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Seasonal sales lull draws to a close

21st September 2006
Page 68
Page 68, 21st September 2006 — Seasonal sales lull draws to a close
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Now the summer is over, many dealers are reporting an upturn in sales — but business remains slow for some. Steve Banner reports.

Tim Robinson, used sales manager at Hull MANERF dealership Torridon Commercial Vehicles, reports: "Business is speeding up. but there's no real pattern to it.

"We've had a bit of an upsurge in the demand for 7.5-tonners," he adds."But at the same time there's been more interest in goodspecification 4x2 tractor units with big, air-conditioned cabs and 410 or 420hp engines."

He believes that prices are strengthening again after dipping earlier in the year. "As a consequence we're not afraid to stick to the price we're after for a vehicle rather than asking how much the prospective customer is willing to bid for it," he says.

But the lack of stock remains an issue Robinson explains: -I normally carry 23 to 25 trucks but I'm down to 15 at the moment." As a consequence he is going out and buying, and suspects a lot of other dealers will be doing the same. "That should strengthen prices even more,he concludes "We've been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks after three or four weeks in which business was OK but not fantastic." says Lee Smith of Essex independent dealership Hanburv Riverside."I can't complain at all, and prices are good."

Website brings sales

More and more sales are being generated by the company's website, he says, and interest is coming from the furthest reaches of the UK.

"Out of 12 vehicles that we sent out recently, six went to Scotland," he remarks."We seem to be doing especially well among hauliers in Aberdeen." That's perhaps not surprising given that Aberdonian operators are known for purchasing tractor units with big cabs and big engines -just the sort of truck that Hanbury Riverside can supply. "But there are a lot of dealers between Essex and Aberdeen, and I'm really quite proud that the hauliers concerned have come to us," Smith tells us.

Elsewhere in the country, the return of hauliers from their summer holidayshopefully in buying mood has yet to have an impact on used truck demand. "We had a quiet August, and everything is still a bit slow at present," says Roy Patrick, used sales specialist at Leeds Daf dealership Chatfields.

He is wondering where all the second-hand Daf CE85 Spacecab tractor units have gone:a view echoed by one or two other dealers.-We could sell them all day long if we had them, but there aren't any about," he remarks "We're not as busy as we'd like to be." admits David Pantry, general manager of Mendlesh am, Suffolk-based independent dealership Used Trucks."' think it would be wrong to say that customers have come back from their holidays and started emptying their pockets of cash to the benefit of dealers.

Demand for 13-tonners

-That said, we've sold a dozen or so 13-tonners, something we're well known for, over the past three or four weeks,he continues."For the most part they've gone for use either as horseboxes or car transporters.

"We've also sold a couple of BMC skip-loaders," he says. "They were both finance-house repossessions and fetched reasonable money.•


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