Englands thrives on used Renaults
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Renault service and parts dealer Englands Truck Care of Cardiff may no longer be selling new trucks (CM 25 Nov-1 Dec 1999), but it's fast developing a thriving used trucks business.
Its sales effort is dominated by Renault's Diamond Quality approved used scheme, says managing director Robert Norris, "Most of the tractors we sell are 6x2s, but we've been very successful with Magnum 4x2s at 585hp and 420hp." he says. "They attract small operators in considerable numbers."
Norris and used sales manager Ron Counsell aim to stock three-year-old buy backs. "We're getting Premiums starting to come back now, and we've got a couple of 585hp 4x2s just arrived in the yard at the moment." says Norris. "They're both P-rag and we've already had a certain amount of interest in them. "However, we won't start seeing Premium 6x2s until well into the year."
Based on busy Hadfield Road on the west side of the city, Englands has been selling three to four used trucks a month and plans to sell four a month this year. "We've got a good frontage, which helps, and we're close to both the Daf and Scania dealerships," says Norris.
Renault's success in the new vehicle market is now helping to enhance its standing in the second-hand
sector, Norris believes: "Values are improving, and the price guides are recognising that this is the case.
"We're now selling used Renaults to customers who are not existing Renault owners," he adds. They tend to oper
ate Dafs, MANs. and Mercedes though, rather than Scanias or Volvos."
Although it doesn't sell new trucks, Englands is selling new Renault Master vans and will be handling the new Renault Mascott when it comes to the UK. It provides service and parts support over an area from Newport to the east to Swansea to the west, and it sometimes ventures as far west as Carmarthen.
"We've sold second-hand Renaults to customers as far afield as Cornwall and the Midlands, but we prefer to sell them locally if we can so that we can retain the aftersales business," says Norris.
The dealership is owned by potato merchant Edward England, a company established more than 150 years ago. It's a fifth generation family firm, and has been operating trucks ever since 1911. It entered the truck trade five years ago.