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Light fantastic
Page 68
Page 69
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The heavy sporting calendar has failed to hamper business at light commercial auctions, says British Car Auction's Duncan Ward.
At the half-year point the light CV market remains strong, with the second quarter of 2006 matching the first in terms of price and conversions. This is despite the distractions of bank holidays and the football World Cup, and many corporate sellers are recording stronger results than earlier in the year.
The end-user and business buyer have been very active in the market, which is helping to keep prices — and confidence — high. There is a great deal of demand for smaller vans, which tend to be favoured by the selfemployed and small-business user.The shortage of hatchbacks at all ages and mileages remains, and demand in the £1,500 to £2,000 price bracket is proving exceptional.
Supply and demand
While supplies ot car-sized vans are healthy, buyers are still clamouring for product in this sector and prices remain strong. For Combo, Berlingo,Partner, Connect. Kangoo and Doblo, a side-loading door is essential. Two are even better and can add £200—£300 in the auction hall. The remaining car-derived vans such as Escort and Astra are still firm favourites and very much in demand, but condition is critical. Buyers are competing hard for small panel vans and the sector remains buoyant.
The Scudo, Expert and Dispatch family delivers a combination of size, good looks and practicality that is ideal for the self-employed tradesman who doesn't need huge carrying capacity or a long wheelbase. And with many vans parked overnight in a residential setting, these smaller examples are less intrusive.
Great expectations
In the one-tonne van sector it is clear that buyers' expectations are rising. Specification is very important and not far behind what motorists expect in their cars. Given that a side-loading door is expected, vans that have air conditioning, electric windows, central locking, power steering and CD/radio are favoured over more basic models.
Essential features
A bulkhead is seen as necessary protection for the driver and passengers; air conditioning is also important.The interior should be protected with plylining. Get all this right and there is plenty of demand, particularly if the van is in a good colour but the usual rules apply on presentation.
In contrast to the one-tonne vans, there is an oversupply of medium and long-wheelbase panel vans, with many arriving at the point of sale in poor quality. Double-cab pickups remain an interesting niche sector that continues to grow in importance and volume.
BA has seen resurgence in demand in all areas, but condition and specification are critical to achieve top prices. Generally, the rule of thumb is that base-specification examples only attract the buyers who will want to put the vehicle back to work, while the highspec models are increasingly seen as a 'rugged' option for the family car.
Land Rover product is highly desirable and buyers will travel for the right example —we know this from tracking usage on our Commercial Auction View online stock locator (www.commercial auctionview.com), which shows that Land Rover is the most requested search. Body builds are price, mileage and type sensitive, but if the body is unusual, then you can be confident of seeing a lot of interest from buyers. •