Sorry to hear that. Is a faitly common problem with them i think id cut my losses on it personaly.
gutted for you mate but i did mention this was a common problem and MAN where offering a contribution towards preventing it
Interesting problem since I also own an old vehicle, a Magnum with over 1 million k’s on the clock and recently the gearbox gave problems…question…
what to do.estimated cost about 6 grand so I like the rig and went for it.Clutch/second hand gearbox with warranty and repairs to the selector thingy
total cost about 6,500.Was it worth it? the unit was/is worthless…cost of another, who knows and is it any good then you have to think is 6/7 grand
really a lot of money in the whole scheme of things and my answer is no.That was two months ago,rig back on the road and money spent already
recovered through earnings…till the next time…then I will have to think again but I am actually at retirement age and don’t want the cost of a newer
rig round my neck so I shall keep this rig going till it finally dies or I do.But as stated some deals being done on leasing with MB.
chaversdad:
gutted for you mate but i did mention this was a common problem and MAN where offering a contribution towards preventing it
Isn’t this what investigative journalism is supposed to be about then Commercial Motor?
Commercial Motor upset their advertisers…fantasy.
It’s a commonly known problem if you run MAN’s & use main dealers.
I considered MAN when I was looking for a truck but I read so many horror stories when I asked on here that I wrote the idea off very early on, I know some operate them successfully but “major mechanical failure for the second owner” was a scarily common theme.
It’s opinion only, but if I was Matt then I would be thinking “I got two years out of it and it was cheap to buy but it’s not worth spending £7,400 on it” and I’d take the £3,000 and look for something else. To be honest, I couldn’t fault a Renault, either Magnum or Premium, they both have virtually bulletproof Volvo engines and drivelines, and Premiums especially are very cheap to buy simply because Renaults don’t have badge appeal and the market is saturated with well looked-after ex major fleet trucks.
Anyway, hope Matt does sort it out either way, I’m sure he will, and I’m not the only owner operator who constantly has the thought of major mechanical failure at the back of his mind fairly regularly and constantly listens for any mechanical noise which sounds like it might mean sudden impending financial doom! 
Silver_Surfer:
It’s a commonly known problem if you run MAN’s & use main dealers.
was that in response to my post?
The o/p does run a Man and i only went into the main dealer to check on its history and they offered the repair service so i dont see the relevance of your post
Thanks for all the replies people. Well rightly or wrongly I have had the secondhand engine put in it and will be picking it up in the morning. I made 65 phone calls on wednesday to both dealers and breakers and couldn’t come up with anywhere that would give me a good price as a non runner or a suitable wagon to replace mine with. I rung up about an 08 plate MAN with tipping gear and I’d talked myself into buying that if available, it had been sold the previous day.
So, the reasons ive gone for the second hand engine? First of all the tipping gear is only 2 years old and cost £2750 to be fitted so 3k as a non runner didnt make sense in that respect. If I was to buy a wagon without tipping gear it would have taken almost all of next week to find some gear to be fitted. The wagon has been excellent to me on the whole with very little problems mechanically. It has a new clutch in it and also Lawman have put a new radiator in it and also the modified oil pump.
My plan now is to run it over the harvest and earn some money back with it, hopefully without any problems. In the meantime I wilk keep my eye out for a good wagon to replace it with if needs be. Im sure ill recoup the £7400 as a running truck in say 3-6months time.
Matt.
Brave man, hope that works out for you. I am thinking your ears will be super sensative for the next few weeks. 
bazstan009:
Brave man, hope that works out for you. I am thinking your ears will be super sensative for the next few weeks.
I cant convince myself that I’ve done the right thing but im hoping the decision proves to be the right one. Only time will tell but what I don’t need is criticism on here! Im all for peoples opinion but I really dont want to be lambasted!
Matt
chaversdad:
Silver_Surfer:
It’s a commonly known problem if you run MAN’s & use main dealers.was that in response to my post?
The o/p does run a Man and i only went into the main dealer to check on its history and they offered the repair service so i dont see the relevance of your post
i got the impression that it was more in relation to this post
cav551:
chaversdad:
gutted for you mate but i did mention this was a common problem and MAN where offering a contribution towards preventing itIsn’t this what investigative journalism is supposed to be about then Commercial Motor?
no criticism here mate, you have done what you think is the right thing and thats all that matters
chaversdad:
no criticism here mate, you have done what you think is the right thing and thats all that matters
+1.
Glad your sorted and back to work mate, your own decision is always right.
So you have a MAN unit with another engine,recent clutch,oil thingy present value perhaps £7k same as the cost of your repairs or you could have
scrapped it for maybe £3k.Total cost of your rig back on the road £4k doesn’t sound too bad, now get on with it and drive it to last.
Haven’t been on for a while but I would have put another engine in over chopping as a non-runner for £3k. Truck is more than an engine and a roll of the dice on an engine for a known looked after truck is better odds than rolling the dice on another secondhand truck particularly if you’re pushed for time to look for a new one properly.
Also remember although you have spent £7500 the truck is worth a lot more than £3k now.
*This is genuinely what I was going to post after reading the first page before discovering this is what you had done and was quite surprised so many people would walk away from a truck for £3k.
I’ve only just seen this thread and my opinion was
Put the SH engine in because it’s only going to cost you 4400 in real terms and it’ll make the lorry worth at least what you’ve spent.
Rather than but something else which will cost you
Cost of the lorry
Cost of tipping gear
Cost of lost production while you source new vehicle
Cost of hire while you find new vehicle
Cost of labour on the MAN
Glad to see I wasn’t too far away
Very pleased to hear that you are sorted now. It was the tipping gear and the known state of the rest of the vehicle that swung it for you, plus of course that only you know your business.
You probably don’t know under what conditions your new engine has been stored or for how long, so may I suggest that you bring forward quite significantly an engine service, once you have had enough running to know a bit about how it performs: oil consumption, coolant temperature when working hard etc. A quick once over by your fitter at the end of a day this coming week could be £50 well spent as well.
Have a good harvest season.
xfmatt:
Thanks for all the replies people. Well rightly or wrongly I have had the secondhand engine put in it and will be picking it up in the morning. I made 65 phone calls on wednesday to both dealers and breakers and couldn’t come up with anywhere that would give me a good price as a non runner or a suitable wagon to replace mine with. I rung up about an 08 plate MAN with tipping gear and I’d talked myself into buying that if available, it had been sold the previous day.So, the reasons ive gone for the second hand engine? First of all the tipping gear is only 2 years old and cost £2750 to be fitted so 3k as a non runner didnt make sense in that respect. If I was to buy a wagon without tipping gear it would have taken almost all of next week to find some gear to be fitted. The wagon has been excellent to me on the whole with very little problems mechanically. It has a new clutch in it and also Lawman have put a new radiator in it and also the modified oil pump.
My plan now is to run it over the harvest and earn some money back with it, hopefully without any problems. In the meantime I wilk keep my eye out for a good wagon to replace it with if needs be. Im sure ill recoup the £7400 as a running truck in say 3-6months time.
Matt.
Lets hope it works out for you.Thing that puzzles me is you say make some money so many come on and say no money to be made as an O/D. Obviosly your making it work so good on ya.