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Laurie Dealer: The voice of the truck trade

10th October 2013
Page 17
Page 17, 10th October 2013 — Laurie Dealer: The voice of the truck trade
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Talk to any used truck dealer, and they'll tell you the same thing; there's no money in the job. Hard to believe? Once upon a time, yes. Now, maybe not.

A way of massaging the pain of the pricey Euro-6 is to pay a fixed amount each week through contract hire. It solves a multitude of sins on the company ledger: no capital spend, associated overheads, depreciation, residual value, or cost of maintenance and the headaches that can generate. At the end of the agreed term, you return the truck in the condition you received it, and everybody is happy. Undeniably, Euro-5 technology, which first arrived in

2005, has been the cleanest and most fuel-efficient driveline to date. Back then operators bought their chosen asset and religiously traded it in after three years for new. One robust recession later and

the swing vote equivalent of road transport operators want a fixed weekly cost. For Euro-6, MAN has even gone on the record (CM 12 September).

A TGX 6x2 tractor will cost £79,000 to buy. With contract hire, it's £393 a week for five years: a grand total of £102,180. It seems a remarkable sell. Pay 23% more over the lifetime, but none of the aforementioned nasty bits. Operators are genuinely happy to go down this route.

Rental, contract hire and OEMs enjoy greater ownership of the rolling stock, and they have their own used truck outlets, and there, in a nutshell, lies the problem for much of the long established used truck industry.

Fewer operators own their vehicles, and fewer vehicles wash through to the independents. So when they say there's no money in the job, they might just have a point. You can catch up with Laurie Dealer's blog at commercialmotor.com/laurie-dealer


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