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When it comes to new trucks, the battle for market share has long since moved to the aftermarket sector. So what's on offer and how can customers get the best deal?
Words: Louise Cole
The new truck industry has been in a funk, not because orders aren't flooding in, but because lead times are still cripplingly long.
Rather than lose sales to the dealer down the road, which may be able to fulfil operators' orders fractionally earlier, manufacturers have been putting massive emphasis on the performance of their trucks and the robustness of their aftersales care.
So if you are checking out new trucks, what standards should you expect from aftersales?
The most important issue is to remember exactly who will be responsible for helping you in the event of a breakdown or failure. National average performance figures mean very little if your local dealer is in the bottom half of individual performers.
Find out at what stage of a breakdown the UK head office becomes involved, as opposed to the European head office.
Local parts stocks should be high; (relatively) local production facilities are even better if the parts aren't available off the shelf at the dealership.
Recovery assistance is crucial. All manufacturers have targets for breakdown response times and getting a certain proportion of vehicles running again from the roadside. But there is a difference between a key performance indicator (KPI) and a service level agreement (SLA). The former is a measurement that is primarily for internal use — it tells the manufacturer how its dealers are performing. More useful to you, however, is the latter — a written obligation to perform at certain levels.
No manufacturers currently offer performance guarantees for trucks, but they are under increasing pressure to offer guarantees for optimising uptime.
Next time you buy a new truck, drive a hard bargain on aftersales and not just price. For example, it is worth finding out what action will be taken if your truck is not fixed within 24 hours or if parts are unavailable. It is not unreasonable to expect your dealer/manufacturer to compensate you for consequential loss if you lose business through downtime beyond your control.
Remember, it only takes one manufacturer to feel it must raise its game and they all have to follow suit.
Scania
Max24 is Scania's compensation guarantee if a roadside breakdown cannot be rectified by its dealership within 24 hours, paying out up to £150 towards the cost of a replacement vehicle. It's included with all new vehicles taken with Scania's R&M packages (which accounts for almost all trucks sold). If the two-year package is not chosen, the vehicle is supplied with a I2-month warranty covering manufacturing and material defects, but which does not include Max24.
Scania also offers a parts guarantee, whereby operators are compensated if a retail part cannot be supplied within 24 hours. Renault's service charter agreement applies to all its vehicles and commits to it to: • A 60-minute callout and a roadside fix in under two hours • A fix within four hours if you turn up unannounced at a workshop • Over-the-counter parts availability of 90% • A replacement truck or the hire value for up to three days if any truck or van under warranty or an R&M contract has a breakdown lasting longer than 24 hours Mercedes-Benz All Mercedes trucks benefit from a 12-month unlimitedmileage warranty for the complete vehicle with driveline warranties extending through the second and third year with varying mileage depending upon application. An R&M contract is available with the option to guarantee a replacement vehicle in the event of a breakdown that is still unresolved after 24 hours.
Volvo
Volvo offers a 24-month unlimited-mileage warranty on all its vehicles which includes breakdown cover from the nearest Volvo dealer. Dealers are monitored monthly on callout times and roadside fixes. Volvo has an option on its service agreement that will replace an unfixed vehicle within 24 hours; on international work an insurance policy can reduce this to 12 hours.
MAN
A MAN team at Swindon oversees its 'Up Time Principle'. The UTP is designed to improve customer performance and is available to any MAN/ ERF vehicle which has a breakdown handled by an MAN dealer. MAN also monitors its dealers on five KPIs: • First-time pass rates • The technical competence of workshops • From July, the attendance time of its Mobile 24 breakdown response (a 60-minute target outside London) • The logging of every call with the UTP centre • Maintenance inspection slippage If you buy an R&M package. MAN will offer a replacement vehicle where possible or £100 per day in compensation if your vehicle is not fixed in 24 hours.
Daf
New Daf vehicles are supplied with a Dafcare preventive maintenance package that includes 0-licence inspections and oil and filter costs but not replacement vehicle provision. An operator taking a full R&M contract through Paccar Financial can include replacement vehicle provision in it requirements and set when it should kick in, typically between four and 48 hours after the breakdown.
KPI results include: • An average of 44 minutes to breakdown, 96 for repair • A parts availability of 88% at dealers (98% overnight) • An 87.8% first-time annual test pass rate lveco Iveco takes "a proactive approach to vehicle downtime". Its Assistance Non-Stop (ANS) programme gets a vehicle back on the road in an average of 60 minutes from callout; 85% of vehicles are fixed at the roadside. If the vehicle goes into the workshop, Iveco UK head office is immediately notified. It says its first-time annual test pass rate of 90% is the highest in the industry. Nigel Ems, communications director, adds: "We can price into aftercare whatever matters to the operator. We're extremely flexible." •