Car Hauler trailers

[CityHick]

Hey guys,
I came upon a pretty good deal on a trailer recently; it is a 16' deck flat bed, wooden deck, 10k rated trailer from a recognizable manufacturer, with electric drum brakes on one axle. I'm debating about buying it, in partnership with my dad who also wants a trailer for moving cars around.

Right now as it sits, it appears to have never been used and the tires look brand new, but are 7-8 years old. It is said to have been stored indoors since new, and it is a 2013 model.

It is complete, and appears ready to go. My only concerns are:
1. It has a lunette ring on it instead of a ball hitch coupler
2. It is only a 16' deck which works for me but may not work for my dad
3. It has no ramps nor a place to mount/store them
4. It doesn't have a weight distributing hitch
5. It doesn't include any spare tires

I know that all of those are relatively minor concerns but I am trying to assess the value; craigslist pricing is all over the board. I'm probably looking at spending $500-1000 on more "stuff" to get it ready for my purposes and my dad's.

Thoughts?

[BUCKWILD]

Is the lunette ring a bolt on? If so a replacement hitch can easily be sourced, if not an easy job for any one with welding experience or a qualified shop, same with the ramps. the wight distribution hitch is easily added and not usually included with car haulers (owner adds this), the deck is something to address, what will you be hauling 16' is enough to haul most any vehicle outside of a crew cab long bed truck, Spare tires and wheel are not that expensive and are an added cost when purchasing a new trailer. How much are they asking? consider price of tires and $300-$400in ramp building and stowing fabrication cost. compare to a new trailer If the tires are that old they are junk in my opinion, trailer tires are not expensive

[CityHick]

Its a bolt on hitch, not worried about that.
Ramps... could probably build them myself or find them to buy online. I can weld, and I am pretty good at it.
given my experience with tires, in towing to Oregon and back, I can't see myself going anywhere without two spare tires for a trailer!

Main question here is rough estimation of value. New it seems to be a $4-5k trailer. Used I have no idea. This being somewhere in between... like new, stored, rarely used... I don't know. I was able to talk the seller down to around 2300. I think its a decent deal but with the added expenses I'll incur, maybe not a screaming deal.

[pippinmader]

You can fix the tires and ramps, but in the end the length is what it is and can't be changed easily. I had a 16' 7K trailer that towed real nice and was great, but just not big enough for most of the stuff I wanted to haul, it wasn't wide enough for the bronco and Tundra and wasn't heavy duty enough for the tractor. Ended up paying $2500 for a used 18' 10/12K one (built as a 12K, registered as a 10K). The larger one is a little more work to tow just because it is wider on the road and longer in parking spots, but it fits what I need to haul. Seems like you are going to have another $1000 in new tires, spare, and ramps and it is a $2500-3000 trailer when you are done. Just my $.02...

[CityHick]

That's kind of my thoughts on the matter, Pippin.
I am still thinking about it but leaning towards continuing to search for something closer to being exactly what I need.

[crawlin68]

You will definitely want to change all of the tires. 7 to 8 year tires on car hauler will be a disaster on your first trip! So factor in buying 6 new tires and two new rims for your spares. I would also not want to haul a car/truck on a trailer that only has brakes on one axle. But that's just me. If you and your dad can live with the 16' bed and don't mind addressing the ramp and hitch issues, I'd say around $2000 would be a fair price. If the asking price is higher than that, you're going to end up with more in it than it's worth by the time you make it how you need it. At that point, it might be worth it to just keep looking for a better set up trailer that will meet your needs.

[BRONKEN]

I have a very similar trailer, 10K rated,16' metal deck with dovetail, brakes on both axles. I found the height of the trailer even with the dove tail to be an issue when trying to load a car on it. You would need some long ramps to get a better angle for cars.