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Easier finance hits sales Qf older tractor units
Page 73
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DEMAND FOR older used tractor units is being hit hard by the ease with which hauliers can finance late-registered examples, says Jim Bentley, general manager of MAN Diesel's Scottish regional centre. "With money available t under 4%, the guy who used to buy a five-to-six-year-old truck can now buy a twoyearf old one instead."
That poses a problem for dealers offered 1999 and 2000 units as part-exchanges: how do they dispose of them? "They're good trucks, but nobody wants them," he sighs.
As a consequence, Bentley's colleagues have worked hard to build strong contacts so that they can locate customers who might be prepared to take them.
"I' you're a farmer, for instance, with an 11yea11 old unit you use to take a livestock trailer to niarket, you could be interested," he suggests.-But a salesman has got to plant the seed in your mind. You won't be going out and battering down his door on your own initiative."
And the 11-year-old unit? "It will be scrapped." Bentley believes operators planning to part-exchange fiveto six-year-old units have become far more realistic about their worth than they used to be.
"As a consequence they sometimes decide to hang on to them for a bit longer, but they also know they can't put off disposing of them for ever," he observes. -And if you have to spend £3,000 to get a unit that's six years old through its MoT, you won't see your money back."
Bentley believes that the growing number of hauliers opting for late-plated used trucks could have implications for the future of their in-house workshops. Newer vehicles will generate a lot less work for the technicians, and many late-registered trucks are supplied under contract hire and maintenance agreements. "As a consequence, the operator may conclude that all he really needs is a single fitter on hand to change bulbs and tyres."
Are ERFs suffering as a consequence of the marque's predicted demise? "Not at all," says Bentley."Customers are still happy to take used ECTs. "Older ERFs struggle, but it's because they're old—not because of the badge.
"We've suffered from a shortage of used 7.5-tonners in recent months, but we'll have two-to-three-year-old examples available in large quantities from January onwards," Bentley says.