HAPPY BIRTHDAY
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British Gar Auctions' Newport, Gwent site is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Eddie Gerrard, commercial vehicle and plant manager, says: "I sold the very first vehicle auctioned at the centre. It was a 1984-registered Ford Transit, finished in red, and it made £1,050...strong money thanks to some spirited bidding.
"Our first heavy truck sale included a 1989 Scania 11113 tractive unit that went for £29,325, and a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 1729 tractor that went for £21,400," he adds. "Today we see more stock entered directly by the operator, and perhaps less from the trade than we used to. Stock from the public authorities and utilities now tends to come more through leasing companies, whereas a decade ago they were generally wholly owned by the authority.
"Older vehicles are much more likely to be broken for the export market today, with engines and gearboxes finding a ready market overseas," says Gerrard. "Ten years ago it is likely that these vehicles would have stayed in service in the home market, perhaps with a third or fourth owner. Among the more memorable lots we have sold were a pair of 25-tonne Kato cranes on behalf of a major finance company. They sold on a Bank Holiday Monday for over t100,000."