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Not sure what to get your nearest and dearest for Christmas? Rikki Chequer has the answer...
Page 9
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I hate to mention it in November, but there is no escaping the fact that the festive season is rapidly approaching.
Fortunately, TruckNet UK has teamed up with those nice people who oversee the Commercial Motor reader offers to put its wares online, which means you can order all those truckrelated Christmas goodies from the convenience of your computer.
There is another advantage.., order via the new online shop and the postage and packing charges will be waived.
The shop can be accessed directly by logging on to www.truckingshop.co.uk or by clicking the button on the TruckNetUK forums.
Meanwhile, it's not all doom and gloom if you're an owner-operator. Some of you, it seems, are looking to replace their existing trucks in the near future. One of the side effects of the economic slowdown is that the massive waiting times for new trucks at the end of last year and the beginning of this one have vanished. Operators are reporting that trucks straight off the forecourt are being offered, and there are some very attractive deals on offer as dealers attempt to unload surplus stock and cancelled orders.
One report is of a top-of-the-range 6x2 tractor with premium interior that is 223,000 cheaper than it was a few months ago. Another report is of new curtainside trailers being offered for as low as 215,600. Even with these competitive prices, some canny operators are holding off purchasing, believing the prices will be squeezed still lower as the recession continues to bite in the new year.
Before the pre-Budget announcement, fuel was dropping. with offers from the fuel card companies last week as low as 84.5p/lit. Having more than one card seems to be the way to obtain extremely competitive quotes. One operator notes that when he uses a company's card for a week, the price doesn't drop the following week — but when he doesn't use the card, the price comes down.
Switching between cards every seven days keeps the fuel card firms on their toes, it seems.