
I'm well aware it's not that easy a job.

But with fuel drained it doesn't weigh a ton. A trolley jack should support it. Even assuming it was a two man job, it is still VERY steep - of course there may have been corroded unions or a skirt to take off. But how hard is it to take off a skirt? Drill rivets, take off, put new sealant on, re-rivet. Not rocket science.


Perhaps when OP comes back we'll see there was a good reason. But I sense a case of "oh it's a woman and she does horses, must be posh and loaded".....
 
turnbuckle said:
£670?

Have just Googled and they come in at about £300.

So that's £370 for about 2 hours work!

REALLY hacks me off how some people seem to enjoy skinning retail punters.

Sorry, mild rant!

Of course PERHAPS it was a very rare variant. And perhaps the job was very difficult due to corroded parts or much bodywork to be taken off. But you know, I doubt it....

Is the paintshop a car or lorry one?
Click to expand...

The paint shop where the lorry was painted was a big specialist lorry sprayer. I was just going to take it along to my local car paint shop for his professional opinion. He can only cater up to 3.5t as building not big enough but we use him for cars throughout the family and he's been going for donkeys!
 
turnbuckle said:
I'm well aware it's not that easy a job.

But with fuel drained it doesn't weigh a ton. A trolley jack should support it. Even assuming it was a two man job, it is still VERY steep - of course there may have been corroded unions or a skirt to take off. But how hard is it to take off a skirt? Drill rivets, take off, put new sealant on, re-rivet. Not rocket science.


Perhaps when OP comes back we'll see there was a good reason. But I sense a case of "oh it's a woman and she does horses, must be posh and loaded".....
Click to expand...

Sadly yes I think is often the case. It was done by one man on his own took him less than 2 hours including the draining and re filling and no skirt to take off as there is a big flap that opens up for easy access to fuel tank. He told me the tank was £600 and his time £70. TBH I'm used to paying through the nose for most things but I've just learned to accept it most of the time. Doesn't stop me having a moan though lol!
 
Quite possibly £600 ordered through DAF.

But anyone with half a brain (unless its for a nearly new fleet vehicle) will phone round to try and get a cheaper price.

Labour rate and hours sound very fair, so perhaps he was honest and just a bit thick about sourcing.

Still, depressing.

Yes, see what your man says. And ask him to suggest someone decent if it needs to be put right.

But depending on whether you paid top dollar for the lorry or got a cheap deal, don't give up hope on getting the builder to put it right.....or at least chipping in to the cost.
 
TBH, with a 9 year old box (did I remember that right?), I would be disappointed with the rust, but as long as it was a little spot or two (rather than a rusted through cab) then I would think it was par for the course.

When our "Big Blue" (12.5 tonne Daf) started to rot, I was surprised how quickly it deteriorated. I bought the cab as a 5 year old cab, and it only did about 2 years before having noticeable rust. Although, at the time I put it down to the foot and mouth, as after the clampdown on horse moving was over, every event we went to sprayed us with disinfectant. Every box I knew (4 of them) well rotted a lot quicker than we anticipated.

If you have had no joy with the builder I would think you will be unsuccessful at getting any recompense, I would ask around for a reliable painter, and have them have a look.
 
Red-1 said:
TBH, with a 9 year old box (did I remember that right?), I would be disappointed with the rust, but as long as it was a little spot or two (rather than a rusted through cab) then I would think it was par for the course.

When our "Big Blue" (12.5 tonne Daf) started to rot, I was surprised how quickly it deteriorated. I bought the cab as a 5 year old cab, and it only did about 2 years before having noticeable rust. Although, at the time I put it down to the foot and mouth, as after the clampdown on horse moving was over, every event we went to sprayed us with disinfectant. Every box I knew (4 of them) well rotted a lot quicker than we anticipated.

If you have had no joy with the builder I would think you will be unsuccessful at getting any recompense, I would ask around for a reliable painter, and have them have a look.
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The lorry is a 57 plate and the box was coach built onto it in October 2014. I know I'm not gonna get anywhere with him which is fine, the horse world is a very small place though! You may all be interested to know this horsebox including chassis was heading towards 50k so I don't class that as a cheap build but maybe I'm wrong?
 
chocolategirl said:
The lorry is a 57 plate and the box was coach built onto it in October 2014. I know I'm not gonna get anywhere with him which is fine, the horse world is a very small place though! You may all be interested to know this horsebox including chassis was heading towards 50k so I don't class that as a cheap build but maybe I'm wrong?
Click to expand...

Blimey, no that is not cheap. My big boxes were both under 20K, all in, chassis, horse area, cut through, kitchen, bed, tack/ toilet, etc etc and painting too. At 50K then I would be very upset!
 
Maddening. At that price, he should been on top of any rust. See what the paintshop say, my sense is it may only need a little work.

If not, I would be inclined to talk to a lawyer...but there again you bought the chassis sight unseen from someone else.

So it's all rather complex...but when isn't it?

Good luck. It would be so nice if people tried to be decent.
 
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