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Wanted: Post '98 6x2 fleet tractor Budget: £15,000
Page 89
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Armed with a budget of El 5,000 CM has been trawling our classified ads in search of a clean post-1998 6x2 fleet tractor for general haulage. This was our experience.
In the past we have set ourselves low budgets for our desired vehicle but this time,with a notional £15,000 for a six-yearold fleet tractor, we expect to get what we want.The fleet tractor market is awash with good examples. although many are heading overseas when there's a boat available.
Our brief is simple: Find a three-axle mid-lift tractor with a sleeper cab,maximum of six years old, no less than 380hp, splitter gearbox preferred, air management kit preferred, and lower mileage preferred.
As we thumb through Commercial Motor's classified section Renault Trucks is usually our first port of call.
The first approved dealer has the ideal product on his forecourt: a 2000-plated ,V-reg Premium 385 with the Long Distance sleeper cab and a 16-speed box.
The salesperson is remarkably honest as we are informed that the mileage is higher than average but he returns to the normal sales pitch when commenting on the interior. "It's in good nick; well looked after." What does this franchised dealer want for it? He quotes £15,250 (ex-VAT) and they do finance packages. It's white and has been looked after by an approved dealership but the road tax has expired.
Promising... we promise to callback.
An independent selling a 1999 T-reg Daf 85CF 380hp 6x2 with a sleeper is less interested in punting the older stock over the phone. He enthusiastically encourages us to look bigger and younger but when we tell him about what we want he reverts to a dour tone.
The tractor in the ads is priced around £15,000. he says. It's white with no decals (exrental perhaps?) and has done 700.000km. His vagueness is confirmed when he tells me two local operators are looking at it this afternoon; he's expecting one of them to snap it up.
The five-year-old mark is ideal for ERF EC11 380hp three-axle tractors with sleeper cabs. With a budget of around £15.000 we will be spoiled for choice, says the person who answers our call. Varying mileage and specification seem to be an ideal place to start. "Stock levels are dropping but you should get what you're after." is the parting shot.
The one that catches our eye is a T-plated EC11-38 with LX-trimmed single-bunk sleeper cab ; no air management kit but a 16speed box and a long defunct RPC ticket. It's for sale, priced £15,250 (ex-VAT), or lease.
At this stage, with the result in the bag and our criteria met by ERF and Renault, we go in pursuit of something that could oust this potential deal from top spot. Scania's competitive residuals force us down the age groups towards seven and eight-year-old products Volvo has lower powered four-year-old 340hp FM12s with sleeper cabs available through one Midlands dealership at our price, but the 380s equivalents are older and with higher mileage.
The best deal
While Renault Trucks give us a solid platform to start with, as it meets our brief completely, the lure of the choice of ERF EClls with Cummins engines swings our opinion.
The fact that we have a choice of ERFs is attractive: and while the Renault might represent a good deal, it has covered a higher mileage. In truth once we get the result from ERF, calls to the Germans and Italians, neither of whom have exactly what we want, are pretty superfluous.
That, of course, is assuming that the dealership selling the ERFs has what its sales team says it has. Renault, after all, is not a bad marque to fall back on. •