Older horseboxes questions

[chaps89]

I am trying to horsebox shop on a budget.

Because I don't have a huge amount of money (in terms of horseboxes), I am looking at older boxes - anything from 15-20 years old really. Therefore I do expect there to be bumps and niggles.
But I'm not sure where to draw the line.
I'm just going off mot histories at the moment, yet to look at anything in the flesh.
Things that feel 'scary' to me are any mentions of rust or corrosion, oil leaks etc. General tyres, breaks don't feel too bad
But then there's the stuff I don't know anything about, steering columns, propshafts, suspension etc.
Am I right to write off boxes where these things have either had extensive repairs to get through an mot or have been advisories and not addressed?

I do have a friendly mechanic but I don't want to bombard him with asking him to look at the mot history of every vehicle in budget and suitable, I would prefer to find something that seems ok then ask what he thinks.

So help for the non-mechanical person, what's acceptable or to be expected and what should I run away from?

As an aside, horsebox prices vary so much, there really doesn't seem to be any consistency in what your money will get you :-/

 

[mandyroberts]

I would use a bit of common sense and get your mechanic to do a full check if you find one you like. My mechanic told us to walk away from two (one had major fault and the other falsified service invoices and a major fault). The last one we bought he found a long list of stuff but said if the seller got the repairs done it was fine so that's what we did. We bought from a dealer who talked through my mechanics findings and agreed the things needed attention - despite the fact it had passed its plate the previous month. He knew our mechanic would be checking what had been done and all was fine. Good luck

 

[Farmer Chalk]

The trouble with horseboxes is that they sit around in damp conditions unused for 99% of their life... even the morning dew creates issues with damp underneath...and if they sit around not being driven they never really get the chance to dry out....hence the corrosion..i’ve been under a few and am always surprised how bad it gets...

So the structural safety is primary.... parts can be added on later and lorry parts are relatively cheap for what they are...but if the base is rotten then you are on a hiding to nothing...

The gold find would be one that has been kept in a dry barn all it’s life....even then you have to think of mice damage etc so it is really really important to go over the truck and lift every seat and climb under and have a proper look...

I would consider in your case getting the truck taken to a commercial lorry service garage and asking them to do a pre MOT check on it and ask for their professional advice .....any minor faults they find will also give you more bargaining power when it comes to purchase negotiations....

 

[JennBags]

I think you're taking a huge risk buying anything under about 10-12k, you might end up with a bargain or you might end up with an unreliable money pit. I hardly use my lorry at the moment but I won't sell it because I think I'd struggle to find another one so reliable and well made.
You definitely need to have the undercarriage checked for corrosion. Any of the mechanical parts can go at any time, that's the risk you take, but you can't easily repair a rusted chassis.

 

[superpony]

As others have said definitely look underneath it as some are complete sheds on wheels!

I bought my lorry for under £10k a few years ago. It was older than we wanted but had been really well looked after. My mechanic says what a brilliant lorry it is but despite that it still needs regular work to keep it on the road and it is used at least once a week which seems to help.

I was lucky as my Dad is good with things like this and came with me. Mine had previously failed it’s MOT for steering issues but it was repaired by the previous owner and has been brilliant.

I would go with your eyes wide open and we found that generally the good ones went very quickly so you had to move quickly.

 

[tda]

Definitely look at the age of the vehicle first, not the shiny paint or the cushions 😁

 

[chaps89]

Thanks everyone, really helpful feedback.

Shiny paint and plump cushions are not on my list of must haves funnily enough
Reliability and soundness however are.

If it makes any difference it's 3.5t I'm looking at, for travelling a 14.2hh pony and I'm expecting the box will be used twice a week, generally for shorter journeys of up to 15 miles each way but probably 3 times a month longer journeys of about 40 miles each way.
I definitely don't want to find myself with a money pit or broken down on the hard shoulder that's for sure. (Who does!)

Rust and corrosion sound like the big no-no's then, which is in line with what I thought. Will go over any with a fine tooth comb and will definitely be having a mechanic look over separately too.

I agree the good ones seem to go quick, there's been a couple advertised for some time now and I get the feeling there's a reason why!

 

[conniegirl]

It depends where the rust and corrosion are, i recently sold my lorry, it had some rust on the doors and needed a bit of welding to the cab floor, other then that it was absolutely sound so no structural rust. £300 would have sorted it if you were not fussy about the paint job, it was priced with the rust in mind.
The buyers mechanic looked at it, spoke to my mechanic and they bought it then and there.

Big no’s for me would be structural rust, exhaust manifolds and rotten floors.

Brakes are generally easily fixed, i wouldnt disregard something that had an oil leak. Mine developed one and it was just a rubber seal that had gone, cost less than £100 to fix, i would however get your mechanic to look at it before buying.
Also make sure that parts for your lorry are easily available