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AT YOU SERVICE
Page 49
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Is it really cheaper to look after trucks in the North? Do van wor'Kshops really charge more than their
HGV counterparts? We've been finding out.
111 t's a well known "fact" that everything costs less "up north".The latest in our series of investigations into the cost of operating CVs looks at how workshop labour rates vary around the country.
Our research team has been talking workshop rates with more than 50 dealerships.To achieve an appropriate geographical spread, we looked at the dealers located nearest to Guildford, Hereford, Middlesbrough and Glasgow. From the truck world we looked for dealers representing the seven major manufacturers, together with eight more from a variety of van makers. Lower rate for heavies As well as asking for labour rates, we asked what opening hours dealers offered and how long you would have to wait for an appointment for mechanical repairs, both routine and urgent. Reassuringly, if you operate heavies, in every location the average hourly rate across all brands was significantly lower than for vans, even though the dealerships representing marques in both sectors quoted the
same rates in each. Of the truck
makers, the lowest rates around the country were quoted by Renault, with MAN a close second. Mercedes took the highest spot. However, the same average rate by Mercedes for van work was eclipsed by Volkswagen, with LDV occupying the bargain basement.
Looking at the figures on a regional basis, we can confirm the perception that the further away from London you get, the less you pay. The only exception in the regional averages was that Glasgow van servicing costs fractionally more than in Hereford. One anomaly was that both the Vauxhall and Volkswagen dealers in Guildford charged less than some of their colleagues further north.
While every dealer questioned offered workshop opening for at least part of Saturday, the only way to get your van into a workshop on Sunday is if the dealer also has a truck franchise. Rather than detail the precise opening hours of each dealer we totalled the number of hours open per week.The results ranged from the 44 hours offered by Glasgow's Citroen dealership to the full-house 168 hours of the Iveco dealer in the same city. Kerr & Smith was the only workshop to offer full 24/7 opening, but a reassuring number of truck dealers open on Monday morning and stay open until at least mid-day on Saturday. One trend recorded only in Scotland during the survey is variable charging according to the time of day or week.Three of the Glasgow dealers charged a premium for night work; two of those also charged extra at
weekends. When calculating our averages we used the lower day-time rate.
With the extra cost of heavier-duty workshop equipment and the sheer size of heavy trucks meaning that much larger workshops are needed to handle the same throughput of vehicles, truck dealers might be excused for charging higher hourly rates to make the same return as car and van outlets. Wide range of prices
Rates quoted ranged from a low figure of "from £25" charged by Hereford's Renault Truck dealer, through a couple of MAN dealers and a Ford dealer at £35 or less. At the other end of the scale, Iveco, Citroen, Mercedes and Ford operators around Guildford have to stump up £65 or more, no doubt explained by the high property values and full employment in the Surrey stockbroker belt.
We also looked at appointment lead times. For heavies, almost every dealer offered an immediate assessment of a vehicle arriving on-site with an urgent problem, treating it as a breakdown.While they are naturally geared around regular pre-booked appointments for 0-licence checks, most could offer anonurgent slot within three days.
Despite some bad experiences with certain van dealers in the past, the situation for vans, while not quite as good, wasn't anywhere near as bad as we expected. Only one failed to offer a short-cut through its routine six-day queue for an urgent situation.