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Used market slows as Christmas approaches
Page 72
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Christmas is renowned for the seasonal lull it brings to used truck sales, but 7.5-tonners and anything unusual are still selling well.
CHRISTMAS IS UPON us, and the thoughts of used truck customers are focusing more on the seasonal festivities and less on buying vehicles. "The market has certainly slowed over the past few weeks," says George Alexander. chief commercial vehicle editor at EurotaxGlass's.
Not that demand has completely ground to a halt. "We've still got stuff going out," says independent dealer Peter Hassan of Lympne, Kent-based Eurowise Truck and Van.
Paul Banks, sales manager at Manchester Mercedes dealership TruckWorld, confirms: "Tractor sales are slow, but we're having a bit of a run on 7.5-tonners. Tippers, boxes. curtainsiders and sleeper cabs all seem to be in demand. Things aren't quite so buoyant when it comes to 18tonners, though."
"It's gone quiet in the run-up to Christmas, the same as last year," says Matt Hammond, used vehicle sales manager at Harris Daf in Thurrock. Essex. -But we've also been moving box-bodied and curtainsider 7.5-tanners, and there's still demand for anything a bit unusual. "For example, we've sold several Daf 75 Series 4x2 tractor units. I suspect that some of them will be stretched and turned into 26tonne rigids."
Phil Holmes, used sales manager, eastern region, at Scania dealership Keltruck, agrees that anything out of the ordinary will always find a home, even at quiet times of the year: "There's a big demand for late-plate low-horsepower tractor units — and as big a shortage. We had a couple of 340hp units in stock a little while back, and they flew out of the door."
"You know things are slowing down when the finance companies start ringing you up and asking if you've got any business for them," says Ron Counsel!, sales manager at Cardiff Renault dealership Englands Truck Care. "Most of mine goes through Renault's finance operation though.
"We've got one or two deals on the boil, but generally it's quiet, which is about what you'd expect at this time of year. We're still offering finance at 1.9%, but it doesn't have much influence when it comes to attracting customers.
-The ones who come to us are more interested in the best front-end price that we can offer rather than the finance deal or the warranty, and there's no doubt that they do their homework.
"1 usually reckon that somebody who comes to me will have at least been to the Daf and MAN-ERF dealers too," he adds. "Probably not to the Scania dealership, though, because its trucks are likely to be several thousand pounds more expensive."