Woul you credi it ?
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Page 36
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HIRE PURCHASE —proba ly the most popular method of vehicle provision—needs c reful consideration before an operator accepts the conditi ns offered.
It should not need to be repeated that rates of inte st should he examined very c refully because these v ry according to the source of finance and an apparently at tractive rate of, say, 16 r cent flat rate becomes so ething like an actual rate of 31 per cent.
This is because with a at rate of interest, that rat is charged on the whole sum involved over the whole of the period of the hire-pure ase agreement. In other words, no account is taken of the am unt paid off the capital sum at the end of each subsequent ye For example, if £2,000 is the capital sum over two y ars then £320 will be charged interest each year despite the reduction of the capital um by £1,000 at the end of the rst year when, if the interest as not at the flat rate, only 160 would be due on the remai I ing £1,000 Having compared the r tes of interest available fro a number of hire-purchase om panies, operators should consider just how much of what it is going to cost to get the truck on the road and in revenue-earning service can be included in the agreement. The greater the number of items included, the less it will cost in a cash down payment and spreading the outlay of capital over the whole period of the agreement will save scarce capital for other purposes.
One Volvo truck distributor in Lancashire initiated a scheme towards the end of last year which includes maintenance in the hire-purchase agreement and already about half a dozen operators have entered into hp agreements for about 20 vehicles with the maintenance built into their monthly payments.
Auto lube essential.
Lancashire Truck Distributors Ltd calls the system Truck Plan. To be eligible for inclusion in the scheme, the vehicle chosen must be fitted with automatic chassis lubrication and a lubometer at the customer's expense which itself can be included in the hp agreement.
The maintenance attention involves routine services and inspections at predetermined intervals and it is up to the operator to ensure that the truck is made available to the distributor at the dates agreed. All lubricants and service materials are included in the quote and, as the Volvo warranty is for 12 months unlimited mileage, ma t er i a included in the warranty and labour are free of charge during its validity.
Indeed, during the first 12 months of the agreement, all relevant price increases are absorbed by the distributor and an adjustment negotiated with the customer in the light of those increases for the subsequent period of the agreement.
In the case of accident damage and defects. which might be brought to light during the routine inspection, for which an estimate for correction is submitted to the operator, a special low rate for labour may be charged as well as a discount being offered of 10 per cent on Volvo parts.
To facilitate the maintenance arrangements, dri vers are issued with a special report sheet to record defects which arise on the road, and service and inspection sheets are provided to the operator after each service to maintain the prescribed records for the Licensing Authority's enforcement staff.
As an example of the sort of equipment and service which might be included in the hirepurchase agreement and the kind of cost which might be incurred the following summary might be considered. The cost of the chassis-cab is the price which prevailed in November last year.
F88 chassis cab 12,619 Currency charge 250 Fifth wheel 340 Headboard 48 Spare-wheel carrier 45 Automatic chassis lubricator 175 Painting 120 SR61 gearbox 447 Service and repair on one year of domestic operation over 60,000 miles 1,350 15,394
The deposit, therefore, would be £4,000 and the 36 monthly instalments (if three years were the agreed period) would be £386.
A number of additional accessories in addition to those listed may be included and the service and repair cost adjusted in accordance with the opera
Those of you who know George Hughes, the ebullient Willowbrook coachbuilding chief, will not be surprised to hear of his latest and rather momentous incursion into the world of cricket.
Poor old Derbyshire, with liabilities of £22,000 and only £2,918 in the coffers, have put George in the chair, and in two weeks he has really dusted up the place, and promised solvency and a position in the top three of the championship table within three years.
First he started negotiations with Eddie Barlow, the South African international all-rounder, which will involve him in cricket's first five-figure commitment to a player.
Next, a 16-page work-study of the club's facts, figures and
Livery ladies
The discriminatory barriers are going down fast. At this year's annual banquet of the Worshipful Company of Carmen the liverymen were allowed to bring their ladies for the first time. I'm sure they were all mightily impressed by dining so magnificently—in the fabulous blue and gilt Egyptian Banqueting Hall of London's Mansion House—but I wonder if they would have much preferred tripping the light fantastic, with the Lord Mayoral carpet rolled back, to listening to no fewer than nine toasts, some entertaining but some regrettably dull. The new senior warden, Sir John Cohen, was (appropriately) as good value as ever, and managed to work in a blatant Tesco plug ! Fair enough: he's a tireless worker for worthy charities. And the Carmen have now passed the £100,000 mark in their benevolent fund, which contributes to 28 good causes.
The Lord Mayor provided a pretty shattering indictment of the City's carmen through the ages, drawing upon City archives. hi the 15th century they were "rough and ungovernable," in the 16th "disordered and uncivil," in the 17th "drunk and disorderly": in the 18th "noted for defying authority."
He traced the City's present one-way traffic systems from the problems of old-time carmen meeting head-on in the narrow lanes—they were "so churlish" in refusing to give way that they caused prolonged jams,