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Weight and tax changes mean that 4x2 and 6x2 used tractors are now equally desirable, says Steve Smith of Widnes, Lancashire-based independent dealers Smith Brothers Services.
"Some people are buying 6x2s to run at 44 tonnes, but they have to be Euro-2, and most buyers want a big cab and a big engine," he says. "You need at least 400hp, and you'll probably have to contemplate nearer 500hp." Not everybody wants to run at 41 or 44 tonnes, however, or demands the latest and most powerful tackle. "We've had a bit of a run on 4x2 Scania 113 360s-1995 on an N-plate--and we've sold around 15," Smith reports. "They've gone to small operators who are happy to stick at 38 tomes."
Don Mitchell, general manager of independent dealership Cross Commercials of Leek in Staffordshire, agrees that 4x2s have become more desirable recently. "You no longer have to go to the trouble and expense of adding a mid-lift to make them saleable," he says.
His main problem is locating desirable stock: "Nobody wants to buy vehicles buitt before 1990, and 1990-1993 trucks have to be exported because British buyers don't want to know. Volvos and Mercedes can be sold overseas but there's little interest in Dafs, Ivecos, or Renaults. The export market is hard going anyway because a lot of the traditional markets don't have the necessary foreign exchange." That said, some Renault Premiums that he has just acquired could end up in the Republic of Ireland. "They are all day-cab 6x2 mid-lift tractors built to meet the petroleum regulations, with fire shields and alloy wheels, and they are three to four years old," he says. "They might just suit a local oil distributor."
GAS CONVERSIONS
Rival manufacturers are viewing Scania's move to convert five-yearold, ex-fleet, 320hp Scania 3 Series 4x2 tractors to run on gas with some caution. The aim is to make it easier to dispose of these vehicles, and give them a second life.
"I wouldn't want to go that route unless I had a buyer in the pipeline," says Tim Wilcock, residual value and portfolio manager at Mercedes-Benz. "I certainly wouldn't want to do it as a speculation."
"It's not something that we've looked at, and I'd question some of the figures being quoted for the conversion work, although it might be worth considering," says Chris Sansome, used truck business development manager at Volvo.
"Top marks to Scania for thinking of an innovative way to dispose of tractive units that nobody wants, but who on earth is going to buy these vehicles?" asks a senior truck industry executive. "I find it difficult to believe that they'll be volume sellers."
Scania is re-engineering an initial 200, and director Frank Andrew says the company is about to announce an order from an operator which could involve up to 40 vehicles.
• For more details of Scania's gas re-engineering project, see vehicle news extra, CM8-14 Feb.