Search me!
Page 47
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Finding a vehicle on the Trucks ‘R’ Us website is child’s play, as Webwatch discovers
Words: James Clark
Company: Trucks ‘R’ Us Address: www.trucks-are-us.co.uk
Homepage
The Trucks ‘R’ Us homepage is
not the most striking, but it does get straight to business by offering the user no fewer than five ways to access the stock list.
The quickest are to use the menu at the top or the scrolling gallery at the bottom to jump straight to a broad category such as ‘plant’ or ‘vans’.
If you know exactly what you are looking for, the ‘quick search’ box lets you search for a keyword of your choice – that could be a make, model, or feature. Below this is a link to the ‘advanced search’ page that enables you to specify a price and age range among other criteria.
Finally, the ‘trucks’, ‘vans’ and ‘plant’ links on the left of the homepage open up mini drop-down menus that let you pick by manufacturer, body type, age and keywords. Phew!
Product search
Once you have carried out a search, the website will list all relevant items of stock – giving a brief description of each along with price, age and a thumbnail image.
These results can then be sorted by price, from highest to lowest or vice-versa.
Click on any image or the corresponding ‘View Vehicle Details’ link to view a product information page with further photos and information such as body type and colour. Select any photo to open a pop-up gallery – the high-quality photography shows the product off from a range of angles.
Features at this stage include a basic ‘email a friend’ tool, a product description translator (for export buyers), and an ‘add to favourites’ option. All the products you add to your favourites will be displayed in the sidebar on the left of the website for later reference and comparison.
A wide range of vehicles were available at the time of writing, from a “clean and tidy” Ford Connect T200L for £2,495, to a 2008 Mercedes 1836L 6x2 beavertail crane truck for just shy of £80,000. As the website says, stock “consists of mainly one-owner fleet vehicles”.
Should you find something of interest, click on the ‘enquire about this vehicle’ link to open up a short online form and request a callback.
Other pages
Elsewhere on the site you will find contact details for Trucks ‘R’ Us, as well as links through to the ‘Fork Rent’ plant hire website and the separate Trucks ‘R’ Us van and truck hire website.
The site also includes an optional ‘stock alert system’ that will send you an email every time an item of stock is added that matches your search criteria.
We had no problems browsing the site and carrying out a search on a mobile device.
Conclusion
The Trucks ‘R’ Us website is a useful and time-saving tool. We have few criticisms, but perhaps the look of the site could be improved so that it does justice to the great functionality.