Auction buyers are bidding over book
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• British Car Auctions (BCA) reports a boom in business at its Belle Vue, Manchester, auction centre. More than 7o% of the entry at a recent sale found buyers, with all 30 of the lots that the Royal Mail sent in sold. They induded a selection of double-decker box trailers that fetched up to £5,200 apiece.
Refrigerated 7.5-boners are in demand at present, as highlighted by a P-registered 1996 Daf 45.130 entered by a finance company. It went for £4 1,000 against a guide value of £7,750, says BCA.
Dry freight 7.5-tonners enjoy an equally enthusiastic following. A 1997 P-plated Daf 45.130 box van disposed of by a rental company was knocked down for £7,850, compared with a guide value of £6,750.
A V-reg 1999 Iveco Ford 75E15
chassis cab went for £13,250 against a guide value of £12,200, and a 1996 P-reg Scania P94 6x2 curtainsider fetched £21,500. Both were sold to transport companies rather than dealers.
• Not to be outdone by British Car Auctions, Manheim Auctions is also enjoying plenty of activity.
At a recent Mercedes-Benz sale at Colchester 8o% of the entries were sold, says national HGV and plant manager Jeremy Martell. "They included a 1998 18-tonne 1820 skip loader that went for £25,000," he says.
The day cab 1820 curtainsiders also under the hammer were much harder work, but 7.5-tonners attracted plenty of bids: "I997 models with tail-lifts and 21ft bodies, but without signwriting, were being sold for £12,000 to £15,000," Martell reports.
An absence of signwriting is becoming increasingly important for bidders, he adds, because they don't want to have to go to the trouble and expense of taking it off.
"They want to put the truck straight onto the forecourt in the case of a dealer, or put it to work immediately in the case
of an operator," he says. "As a result a vehicle without signwriting could fetch anything between £500 to £1,200 more than one that with it."
Manheim has also been busy disposing of a fleet of MANs operated by a major baker. It got rid of every one of them at a sale held at its Dursley branch (now referred to as Manheim Gloucester).
"L-registered 1994 7.5-tonners with integral tail-lifts were going for £3,000 to £4,000," says Marten.
The truck sale has returned to Dursley after a period at Sharpness. "We've improved the old site, which now has plenty of hard standing," Martell explains. "We're also starting to hold drive-through sales at Colchester, and we've put up a purpose-built canopy."