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New curtainsiders knock used prices

24th June 1999, Page 53
24th June 1999
Page 53
Page 53, 24th June 1999 — New curtainsiders knock used prices
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• A steep fall in the prices commanded by new curtain-sided semitrailers is having a knock-on effect on the used market, says prominent trader, Robert Reynolds.

Now working with Malcolm Harrison, Reynolds calculates that a factory-fresh 13.6m curtainsider would have cost £26,000 a year ago. "Now it's nearer 218,000 to 219,000," he reckons.

"In the past we were protected by inflation," he says. "It's deflation now, and we're seeing the same sort of situation with tipping trailers too. The other difficulty we face is that trailer makers are offering operators new trailers for as little as £.50 a week, then taking them back after five years."

The situation hasn't prevented Reynolds and Harrison from moving on some of the 100 ex-Brady Distribution 13.6m curtainsiders they're currently handling for what Reynolds terms "good money".

Dating from 1992 to 1998, and all with air suspension, they're mostly bodied by Boalioy or Southfield, and vary in height from 4m to 4.75m. "They've been well-maintained," says Reynolds. Fleets as well as owner-operators are buying them, he adds, and he's received orders for 10, "If you're buying that many, you can still save £40,000 on what it would cost you to buy a simular number new," he says.

If you're not overloaded with low-powered ex-supermarket units, then the tractor market isn't too bad, Reynolds continues.

"We've done well with late-registered, high-powered 4x2 tractors with 3.8m wheelbases," he says. "A lot of dealers are pulling out of tractors, so customers haven't always been able to find what they need from other sources," he adds. And they're not necessarily buying approved used trucks from franchised dealers, he believes.

"A lot of those approved used schemes are full of overpriced stock, and they're certainly not preventing us from selling our vehicles," he says.


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