Would you touch a Ford Cargo 811 7.5 Ton B Reg with a barge pole?

T

TED2010

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 December 2010
Messages
363
Location
Devon
Visit site
As the title suggests, have seen one quite near me on ebay, looks in fairly good condition for age but no close up pictures of the cab. Has just passed MOT for the year but would I be letting myself in for all sorts of problems. Have always had trailers before but don't have towing vehicle anymore and limited budget. I have heard parts for these old lorries are hard to get hold of, just how difficult is this? Any thoughts and experience much appreciated, especially on this particular model/age. Thank you :)
 
I'll be very interested in the responses to this because I have one exactly the same that I'm about to put on ebay.........!

It's always been very reliable, and has always sailed through plating. The odd bits have worn out along the way and although people suck in their teeth and say parts are hard to come by, I've never had a problem.

I'm only selling because I've decided to share a friend's lorry - it seemed silly to be paying out tax, insurance, plating etc on 2 when she hardly uses hers and we could split all the running costs.
 
TED2010 said:
As the title suggests, have seen one quite near me on ebay, looks in fairly good condition for age but no close up pictures of the cab. Has just passed MOT for the year but would I be letting myself in for all sorts of problems. Have always had trailers before but don't have towing vehicle anymore and limited budget. I have heard parts for these old lorries are hard to get hold of, just how difficult is this? Any thoughts and experience much appreciated, especially on this particular model/age. Thank you :)
Click to expand...
Parts are getting harder to find but not impossible ,, If it isnt rotten and been bodged up then depending on price you should be ok, it would have to be cheap I dont think there is much money about! I have been trying to sell my lorry, newish conversion on a emaculate 04 mercedes chassis cant get a bid over £10k ...I would take 10 two years ago would have been 15k+...
 
Having sold my E Reg cargo which was fairly reliable, but I still had to budget £1k a year to get it through its plate and fix stuff on it. On top of Tax, Insurance etc on a second vehicle.

If you are going to have to tax insure etc a second vehicle on a tight budget you might be better off with an older landy and a trailer. Probably cheaper to run too.
 
If there are no close up pics of the cab then I would be a bite wary and would definitely want to go see if first! We sold our B reg 2 years ago though and that was pretty decent for its age BUT it was suffering from some rust rounmd the cab area and that is where they do generally suffer.

They are also harder to get parts for so you'd have to bear that in mind really as it means maintenance can end up pretty costly.
 
Thanks very much for replies, really helpful! Am hoping to have a look at it tonight, i'm not very good at mechanical things but should be able to tell if it is a rust bucket! Anything/areas I should look at in particular? Trouble is with getting a 4 x 4 and trailer is that i have a totally impractical company car so would still have to tax and insure another vehicle and insure trailer. This is why i was considering a box. How much would you pay with it just having gone through MOT??:)
 
TED2010 said:
Thanks very much for replies, really helpful! Am hoping to have a look at it tonight, i'm not very good at mechanical things but should be able to tell if it is a rust bucket! Anything/areas I should look at in particular? Trouble is with getting a 4 x 4 and trailer is that i have a totally impractical company car so would still have to tax and insure another vehicle and insure trailer. This is why i was considering a box. How much would you pay with it just having gone through MOT??:)
Click to expand...
I would take someone who is mecanical to look it over before you buy it might be fine or ???? Yes a lorry is much more sensible on a budget but it needs to be checked , im sure you could easly spend as much keeping a old landrover or other going as a lorry !!! if its got a long test aleast you know there is a year in it ,and then if it needs a lot of work next year the biggest costs is a lot of welding on the cab, major brake work or tyres thats why it is important to have it vetted .... but you you could check round the cab steps,floor ect and under the horse box part for rot in the bits that hold the floor.... and the floor lift the mats and poke around
value is what your willing to pay based on condition and what simalar lorrys are advertised for...
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't touch it, sorry.

Had a C reg. Everything that could leak had leaked, everything that could rot had rotted. Steering block was on it's way out. Floor had rusted in the cag.

The heater worked! And it looked lovely. It had a plating six weeks before we bought it. Had a service the week after we'd bought it. Had a new exhaust on six months after we bought it. No-body noticed anything wrong :(

Take a mechanic with you!

Get the last x number of plating sheets and the advisory sheets as well!

Oh, the mechanic told me that if mine had been a year younger (different brakes), then it would have been worth spending money on fixing everything.

Parts were starting to get hard to get hold of.
 
hi
make sure its the 6 cyl engine unbursable and dont worry about it being a 4 speed box the 4 speed is the best box i think the 0811 is 11o bhp which is ok.
also check out rust on cab wings and inner wings and cab struts they all rot
regards terry
 
Have been to see it this evening, didn't have a mechanic I could take with me at short notice. It looks very tidy for an old lorry, very little rust on the cab or anywhere else that I could see. The cab has been welded so doesn't tilt forward. The floor is very good and solid underneath with thick rubber matting and living was refurbed last year and tidy. Has had a new battery recently and engine sounded good when started. Inside of cab was clean and tidy and it has power stearing. They have said they would take £2k for it and take it off ebay but there is about 150 people watching it and it will end in about 12 hours. Thanks for all the helpful replies, still waying up the pros and cons! :confused:
 
TED2010 said:
Have been to see it this evening, didn't have a mechanic I could take with me at short notice. It looks very tidy for an old lorry, very little rust on the cab or anywhere else that I could see. The cab has been welded so doesn't tilt forward. The floor is very good and solid underneath with thick rubber matting and living was refurbed last year and tidy. Has had a new battery recently and engine sounded good when started. Inside of cab was clean and tidy and it has power stearing. They have said they would take £2k for it and take it off ebay but there is about 150 people watching it and it will end in about 12 hours. Thanks for all the helpful replies, still waying up the pros and cons! :confused:
Click to expand...

Mechanic husband says if the cab has been welded so you can't tilt it, how are you going to service it and put oil in it? It's a pain in the arse, without it being able to tilt!

He says leave it alone!
 
Our cargo didn't have a tilt cab but we had no probs servicing it - had a decent mechanic. It isn't AS easy as one with a tilt and does mean it'll be more expensive if major work to be done as more difficult to do.

I think £2k is maybe a little optimistic - we sold ours for just a little over this a couple of years ago. The again if in very good nick someone may be prepared to pay that. It's considering the cost of getting parts you have to bear in mind. Hmm, a tricky one really - you could get a year out of it, it could go ona lot longer. Do you know if they've owned it long and their reasons for selling?
 
Think they have had it 3 years and want to get a trailer. They don't have license to drive it as they are in mid twenties so rely on a relative to drive to shows etc. Seemed genuine enough .... Does seem to be a very tidy lorry for its age and they said they have had an offer just under 2k so they may get it but don't think I will pay that because of the reasons you point out. probably better to save for a bit longer and try and get something that ticks more boxes. It is 6 cylinder not 4 engine. Thanks for all the advice! :)
 
Did you get underneath it and check the floor struts?

I hate to harp on (honest!), but ours looked lovely from the outside and it had rubber mats etc. The problems were all underneath, out of general sight.
 
if you do buy it, get a new floor put in and have the ramp hinges checked (properly checked) - i had the ramp and floor on my J-reg cargo checked by a reputable garage and a month later the ramp dropped clean off when i lowered it. the conversion was about 10 yrs old at that point.
i'd buy it if i was an experienced mechanic or if i had a very tame one, otherwise no. ;) ;)
old Cargos are made of unobtainium, you know...
there's a guy up Notts way who does Cargo scrappage and is v sensible on the phone, prob a useful person to have the contact deets of, pm me if you want them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top