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Drumming up business
Page 72
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The expense of repairing disc brakes is just one factor in the price of used truc (s.
Steve Banner talks to dealers about the state of the second-hand market.
WORRIES OVER the high cost of repairing disc brakes mean trailers equipped with them are attracting lower bids when offered as part-exchanges.
Rod Pybus, managing director of Scotch Corner trailer dealership SDC Northern, says: "We value them at £1,000 less than an equivalent trailer equipped with drums.That's because we know that if we need to replace, say, a couple of calipers and discs before we sell one, we're going to face a hefty bill.We took a tipper trailer in recently and had to change six calipers and six discs. It cost us £1,500."
A growing number of operators are switching back to drums because they too worry about big repair hills. Pybus reports: "We're talking to operators who acquired trailers with disc brakes two or three years ago,and now say they want drums instead."
Disc worries aside, Pybus says SDC Northern's used trailers sales are rising steeply.
"At present, we're seeing a 30% increase compared with 12 months ago,with buyers after late curtainsiders,sliding skellies, and tippers,"he observes."I think a lot of hauliers have realised that they've patched and repaired their existing trailers to such an extent that they can't patch and repair them any more, so they're replacing them."
They're also uncomfortably aware that the Traffic Commissioners tend to take a dim view of those operators who run ramshackle tackle.
"They're not very forgiving, and that's a good thing," says Pybus. "You don't want something to go wrong when you've got 25 tonnes of steel on board."
Demand is keeping secondhand prices buoyant, he continues. That's even the case with curtainsiders, despite the competitive deals available if you opt for a new one. But some of those deals should be approached with caution, he advises.
"A new curtainsider from what I would term a nondescript manufacturer might cost £14,000 compared with the £15,000 to £15,500 you might pay for one from an established maker," he says. Five or six years later, however, you're likely to find that the former will fetch £2,500 to £3,000 less than the latter when it comes to selling it second-hand.
"We get a lot of one-year-old trailers bearing nondescript brands offered to us," he concludes. "It's often because they're giving the operators concerned problems, so they want to get rid of them."