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Making a clean sweep
Page 70
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Re-marketing utility vehicles requires care and attention. However, as
Manheim Auctions' Jeremy Martell reveals, it can be rewarding.
When it comes to selling second-hand CVs, utility vehicles are a law unto themselves.They don't exactly swamp the auctions and when they do roll through most trade bidders seize the opportunity to light up and gel a coffee until the next bread-and-butter, late-year, top-of-the-range tractor comes around.
To get an idea of what's circulating in the used market you need to try and pin down numbers sold from new — and that's not easy, because it's a bespoke marketplace where its operators, namely councils, construction and service maintenance contractors, tend to buy as required rather than rely on conventional fleet replacement programmes.
Diverse products
Dustcarts, sweepers, gully emptiers, platforms, 4x4s, workshop/tippers, vacuum tankers and specially designed waste disposal and collection vehicles all come under the 'utility' heading at auctions. Figures for January-May 2005 from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show utility body diversity is most common for chassis-cabs between 7.5 and 15 tonnes.
fiere it's the body that dictates the vehicle specification, not the other way around, with sweepers being a classic example. Of the 1,068 vehicles sold in this weight category sweepers accounted for only 96 — just 22 behind curtainsiders.
At 18 tonnes, dustcarts led the utility sector with a 4.3% share; at 26 tonnes they accounted for 26.8% of the 2,255 units sold. well ahead of tippers. curtainsiders and mixers. But on four axles utility wagons fade back into obscurity at 6.3 %, and at 7.5 tonnes they fell off the bottom of the graph: box vans, curtainsiders and tippers accounted for 72% of total sales, with utility options numbering 10 units at best.
Residuals are roughly comparable to mainstream; the major difference is the type of buyer. End users, such as councils and subcontractors, dominate and specialist purchasers get involved too.The trade will buy a few, although it is seen as a bit of a gamble.
Council escapees
Manheim Auctions sources its utility vehicles from councils and leasing companies. Dustcarts are the main stock in trade along with sweepers, which always do well; 4x4s often go for export, as do 6x4 chassis, which tend to get broken up. With bespoke specification utility vehicles designed to perform a certain task they will generally be well used' but not knackered. But under-worked utility vehicles should be the exception rather than the norm.
Manheim moves all its utility stock through its Leeds site, concentrating the relatively small number of buyers under one roof. Dedicated utility sales in February and September generally feature about 500 vehicles in this class. •