Finally we meet the one person in the country who actaully needs 4x4! - and he has taste in rejecting the Q7 and Cayenne.
Even has common sense not want to buy two cars where one will do. Alternatively, two cars may work if you get a 4x4 cheap pickup type thing and then a medium sized car? Could get both for less than 30 large.
I received an e-mal yesterday to lease a Nissan Navara for £189pcm + VAT and you can buy a nice Mondeo for £12,000.
|
|
I'd suggest a sorted, but older Defender SWB for the horse-trailer, and what ever you want for the long-distance jobs.
|
Car for a horse husband?
Got to be a Hyundai Pony, or a Deux Chevaux.
|
|
|
If reliability is a must Toyo landcruiser, preferably the Amazon, 4.2td or 4.5V8 petrol (many have already been LPG concerted), given your budget you might get the latest model 4.5V8 diesel.
The LC5 3.0td is a little smaller, but still has all the power and towing capability you'll need, but it doesn't have air suspension like the Amazon for that magic carpet ride.
Some of the suggestions above might lead to first name terms at various service desks.
Don't be tempted into a very short wheelbase vehicle for towing heavy loads, too easy for the tail to wag the dog.
If you want a second vehicle for towing and work duties, could i suggest a pick up, relatively cheap van class VED, chosen carefully they are simple and robust, and separate load area you can chuck anything in without filling the passenger space with muck, dust, spiders etc, and the latest twin cab models have proper auto's if thats of use.
|
|
Agree with GB about Landcruisers. The Hilux pickup towing limit is onlt 2250 unfortunately. The Navara has been a seriously troublesome beats for many owners. The Mitsubishi L200 and Ford Ranger are both over 2600.
|
|
|
|
|
As your budget is good, why not consider buying the car you really want and buying a non-HGV horse box? That way you get your comfortable, greener car for every day driving and long distances while you still have transport for the horse plus masses of storage for its kit.
A box for two horses, with day living accommodation would be £14,000 for new conversion on a mercedes chassis or they are between £2-5K second hand at the moment.
Edited by deepwith on 21/11/2008 at 09:05
|
Get a 5-year-old Isuzu Trooper for the towing. 100,000 horse owners cannot be wrong. But make sure it's lived in the salt-free South East, as they rust, and the usual failure mode is for the trailer to stay standing still, attached to the towball, attached to the towbar, attached to a large chunk of the rear end of the car...
A Defender is a great idea if you prefer spending your time fixing it.
And then buy yourself a nice car. Remember, the interior of your horse car will be full of sharp metal bits of tack and mud. And more mud, and if this season is anything to go by, yet more mud.
Alternatively, get a lighter horse trailer - a one-horse trailer, perhaps? And a Subaru Forrester sits just a little higher than an ordinary car so will cope with the outdoors better.
|
"Don't be tempted into a very short wheelbase vehicle for towing heavy loads"
He'll be towing about 1500kg - based on a 900kg two horse Ifor Williams trailer and a 600 kg horse (16.2hh) - that's about the weight of a large-ish caravan.
|
Why get a car? - try a second-hand Landau! use Neddy to pull it, comfortable, ideal for "potterin around town" and going to nearby places for weekends away.
the four-leg drive will cope with the muddy rutted farmyard, and the big wheels will give you plenty on ground clearance. Perfect! ;-)
Billy
|
Towing 2.6 tons with a margin of error for kit in the car doesn't leave you many options.
As suggested by Gordonbennett, if I was putting my own money into a full-size 4x4 I intended to keep, my first stop would be a Landcruiser. Check the VED and MPG though - I've heard it suggested that the 4.2 actually costs less to run than the 3.0.
Another poster here mentioned a Kia Sorrento for which he was offered next to nothing as a trade-in. These (and their Hyundai cousins) could be worth a look.
Much as I like them, I'd be reluctant to buy anything from the Landrover stable (pardon the pun). The Discovery has a long list of known faults (I considered buying one last year but thought the better of it). When I went to test drive one, I couldn't drive the automatic I'd come to see because the dealer couldn't start it. Neither could he move the brand new Range Rover out of his showroom because he couldn't start it either. Even if its something as simple as the battery going flat over a few days, that's hassle you don't want from your one and only car!
|
|
|
|
He'll be towing about 1500kg - based on a 900kg two horse Ifor Williams trailer and a 600 kg horse (16.2hh) -
Always better to plan for two horses - either another family addition or sharing travelling with someone else. That's 2100kg all-up!
I'd seriously consider a horsebox, as mentioned earlier - providing you've got somewhere to keep it. Kept in good nick they're virtually depreciation-proof when more than a few years old.
|
I'd be a bit wary of towing with a pick-up. They're fine when laden, but hopeless for rear grip when empty - particularly on slippery surfaces.
It's ludicrously easy to jack-knife an empty pick-up and trailer.
|
Don't know about towing weights for his vehicle but I have friends amongst the "Barbour" brigade and they like the new Freelander a lot. I don't know what towing weight of the Legacy Outback with the Boxer Diesel is but I was having a look at one at a dealer in Ashburton Devon and he said he was selling them like no tomorrow to "traditional"customers. I believe this engine is available in the Forrester as well: the old one was always a favorite tow vehicle amongst the green welly brigade. Used to be a lot of them at the point to point meets I used to go to when at Uni in Devon. Clean engine so lowish tax and a new one should be within your range.
You would have to enquire on towing weights though as I have not got them to hand.
|
|
Above someone says your horsebox is a double and you only have one horse? If this is correct, getting a horse box for the one horse would allow you to get a car like the Audi A6 Allroad. Am I missing something?
|
Am I missing something?
You've maybe not tried getting a recalcitrant horse into a single box as it's getting dark, raining, time's pressing....
|
|
No I haven't but if the horse was well behaved then they OP would have more options :-) But probably not a viable solution.
Edited by rtj70 on 21/11/2008 at 17:40
|
|
Single horseboxes are not that much lighter, and have a narrower wheelbase, so a potentially less stable. They are not that easy to sell, either, and no good for house moves unless it's just the piano.
|
Just to clarify, a 'horsebox' is a motorised vehicle, whilst a towed thingy is called a 'trailer'.
Part of my education as a 'horse husband' too :-)
|
|
|
|
|
|
