Capital Equipment News December 2018

USED TRUCKS

buying from a manufacturer like Scania, it is something they should be able to provide,” says Donachie. “The most important thing when buying a commercial vehicle is to understand that it is a mission critical asset and uptime is of critical importance. One needs to consider the reputation of the entity they are buying their used truck from, as well as the future backup of the vehicle,” he adds. The shortage of quality used vehicles economic conditions. However, Donachie believes that a large number of customers still prefer buying a used premium offering. They look at various other factors such as additional benefits of buying from the OEM directly. For example, Scania South Africa can offer service plans and warranties with its used trucks, which provides customers with the much needed peace of mind. “One of Scania’s competitive edges when it comes to used trucks is that we also offer in-house financing and insurance. The customer is afforded a one-stop shopping solution. We also offer our R&M Light Used, a service plan plus warranty. It is a standard engine driveline warranty which can also be expanded to cover certain bolt-on components,” says Donachie. A unique feature of Scania’s used warranty is that it can be extended to beyond a million kilometres. Bear in mind that most of the external warranties offered on used vehicles are up to 800 000 km. The benefit to the customer is that Scania’s warranty is a factory- backed programme. This is complemented by the fact that the majority of dealerships across the country are Scania-owned. The attraction to the customer is that with their R&M Light Used contract, they can walk into any dealership throughout the country. There are also a few service outlets, but these still operate under the Scania banner, so the customer has a wide support footprint at their disposal. More considerations One of the most common considerations when buying a used truck is that one should know the mileage and how it was accumulated; freeway miles are less damaging than constant stop-and-go and arduous applications such as construction. One of the current trends is that trucks are being traded in at an older age than before, but notably with low mileages due to reasons Donachie has already explained. In his experience, generally the replacement cycles used to be 4-5 presents an opportunity for value suppliers to take advantage of the

One can easily limit the downside of purchasing a pre-owned truck by buying from a reputable supplier like Scania.

Scania offers its R&M Light Used, a service plan plus warranty.

years. However, today it’s more to do with the best potential replacement cycle for an individual customer. “When we sell a new truck, our sales executives factor in each customer’s business and type of application to determine the optimum time to replace the vehicle,” he says. In most instances, disposal cycles differ with industries. “If you are driving a refuse collection truck, for example, it will accumulate between 2 000 and 3 000 km a month because, by its very nature, it’s a low mileage application. That truck will not be exchanged prior to five years. However, if one is running a flatdeck or tautliner between Cape Town and Johannesburg, the truck will probably clock between 15 000 and 16 000 km a

month and would need to be exchanged after every three years,” explains Donachie. When it comes to selling of used trucks, Donachie cautions that there are a number of factors to be considered when looking to trade in a vehicle, and chief among them is that the mileage shouldn’t get too high because it affects the resale value. Likewise, the age of the truck shouldn’t get too high because it won’t be financeable. “Financeable age of a used truck is normally five years with most of the reputable lenders. It becomes pretty difficult to obtain funding through banks for a truck that is more than five years,” concludes Donachie. b

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