BUYERS WILL PAY A PREMIUM
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Price matters, but I isn't the be-all and end-all so far as many buyers of used trucks are concerned.
"If the truck is exactly what they want, and isn't covered in scratches and dents, then they'll pay a premium for it," says David Morgan of Midlands dealership Gerard Mann. "Furthermore, older trucks will still sell if they've been looked after, and come with a full service history."
Morgan is the winner of Mercedes-Benz's used commercial vehicle sales manager of the year award for 2000.
"My award is very much a reflection of the success of the used department as a whole," he contends. "It's a lot to do with the way we purchase vehicles."
One of the biggest tasks he faces is the continued search for saleable stock. "We're always out at auctions and contacting the rental companies," he says.
Tractor unit customers want big cabs and plenty of power, and anything that falls into that category will find a home. "We sell 4x2s and 6x2s in equal measure," he says.
At the other end of the weight scale, sales of used 7.5-tonners are "a bit slow" at present, Morgan reports, but there's plenty of demand for 18 tonners, and Vitos and Sprinters are hugely popular.
As with the tractor units, the lowest-powered second-nand Sprinters aren't the ones that attract the most interest.
"We do especially well with Sprinter dropsides, so much so that we've taken the box bodies off some of the used Sprinters we have in stock and fitted dropside bodies instead," he says.
Ninety per cent of the second-hand Mercedes trucks and all the used Mercedes light commercials sold are embraced by the manufacturer's Signature approved used scheme.
"We do sell some non-Mercedes vans from our dealership in Shrewsbury, but they can be hard work," he says. "After all, if you're after a van, and you phone up a Mercedes dealership, the odds are that you're after a Mercedes."
GRAYS SETS UP IN CROYDON
Ivaco Ford dealer Grays Trucks has invested 22.5m in a new 2.5-acre dealership in Imperial Way, Croydon.
"The manufacturer hasn't been represented in the area since Dees, the previous dealer, shut its outlet two or three years ago," says managing director David Littlejohn.
Grays has two lveco Ford sites in Guildford, which sold just over 1,000 new and used commercial vehicles in 2000.
Opening Croydon could boost total new and used sales by 200 units this year, Littlejohn predicts. "We've already sold 20 used and five new trucks from there, so we're off to a good start." Sales are likely to be dominated by rigids rather than tractor units.
The new site was constructed as a purpose-built truck dealership with a large workshop some years ago. "I understand it was built for Sparshatts," says Littlejohn, "and was recently occupied by a transport company."
VOLVOS FETCH HIGH PRICES
A 520hp Volvo FH16 150-tonne heavy haulage 6x4 tractor, 1998 on an S plate and with a Globetrotter cab, was sold for a phenomenal 272,750—almost 213,000 more than the price anticipated—at a recent Saturday sale organised by Malcolm Harrison. It was held at the Bourn, Cambridgeshire premises of haulier MJ Rolls.
A W-registered Volvo FH12 420 6x2 rear-lift tractor unit was sold for 255,000, while a five-year-old Volvo FH12 420 6x4 tractor fetched 2,26,500.
Low-loader trailers attracted plenty of bidding too. A 1997 Nooteboom was disposed of for 266,000, while a 2000 example was bought for £72,000.
One or two lots were of interest to old truck buffs. A 1978 Volvo F88 tractor was knocked down for 21,600, 2100 more than was fetched by a 1948 Austin lorry with a dropside body.