Refurbished vs New Portable Cabins: Which Is Right for You?
Choosing between a refurbished and a brand-new portable cabin usually comes down to three things: budget, how soon you need the space and how the building will be used. Both options have their place, and the right answer depends on which of those matters most to you.
What you pay
A second hand unit typically costs a fraction of the price of a new one of the same size. The steel chassis and shell of a well-built cabin have a long working life, so buying used means you are not paying new-build money for a frame that still has plenty of use left in it.
Most of the units we sell are repaired and refitted at our Manchester workshop, electrically tested and certified, then repainted before they go out. A few are sold as they stand, and the listing says so. Current prices are on the listings on our stock page.
What you get for the money
A new unit gives you a blank sheet: you choose the length, layout, windows, doors and finish before it is built. Used stock is what it is when it arrives with us — but that is less of a limit than it sounds. We regularly take a listed unit and rebuild it to a customer's own spec, moving partitions, adding a kitchen or washroom, changing doors and windows, or painting it in the colour you want. Our workshop services page explains the options.
Heated units are fitted with heaters — new heaters in most cases — and most canteens go out with a new kitchen fitted, so the parts you use every day are often new even when the building itself is second hand.
Getting it on site
Stock that is already on our yard can be booked in for delivery once it is ready, scheduled around our own HIAB fleet. We give you a date when you enquire rather than a standard lead time. A new-build unit has to be manufactured before it can travel, which adds a wait before you can use it. Delivery is priced by postcode and access.
Resale and reuse
A portable building keeps its usefulness. When your project finishes, a used unit can be moved to your next site, sold on, or offered back to us — we buy cabins as well as sell them, so you can ask us for a price when you no longer need it. Because you paid less at the start, the gap between what you spent and what the building is worth later is usually smaller than with new.
When new makes sense
If you need a very specific layout that no existing unit can be adapted to, or a long design life backed by a manufacturer's warranty, new can be worth the premium. The same goes for large modular schemes where all the units have to match exactly.
When second hand is the better buy
For everyday offices, welfare units, canteens, toilets and stores, a good used building does the job for far less money. Construction firms, sports clubs, schools, farms and small businesses all buy from our stock for that reason. The majority of what we sell is second hand, with the occasional new unit, so if you are not sure which way to go, send us your requirements and we will suggest what fits.
