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Big cab Euro-2s still sell
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1! Pre-Euro-2 trucks with big cabs will still attract buyers who want the horsepower and space but don't want to run at 44 tonnes, says Steve Smith of Widnes, Cheshirebased independent dealer Smith Brothers Services.
"We've had a lot of interest in Volvo F12 Globetrotters that fall into that category," he reports. "We've got a K-registered example in stock at the moment, although to be fair it's one that's a bit special with all sorts of extras on it. There's still interest in Scania 143s too, even though the last one was built six years ago."
Sales across the board seemed to slacken off in March, he adds, but the phones soon started to ring again. "Perhaps one reason why people stopped calling for a while was that we had simply run out of stock," he muses. "After all, you can't sell goods if you've got an empty shop!"
With a wide selection of Scania P124 and 8144 tractors— typically 1997 to 1999 vintage— not to mention Volvo FH12s and Daf 95XFs, that's not too much of a problem for Smith Brothers at present. However, all independent dealers report that obtaining retailable stock is a continual struggle.
"We've just sold a Volvo FM 420 Globetrotter 6x2 mid-lift, 1999 on a V-plate, for just under 135,000," says well-known bide
pendent dealer Robert Reynolds. "We can't find another one, though."
As far as Exhall, Coventry-based independent Geoff Sipson is concerned, the market is up and down: "One minute the phones aren't ringing at all; the next they're going crazy. We're a lot busier with tractive units than we've been in recent times—we've got 24 in stock and we haven't had that many for three or four years,
"It's very much the case that customers want 4x2s," he adds. "The lads on Continental work need them because they've got big diesel tanks, and if they fill up with diesel in Europe they've got a chance of making a profit.
"There's a massive demand for eight-wheeler tippers, and there aren't any about," he says. "We took a Volvo six-wheel tipper into stock recently and received 30 phone calls from people after it... 17 and 18tonne tippers are doing well too, but again, there's a shortage." Tractive units don't necessarily need hugely powerful engines if the specification is otherwise appealing and the price is right, he suggests: "We've acquired a fleet of Daf 95 360 Space Cab 4x2s, all 1996 on an P1-plate and with dual-height fifth wheels," he reports. At around £7,000 to £8,000 each they seem to represent good value for money.
Anybody buying ex-Consignia Daf B5 Series 4x2 tractors at auction should also get good value. "There are lots of them about, with P-registered examples going for g2,750," Reynolds reports.