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The ri • ht offer
Page 52
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Fraikin usually sells about 2,000 vans and trucks annually, but volumes have declined recently because of the state of the economy. Prices have dropped significantly over the past year, but at least the company can afford to wait a while for a better offer on a vehicle if the first one is unattractive.
"We have a value that we have to get close to, and we can hang on for a bit until that figure is reached; a couple of months, say," observes procurement and services director Alistair Wood. "That puts us in a slightly more privileged position than many of our rivals, although, obviously, we can't keep saying 'no' forever, because we'd end up with a huge amount of unsold stock."
To ensure this doesn't happen, the age of the stock is monitored closely. What are people looking for'? "They want clean, low-mileage, late-plate kit," Chris Butcher, head of used vehicle sales, replies. By late-plate he means either 2005 or 2006 vintage. So far as mileage is concerned, 7.5-tonner buyers are happy with 100,000krns or so, while tractor unit buyers are usually looking for something that has done 200,000Ivns to 250,000kms.
There is a great deal of interest In late, tidy, low-mileage light commercial vehicles, too. "That remains a hugely competitive sector of the market, however," says Wood.