Prospects look good in the used market
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• CAP Guide heavy commercials editor Bob Reed is In an upbeat mood. "Things have brightened up quite a bit in the used market," he says. "Auction prices aren't rising, but they have steadied. We're no longer asking ourselves how much we're going to carve off values this month.
"Eight-wheeler tippers are especially strong, with pristine two to three year old examples fetching very good money," Reed adds. "It's muckaway bodies that buyers are after, and it's vehicles with 340-380hp on tap that are selling.
"It's a minimum of 300hp with six-wheelers these days, and ideally customers want more than that," he says.
Even battered eight-leggers command a following. "The other day I spotted the oldest, nastiest,
Volvo F17 I've ever seen on sale, held together with fibreglass, and with bits hanging off the cab," he says. "The body was reasonable, but the cab was horrendous. But it still cleared £2,000."
When it comes to lighter rigids, the 17tonne sector is holding up well. Reed reports, but values of the more popular 7.5-tonners are falling away. "We've seen Leyland Daf 45 Series and Mercedes-Benz 814s drop by at least £2,000," he says.
"Mind you, there are plenty of 7.5-tonners around at present," he points out. "A lot of 45 Series have appeared at auction, and a lot of 814s have turned up at the Doncaster and Bellevue sales."
Despite the number of unsold low-powered fleetspec tractors the trade Is saddled with—"and the price gap between these and 400hp tractors is growing wider and wider' — Reed is optimistic for this year. He believes the industry has learned its lesson; and the days of writing short-term buy-back contracts, only to be saddled with fields full of almost new trucks when the contract expires, have largely gone.
Bob Reed: Demand is strong for muckaway eight-leggers.