Live auction to kick off Tip-ex 2013 Tip-ex 2013 provides
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an unmatched target audience for anyone looking to sell their truck, says Protruck Auctions expert Words: Charlie Wright Tip-ex 2013 will get off to a flying start. Before the doors open at the Harrogate International Centre on Thursday 30 May, Protruck Auctions will host a live auction across town at the Great Yorkshire Showground.
All the lots that go under the hammer will be on display for visitors to come and kick the tyres and, like a traditional auction, every vehicle will be started and run through the rostrum.
Replenishing the fleet With buyers nervously eyeing Euro-6 (it becomes mandatory on 1 January 2014), the used truck sector has never played such an important part in replenishing the fleet. That makes it a seller's market, but it is imperative to make sure you get your vehicle seen by the right people to release the capital tied up in the truck.
Those attending the Tip-ex auction come from the agriculture, aggregates, muckaway, bulk waste transport, and civil engineering sectors. It will be a captive audience.
Tip-ex attracts a rich demographic of bosses and decision makers who can take an instant judgment, making this auction the perfect opportunity to realise the full residual value of your vehicle.
Great demand We want tractor units, all sizes of tippers with different types of bodies, tipper grabs, as well as tipper trailers, brick carriers, moving floor and ejector trailers. The demand from the industry for instant, value-for-money solutions to transport from good, reliable sources has never been so great, as building and development projects continue to come onstream. There will never be a better target audience. • AUCTION DETAILS The doors at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, open at Yam on 30 May 2013. Bacon butties and hot drinks will be available before the auction starts at 10.30am. To put a vehicle in the auction, contact Charlie Wright on 01427 871500, or to register as a buyer email tipex13@protruckauctions.co.uk. You can register on the day. If you register your details with Commercial Motor at the auction, you will get a free lunch voucher at the show, which starts at 1.00pm. An RBS spokesman said at the time that the decision to close LVM "was a difficult one, but a necessary step in our plan to derisk and refocus RBS, making the bank safer and stronger". The deal saw the Lombard name continue as a revamped Lombard Vehicle Solutions, essentially a white paper company, run by ALD Automotive.
The main focus The Lombard-Hitachi deal, which includes LCVs run by smaller fleets and SMEs, takes the Hitachi portfolio to more than 70,000 vehicles. Jon Lawes, divisional MD of Hitachi, said: "Our primary focus is on integrating these new customers and their drivers into the Hitachi business. We have set up a dedicated team to ensure a smooth transition."
Lawes continued: "Hitachi has stated publicly over the past 12 months its intention to grow both organically and by acquisition across both its car and CV businesses, in particular in the SME space."
As for Lombard, the name will continue with the remaining core asset finance business in sectors such as agriculture, aviation, healthcare, manufacturing, marine and renewable energy, to name a few, and is not affected by this announcement, said a spokesperson.
A helpline has been set up for new Hitachi Capital customers to ring with any queries about existing CV finance agreements. Call 0843 351 9073 for more details. • MANHEIM AUCTIONS Since 2006, Manheim Auctions has held regular dedicated Lombard Vehicle Management sales at its Haydock branch. That came to an end on 22 March, with the final dedicated sale handled by auctioneer Matthew Davock (pictured left).
"It's not quite the end," says Manheim head of CVs James Davis. "There will still be some Lombard vehicles coming through on deals that have been extended, but it will be more ad hoc and the vehicles will be included in the wider sale.
"Lombard has been selling vans at Haydock, using it as their northern de-fleet centre in 2006. Initially, they held regular monthly 'centre for a day' sales of over 250 vans," he continues. "With Haydock's growth, the auction site went from a fortnightly sale to a weekly sale. This allowed Haydock to offer Lombard a larger and more regular fortnightly sales slot."
With Lombard remarketing between 100 and 200 vans every fortnight, the dedicated sale developed a loyal following based on quality, reliability and value for money. Lombard always sent an employee to oversee the sales and make instant decisions on bids.
The ability to make an instant decision means the buyer can take away the vehicle on the day and not have to wait for Manheim to call Lombard to clarify a provisional bid, according to Davis, and buyers appreciate that.
In its last dedicated sale Lombard put only 35 vans into a sale of 160 vehicles, reflecting its diminished vehicle portfolio as well as the wider availability of vans in the marketplace.
Davis says, however, that demand remains strong and that this is reflected by the gradual hardening in prices (see opposite page).
"Manheim has Haydock customers [vendors] that it can grow organically to fill the void, and Leaseplan has taken the 'Lombard slot' for two months as a trial," he explains. Lombard has sold more than 13,150 vans through Haydock in seven years, generating £52.6m. "The average age of all the Lombard vans sold has been 45 months, with average mileage of 59,000 miles," he adds. "The combined age of all the vans is 48,544 years, and the combined total mileage is 760.7million."