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Straight to business
Page 70
Page 71
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Steve Home used to run a general haulage fleet; now he sells used trucks, specialising in good quality lightweight MAN and Mercedes gids that are ready for work. Geoff Ashcroft popped in to find out more.
Steve Horne has been selling used trucks for just over three years following his decision to move out of general haulage and logistics previously he owned and ran a 36-truck fleet.
His experience in the industry has helped him to develop a successful niche business supplying clean,low-mileage, two-to-sixyear-old middleweight Mercs and MANs that are ready for work.
"Generally,300,000km and/or six years old is a cut-off, though we rarely do anything newer than two years old as it's too close to new." says Horne, who operates Cherwell Truck Sales at Enstone in Oxfordshire.
The used truck sector from 10 to 15 tonnes is Home's bread and butter, though he's happy to accommodate any 7.5-tonners that come his way. Box bodies, fridges, curtainsiders, flatbeds and chassis-cabs are all part of his regular stock in trade.
Older and higher The firm occasionally ends up with 18-tonners, six-wheelers or vehicles that are slightly older or with higher mileage.
"I've had a few through with 400,000 on the clock, but they were owner-driver trucks that were dealer-maintained and felt like they'd done half the mileage," says Horne."I won't buy just anything they must be good-spec trucks with plenty of power:220-240hp is what! want on my stock list."
As well as sourcing vehicles from MAN and Mercedes direct, he sources trucks from dealers who don't deal in the two German marques. Horne keeps a sharp eye on auction stock too, and he's well aware that the buck stops with him when buying in.
He cites a 2001/Y-reg MAN 14.220 sleeper-cab chassis as typical of the stock he offers. It's running on air suspension with a tuck-away tail-lift and has had one owner from new, being used by a kitchen company on an R&M contract. With a full service history and 320,000km on the dock, it's on offer at £11,950 (ex-VAT).
"I have a 22ft (6.7m) curtainsided body that can be supplied and fitted at extra cost," he says.
Buyers. Home reports, have become more discerning.They want good quality, used trucks with a high level of specification -and they're prepared to pay for them.
His industry experience equips Home to help his customers find the right truck for a given task.
"1 know what customers want. and can often help guide them when they're not too sure about their needs," he says.
He is quick to point out that this philosophy sometimes costs him sales, as he won't push a customer into a truck simply because it is on the premises. But he believes this honest approach engenders customer loyalty. Sales are steady, with an average of two trucks a week finding new homes.
-We'll swap bodies, alter wheelbases, add tail-lifts and do what we can to customise a vehicle for each customer's requirements," Home reports.
"It's hard to keep every variation in the yard, but I like to keep a good shop window available for potential customers. That's why there are usually about 25 trucks on site we have the luxury of space, so we can present our vehicles in a clean, tidy environment, making it easy for potential buyers to assess the trucks of their choice."
Home offers finance deals through SME Eurofinance; he can also provide power upgrades for customers.
His approach to used vehicle preparation would put some franchised dealers to shame.
Genuine parts only "Once a deal is done every vehicle that leaves here goes through the workshops for a 100-point mechanical safety inspection, and can get up to L1,500 spent on bringing it up to scratch using only genuine new parts,"says Home. "Nothing goes out with less than six months' MoT,which gives me peace of mind as the seller, and every curtainsider gets new sheets.
"They are as cosmetically tidy and mechanically sound as they could possibly be," he adds. "We're not the cheapest, but we offer the best quality used vehicles of this type, and they're ready to go straight to work," Home puts his money where his mouth is with a three-month unconditional parts warranty on every truck sold.This is handled inhouse, after poor experiences with third-party warranty providers.
-I don't want hassle and neither do my customers," he concludes. -It's all about communication. If there's a problem, we'll do what we can to sort it out." •