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Page 72
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The summer holidays are over and customers are flocking back to snap
up used trucks... or are they? Steve Banner reports from the forecourts.
Used truck dealers are eagerly expecting sales to pick up again now that summer has gone and buyers are coming back from their holidays.
"August was quiet a lot quieter than last year-but we've had several inquiries during recent days and things are looking good for autumn," says Michael Wood, used sales executive at Renault dealership Thompson Commercials. He's responsible for used activities at the firm's sites in Billingham and Newcastle upon Tyne.
"The whole trade has been through a quiet patch, but I get the feeling things might start to improve now," says Jim Warburton, used truck sales specialist at Renault dealership Staffordshire CV."In fact." he adds, -it's all looking quite promising."
It's getting busier
Tony Wolstenholme,used truck sales specialist at Scania dealership West Pennine,who is responsible for activities in Shropshire and on the Welsh border, agrees:"Things are definitely getting busier, with a lot of customers after threeto four-year-old ex-contract 4 Series 6x2 tractor units at 420hp," he says.
In any case, the height of summer did not bring the used market to a complete halt. "While selling tractor units was a struggle, demand for 7.5-tonners remained quite healthy," says Wood."Anything with a box body did well."
Yet while some dealers express optimism, fears remain that the ruinously high price of diesel could knock the market completely off course in the coming months.
"The high price of diesel is the number one reason customers are giving for not changing their trucks," says W. Several of them have told me that it may force them out of the haulage industry."
The high cost of diesel is certainly putting some people off buying, says Mike Curtis, used truck sales manager based at Daf dealership Watts Gloucester.
"I was recently contacted by one haulier with 18 trucks who was looking to dispose of 15 of them because of the pressure he's now under," Curtis reports." When old established businesses start cutting back heavily and even packing in completely, that's worrying, and sad to see."
Paul Prewett, used truck sales specialist at East of England Scania dealership Ro-Truck, says:"On one day recently I had no less than five hauliers contact me to say either that they were downsizing or packing up, and just one sales inquiry.
"I know of owner-drivers who are selling their trucks because they've worked out that they'll make more money driving for somebody and it's owner-drivers who tend to buy second-hand vehicles."
Specialist kit sells
But specialist equipment still seems to sell well, regardless of concern over fuel bills. "There's still a lot of interest in six and eightwheel tippers fitted with grabs," says Curtis.
"There's plenty of demand for dropside and flatbed 18-tonners too, and a shortage of twoto three-year-old 18-tonne curtainsiders with big engines," he adds."Box-bodied 18-tonners aren't so popular though." •