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Flexible finance to ease the way
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A smart approach to offering finance and the ability to spot new opportunities are paramount for vendors in the used market.
Words/images: Steve Banner Used truck vendors need to be flexible in today's tough trading climate, especially when it comes to the finance packages they market to customers, says Dale Slee, Barnsley-based approved used commercials sales manager at Mercedes-Benz.
"Traditionally, we've tended to offer a two-year operating lease supported by a service contract," he says. "We're now offering year-long leases too and if customers need a vehicle for only six to nine months then we can accommodate that as well under a longterm rental agreement."
At the end of that time customers can extend the leasing agreement, send the truck back, or buy it outright.
Also available on light commercials, these short-term deals are proving popular, says Slee."It's a hard market, and in the present economic situation it's difficult for operators to plan for the future. As a consequence, long-term commitment to a truck frightens them.
"However, most people should be able to see ahead for the next 12 months and the response to what we're doing is proving to be healthy. I believe our used vehicle finance business manager closed more deals in the first couple of months of the year than he did during the same period in 2008."
Just outside Barnsley and close to Junction 36 on the Ml, Mercedes-Benz's sprawling used vehicles processing site on the Wentworth Park Industrial Estate receives a steady stream of ex-contract trucks destined to be remarketed. In most cases they are disposed of through the manufacturer's dealer network.
With so many clients opting to extend agreements for another year, is that stream slowing to a trickle? "Not really, because new vehicle contracts are not all written over the same period," says Slee. "They vary, so we're not short of trucks of a particular age."
Mix of stock
Typically, the vehicles that arrive are from two to five years old, although there are some vans that are just 12 months old. "Nearly 4,000 vehicles passed through Wentworth Park last year — half of them were vans, with trucks making up the balance — and we're looking to achieve around the same figure this year.
"We're by no means over-stocked. In fact we're pretty comfortable with our stocking levels."
As well as Mercedes-badged products, the site also takes in Mitsubishi Fuso Canters Canter is distributed through the Mercedes truck network.
Set up in 1987 as a distribution centre for new vehicles, Wentworth Park has undergone some changes in recent months, says Slee."We moved into new offices in January and we've reorganised the workshops We don't just handle used vehicles here. We organise driver training and we'll soon be handling CPC training too."
A more flexible approach to finance is not the only route pursued by Slee and his colleagues in order to boost sales. Selected ex-contract trucks are refurbished, repainted, equipped with a variety of goodies — lightbars, leather-trimmed seats and so on — then marketed as flagship vehicles to users who want something just that little bit different.
These are sold under the Evolution banner. Typically, an ex-contract Actros 2546LS 6x2 MegaSpace with around 300,000-400,000km on the clock will receive a 160-point inspection (with the rectification of any fault discovered), a service and a complete respray.
It will then be fitted with such extras as Kelsa lightbais, leather trim for the seats, a microwave oven, and a DVD player.
Customer is king
If a customer has already expressed firm interest in the vehicle he can have pretty much anything he can afford installed. One individual asked for a PlayStation 2 to be fitted.
Vans are also reworked. "We had a number of highmileage ex-DHL Sprinters come back to us, all finished in yellow of course," says Slee. "We repainted some of them white and some of them silver, fitted them with a A Slee and his colleagues few extras, then marketed them at a price calculated to can conduct a 160-point appeal to the more budget-conscious customer."
inspection on any truck Chassis alterations — lengthening tractor units so they can be converted into rigids, for example — are not embarked on quite so regularly as cosmetic revamps. "We've done some alterations, but not in enormous volumes. You always have to balance the cost of the modification against the age of the truck."
Niche applications
What Mercedes has done, however, is investigate a few less-than-obvious markets for second-hand vehicles.
"For instance we've sold a considerable number of 3.9m-wheelbase Actros units for conversion to gritters," he says. "A gritter body fits neatly on the back without any modifications being required."
At least one used Actros unit has been bodied as a cement sprayer for use in tunnel construction — the sort of niche application that appeals to Slee.
"What we tend to do is look for opportunities that allow standard products to be rebodicd rather than have their chassis stretched," he says."From our viewpoint that makes a lot more sense." •