1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
As easy as BMC?
Page 53
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The digital eye of Webwatch sees what Broadway Motor Company offers in the way of used trucks.
Words: James Clark Company: Broadway Motor Company Address: www.bmctrucks.co.uk BMC Trucks is the used trucks arm of Broadway Motor Company, the specialist sales division of TLS Vehicle Rental, and not to be confused with the Coventry importer of Turkish BMC trucks.
On loading up the www. bmctrucks.co.uk homepage you will see that it is clear, bright and bold. To access the stocklist, click on the "Truck showroom" item in the top menu.
If you are interested in a specific marque, select one of the manufacturers' logos at the bottom of the homepage. Under these logos you will also find the option to search the stocklist by depot — BMC has locations in Birmingham, Derby, Gateshead, Liverpool, Manchester, Rotherham and Stoke on Trent.
The final option is to search by category: on the homepage you will find links to "light trucks", used box trucks", "used curtainside trucks" and so on. However, when we tested the site these links weren't working properly and all of them brought up the entire stock list rather than a selection of vehicles.
Product search
For each vehicle matching your criteria, the website displays a thumbnail image, comprehensive information (including mileage, spec and condition), and — in most instances — a price.
As is usual with used truck websites, click on a thumbnail image to see a larger, clearer version. Next to many of the trucks you will notice small blue numbered squares; select these to see additional photos of the truck in question.
The BMC Trucks used listings are powered by vehicle data webslte AutoExposure (www.autoexposure.co.uk), which allows it to take advantage of a number of Innovative features. These include downloadable one-page brochures in PDF format that give further details such as a vehicle's date of registration and registration number.
As well as photos, so-called "videos" are available for some of the trucks. These aren't real videos but slideshows constructed from still Images; still a nice touch, though.
Lastly, a feature called "HD Zoom" allows you to examine the interior and exterior vehicle photography in close detail, zooming in on any areas of interest.
Should a particular truck take your eye, click on the corresponding "Test Drive" fink. The window that pops up contains two tabs — one to enquire about the vehicle, the other to request a test drive.
At the time of writing, only a small number of vehicles were present in the 'truck showroom'. Most of these were lvecos, with tippers, curtainsiders and boxvans all available. The trucks had 04 plates or older.
Using the top navigation bar, you can also access pages on Broadway's finance options ("Truck finance"), get contact details for all of the depots ("Contact us"), or ask the dealer to do all the legwork and find a truck that matches your requirements ("Truck finder").
If you are interested in light CVs rather than HGVs, visit www. broadwaymotorcompany.co.uk
Conclusion
An easy-to-use, innovative site that would benefit from having more trucks in its virtual showroom.
APPEARANCE INFORMATION 1111111/1111 NAVIGATION Ratings scored out of 10
MUM 1=poor 10.excettent
Webwatch on the Web
• The new expanded Webwatch is now available online as part of Roadtransport.com's Truck & Van Blog. Visit www.roadtransport.com/blogs/truck-and-van-blog/