Used and approved
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Over a decade, Mercedes-Benz Approved Used Commercials at Wentworth Park, Barnsley has expanded to become a vital cog in the manufacturer's wheel
Words: Kevin Swallow/Images: Tom Cunningham If you have been in the market for a second-hand Mercedes-Benz truck through one of its 60-strong dealer network, it will have passed through the operation at Wentworth Park, near Barnsley.
When Mercedes-Benz took over the site in 1987, it had more than 100 acres of indoor facilities and external parking. In this case, size wasn't everything, and a recent £2m investment into the site saw it move from the original entrance and offices to more state-of-the-art facilities. Overall, the site has been downsized to an operational 37 acres, says general manager Adam Slater. Land next to the site and the original offices and entrance have been sold, while a stretch of green-belt at the back of the facility lays in wait in case more space is required.
CM has visited Wentworth Park many times, the most recent (2001 and 2004) showed a business in the process of being transformed. Six years ago, Slater revealed a threefold plan for re-marketing its portfolio of trucks and vans returning from buy-backs, contract hire, and lease. First, creating an infrastructure where Wentworth Park worked in partnership with its approved dealerships that allowed the network to get on with the job of selling trucks; second, focusing on areas in the used market; and third, improving the marketing of the vehicles it offered.
Key to this was unifying the return condition of vehicles, and the process of revamping the trucks that went to the franchised network. A one-stop-shop solution for vehicle refurbishment, Approved Used Commercials also devised some clever marketing campaigns. These included the Club 18-35, which pushed fleet-spec Actros 1835 4x2 tractors; the Predator line-up, which saw the Actros range revamped, with one given away for 12 months to an operator; the Pulsar, which successfully boosted sales of fleet-spec tractors; and the Vito that was advertised at £5 a day.
More recently Mercedes-Benz Approved Used Commercials, which has a £50m turnover and employs 73 people, was a regular at the CV Show, shifting metal and raising brand awareness, and can still be found at most truck shows. Invariably, the sales team sell the vehicles on show and then a few more. The desired effect was to make the Mercedes-Benz brand a sought-after product, and make the retail arm the key to locating choice stock bearing the three-pointed star. Wentworth Park now handles between 3,500 and 4,000 vehicles each year.
Slater says the number of vehicles going back out to its franchised network in 2010 is 69.4%, or 2,191 in total. Key to that has been a greater demand from the domestic market during the recession. It is a 20% increase mainly at the expense of the export market. "Normally 50% of vehicles go out through the approved dealer network, however, the dealers have found that they have not lost money during the recession when it comes to used vehicles.
"Many franchise dealers in the network have retained and strengthened their used divisions and seen the opportunity it represents. Normally export figures would be much higher; we are happy to keep more vehicles in the UK than export," he says. Also, vans have started to become the major part of the returning vehicles.
"We have 346 vehicles in stock at the moment, which is 105 trucks and 241 vans," he says. That truck number is low: 105 trucks in stock should be the lowest point, says Slater, as vehicles on contracts that have been extended still have to come back into the fold. He says it could be 2014 before Mercedes-Benz sees normal used levels again. The average age of returning vehicles is about 3.5 years. "That age is coming down," says Slater, "as there are more contracts for one to two-year-old trucks, which reduces the age of the vehicle parc."
Short-term rental to existing customers is also playing a part: at the moment it has more than 240 vehicles out with customers who are waiting for new vehicles or who don't want to invest long term. Mercedes-Benz Approved Used Commercials has also invested more than £20m into the financing and leasing division Charter Way — £15.4m for vans and £5m for trucks. •
MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Current marketing campaigns from Mercedes-Benz Approved Used Commercials targets the van market. Operators can pick up a Vito 109CDI long-wheelbase for £49.99 a week (not including road fund licence or VAT). The deal is over three years through CharterWay on a operating lease deal. Also on offer at £89.99 per week (not including road fund licence or VAT) is a 2008 or 2009 Sprinter 311 CD panel van with a chiller conversion. This deal is based on a four-year CharterWay operating lease.
WORKSHOP AND MODIFICATION
Vans and trucks returning to Wentworth Park from buy-backs, lease or financing agreements go through a vehicle assessment on arrival. Any scrapes and dents are rated according to the Fair Wear and Tear Guide from the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association.
The workshop offers 6,000 hours a month via 24 technicians and an apprentice, which is 92% utilised. After a vehicle is assessed, approximately 80% to 90% of the vehicles have some sort of modification done through the workshop or paint booth. This can be replacing a headlight or having significant modification work done to meet an order, says Ken Webster, remarketing manager at Wentworth Park. But rather than rely solely on vehicles coming back three years later from what is a diminishing new sales market, Wentworth Park has opened its doors to modification work on new vehicles. Two significant contracts have seen the manufacturer deliver trucks into supermarket chains Sainsbury's and Tesco. New Tesco 4x2 tractors required specific catwalks meeting the supermarket's requirements, and Hatcher-built air management kits, and it had just completed a 212-strong deal to specify and deliver tractor units to Sainsbury's. Wentworth Park is about to get another 50 units a month for the next five months through another order with an unspecified customer.