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1 says firms still block import deals
Page 54
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• Manufacturers are still placing unofficial obstacles in the way of independent importers who wish to source trucks from the Continent says Sean Clarke, MD of Hunslet, Leeds-based MI Commercials.
His firm imports vehicles from a number of Continental countries and he claims that some manufacturers are still putting pressure on their dealers not to accept orders for right-hand-drive trucks destined for the UK.
"On one occasion recently it took me six weeks to even get a quote," he says. "Even if you can get the vehicles—all of which have European Type Approval—there are all sorts of bureaucratic hurdles to be faced.
You have to get the official UK importer to supply you with a Certificate of Conformity so that you
ILI can send it to the Vehicle
Certification Agency in Bristol so that you can get a UK Type Approval certificate. Once you've done that Certification Agency in Bristol so that you can get a UK Type Approval certificate. Once you've done that you can fill in the V55 form and get the truck taxed—but you won't be given a tax disc over the counter, it has to be posted to you. The whole process can take from three to To weeks. It's bureaucracy gone mad. Many of our customers are also finding that UK dealers can be uncooperative when it comes to processing warranty claims on their vehicles, although to be fair we've yet to see a claim rejected."
Clarke contends that the way European competition legislation has changed means that manufacturers will have to alter their attitude before somebody takes them to court.
"They've got their heads stuck in the sand," he says.
As well as importing new trucks. Mi sells used models.
It's an agent for lsuzu trucks— "we've recently been graded as Samurai status dealers, which is a top accolade"—and has just become a BMC dealer as well.
"The used side of things is very hard work, but we're doing quite well with the Isuzus," he reports. "We're selling about Go a year; they're proving to be reliable, with fairly decent residuals.