Scared of commitment
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Buyers might be wary of committing to vehicles, but that doesn’t mean the market has stalled
Words: Steve Banner Buyers of used trucks are adopting a cautious approach when it comes to committing to acquiring vehicles, says Tony Bevan, general manager of sales at MAN’s TopUsed operation.
That’s not to say that the market is lat, he stresses. There is still plenty of demand for late-registered trucks in particular and there is no indication that prices are falling.
“It is, however, the case that customers are taking a bit more time before deciding to buy and in some instances are thinking twice,” he says.
In his view that is hardly surprising, given the number of high street retailers that have gone out of business or cut back on their activities over the past few months. Retailers rely on goods being delivered by road and every closure means that a haulier somewhere is affected.
The closure of one retail chain might, of course, result in those that remain netting more sales, so the volume of goods operators needed to deliver to the survivors and the number of trucks required to handle the trafic goes up. Perhaps this is helping to underpin a used sector that in many respects remains buoyant.
Steady demand
“Demand was a bit off-and-on in June, but the market was good by and large – steady is the best way of describing it – and we were able to sell anything that was late-registered straight away,” says Stuart Wolstenholme, used sales manager at the Middleton, Manchester branch of Scania dealership West Pennine Trucks. “We had a 10-plate R 500 V8 tractor unit with a two-pedal Opticruise transmission in stock for just 10 minutes – if that – before it was out of the door. “It’s the only used Euro-5 Scania we’ve sold to date, although we sold 10 Euro-5 Volvos at the start of the year,” he adds. “Customers are starting to look for used Euro-5 trucks, but they’re still rare.” Slightly older units with plenty of power on tap have also been selling fast, he says. “We took in an 07-plate 500hp Renault Magnum as a part-exchange against a 620hp V8 Scania unit and sold it within 24 hours.” Andy Mackay, used truck sales specialist for the north-west of England at DAF dealership Chatields, agrees the market is a bit up and down. “You’re really busy, then there’s a lull, then you’re really busy again,” he says.
“The prices we’re getting seem to be fair, although we have to pay a lot for the stock we buy in.” Prices remain constant Wolstenholme reports. “They drifted upwards at the start of the year as far as late-registered trucks were concerned, but have stayed static ever since,” he says. “The prices of older vehicles are not rising, but they’re not dropping either.
“Trucks that meet Euro-4 remain much sought-after because of the changes to the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) due to come into force this year, although a lot of the lads based locally and who go down to London regularly have got themselves sorted out with suitable vehicles.” The enthusiasm for Euro-4 does not appear to be denting demand for Euro-3 models, at least as far as MAN is concerned, says Bevan. “Ours are holding their prices,” he says.
“We’re inding that prices for trucks dating back to 2001 and 2002 are up because of demand from export markets,” says Adam Day, business development manager at Market Weighton, East Yorkshire-based Britcom International. “Ten-year-old Scania and Mercedes tractor units are fetching a fortune.”
Harder to find
“As for availability of stock, 4x2 tractor units are pretty easy to come by, although older 4x2s suitable for the export market can be more dificult to obtain,” says Wolstenholme.
“6x2s are a bit harder to ind than 4x2s, but it’s the shortage of rigids – curtainsiders especially – that’s the biggest problem,” he continues. “In fact they have become almost impossible to obtain.
“I’ve seen just one – a 15-tonner – over the past six weeks.” Bevan agrees that the shortage is severe. “We’re seeing 18and 26-tonners fetching retail prices at the auctions,” he reports.
So why not stretch a few 4x2 units and turn them into rigid chassis?
“We’re doing one for a customer at present, but to be honest I don’t like building them for stock,” Wolstenhol
me replies. “If you do that then you can guarantee that whatever you produce will end up being either a foot too long or a foot too short for the prospective buyer.”
“Conversions aren’t as cheap to carry out as they used to be, but they can still be worthwhile if the unit has the right mileage or is the right price,” says Bevan. “If we’re doing them for stock then we tend to opt for a 28ft or a 30ft curtainsider because we know they’ll always sell.” n