Use your common sense
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Be smart when assessing mileage says one used truck dealer, and make sure you know what you're buying.
perators who buy second-hand trucks should be careful when assessing the mileage claims for trucks made by dealers, and use their common sense.
That's the advice proffered by Matt Hammond, used vehicle sales manager at West Thurrock, Essex, Daf dealership Harris Daf.While the quoted mileage on trucks sold by reputable established dealers is almost invariably pretty accurate, there may be occasions when the figure doesn't reflect the true situation, says Hammond.
That can be the case if the tachograph has been changed at some point during a vehicle's history. It is also worth finding out exactly what the history of the vehicle is in order to make a sensible guess of its probable mileage.
"If a truck has come from a major distribution fleet, is three years old, yet has apparently only covered 120,000km, then you should ask a few questions before you buy it," says Hammond.
"Remember that a truck on container work, for example, may be doing 160,000km to 180,000km annually these days. Remember, too, that 500,000km or so over three years isn't a lot on a modem truck engine if the vehicle has been regularly serviced."•