Taking the trucks to the customers
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Nowadays every manufacturer pays close attention to used vehide sales, and Scania has gone further than most. It reasoned that if operators aren't coming to see the trucks, why riot take the trucks to see the operators? Bill Brock reports.
• Changes in purchasing and finance packages have led to an ever-growing number of younger trucks entering the used truck market.
It's no longer unusual to see two and three-year-old trucks available through main dealer outlets. Most manufacturer's have instituted their own support schemes, primarily to uphold residual values and thus maintain the price of new trucks.
Growing stock
Faced with a growing stock of premium used trucks in its dealer network, Scania has set up a series of eight used vehicle sales around the county, each supported by two or more of its local dealers.
The first of the two-day events, at Hamilton Racecourse in Scotland, attracted 120 operators. They snapped up 27 of the 50 vehicles on show and
more deals are maw&
expected with finance packages being arranged by Scania Finance. Reliable Vehicles says it hopes to make this a regular event.
Scania's dealers were not only selling trucks; they were offering 12-month contract-hire packages through the Scania Choice programme. This is a new scheme using trucks from major distribution companies. All vehicles in the scheme are less than six years old, have been maintained by Scania distributors and have been through a 68-point Scania Approved Used Truck check.
Scania-approved trucks come with a three-month driveline warranty covering breakdowns caused by electrical or mechanical failure on the engine, gearbox, driveshafts or rear axle assembly. This can be extended to comprehensive cover, including other compo nents, by up to 33 months. Some of the newer models may still be covered by the original 2 plus 2 manufacturer's warranty.
We visited the sale held at Haydock Racecourse to assess the standard of the vehicles and find out what operators thought of the selection on offer.
Available
Four Scania dealers were in attendance: Haydock Commercial, West Pennine Truck, Knighton Trucks and Keltrucks. They had some 80 vehicles on display; flirter support was available by staff from Milton Keynes.
The event didn't officially start until noon on the first day, but although we arrived early business was already being done—a bonneted 124L 400 had provisionally been sold the previous day. The purchaser returned on the day to pay for it and take it away Many of the trucks, a mixture of tractive units and rigids, carried M, N, P and R registrations but there were some as old as G. Among the tractive units were a good selection of three-axle units with centre-lift or tag axles; they were slightly outnumbered by the 4x2s. The rigids, mainly 4x2s and 6x2s, were all bodied.
Prices ranged from £10,000 for a 4x2 P3 tractor to 156,000 for a 4x2 Topline R144 460 tractor. Scania's Richard Hall told us: "They are priced to sell."
Allan Holden of West Bradford-based A&C Holden visited the sale between jobs in his Scania 113 320.
"You don't often see so many trucks of the one make in the same place," he told us. "With such a wide variance in ages in the line-up it gives me an opportunity to gauge the price and condition of my own truck.
"I don't want anything older than two years," he added, "but whether or not I buy a vehicle here depends on the difference between the second-hand price, with just three months' warranty, and what I can buy a new one for with the full manufacturer's warranty."
We left Holden talking to the salesman about an R124 360 priced at £37,250.
Simon Fawcett, who runs five trucks, mainly on international work, was down from Preston. "I already run two R144 460 6x2s," he said, "but I'm here looking at 4x2 tractive units to run at 40 tonnes, the legal limit in some parts of the Continent, and get the extra tonne in payload.
"Ideally I want something about 10 months old. If you go to 18 months then you're looking at tyre replacement at about 21,500. Whatever I buy, I will have to get it painted. Usually I try to buy new so I am not interested in anything older."
Brian Clark from Overtonon-Dee runs a mixed fleet of eight trucks including five Scanias. He was on the lookout for a 6x2 tractor with a centre lift axle to operate in the UK at 41 tonnes. "I have usually gone for new in the past but I have bought a second-hand Scania before," he said. "It was very clean and tidy and had been well looked after on contract hire. I think an M or N-registered 3 Series is probably more in our price range today.'
Tempted
Roger Mayor from Northwest Timber at Haydock runs a fleet of Leyland Daf rigids between Liverpool and Manchester. "I was tempted to come and have a look because of the number of trucks I was told would be here—and it's close to where we operate from," he explained.
"The selection they have here is impressive. I don't want to go older than N-reg and I'm interested in a 6x4 93M 220 rigid. Although I will be operating at 26 tonnes the power should be adequate to give us the fuel consumption we would like. The route it will run over is mainly motorway and quite flat."
No one actually said that they wanted to drive the truck they appeared interested in with a full trailer, but as we left there were a number of operators sat in cabs with the engines running...