M4 takes up where Blackbushe left off
Page 52
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• A year and a half after it started, M4 Auctions is attracting up to 65 vehicles plus trailers and items of plant to its monthly sale at Lambourn Woodlands near Hungerford in Berkshire.
"Our location is a big advantage. The nearest major truck auctions to us are at Newport to the west, and Colchester to the east," says ex-haulier and one-time Bedford dealer Jerry Lane, who set up the operation with partner John Moore. "And I think we remind some bidders of what the Blackbushe auction used to be like in the old days." The cost of diesel could mean vendors in the area will be more willing to try Lambourn, and less willing to send trucks to South Wales or Essex, he says. "And the price of diesel matters to vendors. "We've had vehicles come in here with less than an inch of fuel in their tanks. We check fuel levels carefully because the last thing we want is a truck to run out of diesel in the middle of a sale."
The most recent sale saw little interest in older box-bodied 17-tonners—Greg or earlier-but more enthusiasm for anything with specialist equipment. "We
could have done with more 7.5-tonners though—curtainsiders in particular were in demand."
He also detected continued interest in 4x2 tractors, although some could be destined to be stretched into rigids.
Lane is hoping to persuade more councils and utilities to take a look at what M4 Auctions has to offer. "There's a lot of demand for their vehicles," he says. "Some local authority trucks may look a little rough, but they tend to be well-maintained and won't have that high a mileage. And they come direct from theoperator."