Here at Commercial Motor we rarely buy trucks (actually… never), so I wanted to ask your advice. If you are in the process of buying a used truck, what background research do you carry out - if any?
Do you look at old road tests or reviews of that model? Use anecdotal evidence from forums or other websites? Do you carry out any background checks on the item itself, or the dealer? Is the reputation of the previous owner something you look at? And what about making sure you get the best price - do you use Glass’s Guide, CAP Red Book or something else entirely?
This is for a potential feature for Commercial Motor magazine so please say if you don’t want to be quoted.
I would check the history of the previous owners to see if it was well looked after and what parts have been replaced on it and just try to get as much information as I can about it
I’m not in the process of buying a truck, but I did buy one two years ago so here’s my two penn’orth.
I’d already narrowed the choice right down to a late Renault Magnum 500. I needed a 6x2 LEZ compliant 44 tonne truck, I wanted an above average powered engine because a lot of my work is in the hilly south-west and I wanted a good-sized cab as I’d be living in it for the next three years. I’d asked about Magnums on TruckNet and they got very favourable reviews from current and former owners. There is a Renault main dealership in my yard so downtime for maintenance would be zero, and they are cheap to buy because although they have a Volvo engine and driveline, they don’t have a Volvo badge.
I chatted on TruckNet to a few people who knew the seller and the history of the exact truck and he was described by a couple of members as a straight person who you could do business with. I went to view it (from Ramsgate to Bishop Auckland, which is a long way but it looked like a good truck). I asked about maintenance, what parts had been replaced and what hadn’t and factored in the cost of replacing the alternator and tensioners and the clutch in the near future (both of these did fail within the first six months).
As for the price, is was a private sale and I paid £25,000, at the time independent dealers were asking about £28,000 for the same spec and age, Renault main dealers £32,000, and a Volvo FH12 from an independent dealer about £42,000. So that seemed fair enough to me.
However, I wouldn’t hold myself up as an expert on buying trucks. It was the first one I’d ever bought and I was as green as grass, I have been lucky with it so far, and a lot of running any business is down to luck. There will be far more knowledgeable people than myself on here to offer better advice soon.
I only buy Scania, and I park in a Scania Dealership, if I am looking for a newer truck, I will ask them to run the reg no of the vehicle through the database, this usually throws up a lot of history, which helps a great deal.
I am sure other lesser makes of truck may offer this if you ask nicely.
Excellent question indeed.First off see what CM is recommending,usually a Mercedes of any type and buy the opposite,unfortunately CM is stuck
up certain parties wotsit and are unreliable as a bonfide vehicle tester,least that’s my impression.As I have stated before first priority is to find out who in your area is offering the best,most reliable servicing then purchase that vehicle…if it’s a new/second hand buy.
I buy trucks to export. From experience, there isn’t a formula to getting this right. It is down to luck. By the very fact that the truck is “used”, expect anything to go wrong at any time.
Armagedon:
Excellent question indeed.First off see what CM is recommending,usually a Mercedes of any type and buy the opposite,unfortunately CM is stuck
up certain parties wotsit and are unreliable as a bonfide vehicle tester,least that’s my impression.
I would completely agree that CM skews its editorial content according to its advertising stream. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed!
Thanks everyone for your replies, they have helped to give me a better insight into the buying process and are much appreciated.
I’m a bit surprised to hear there’s a perception that Commercial Motor skews its editorial content according to advertising. I’ve had a few different roles here at RTM (CM’s publisher), including on the CM production desk, and always found that the editorial and sales teams are kept very separate.
Could it be the other way round? If CM pans a particular product, that company may be less inclined to advertise with us for a while… but it doesn’t necessarily mean the editorial is skewed. Or perhaps manufacturers with bigger advertising budgets also have bigger R&D budgets, I don’t know!
In the ten + years I have been at CM/T&D I have heard many heated discussions between editorial and sales - where sales have had a knock back from key accounts because of something written in the magazine- it has always fallen on deaf ears … as James said above editorial strongly protect their independence and do not allow sales to sway their opinion.
I know this for fact because on few occasions I have been the road tester- for one such report I completely slated a vehicle as totally unfit for task _ I came under no pressure to amend or tone down my assessment and its was printed in full- the vehicle in question was from a marque that probably has the largest advertising budget in the industry - the only effective outcome is from that day to this I haven’t received another invite to test drive their vehicles.
I also do know that a colleague once wrote a less than flattering review of a vehicle - the company threatened to pull all its advertising unless it was retracted - it wasn’t retracted and the advertising was lost- editorial independence is deemed more important than the revenue
In all the time I have been with this company I have NEVER been asked to “be kind” or “lenient” when reviewing vehicles or to bear in mind how much they spend with us - our honest opinion is asked for and given wether the advertiser likes it or not
Rikki-UK:
In the ten + years I have been at CM/T&D I have heard many heated discussions between editorial and sales - where sales have had a knock back from key accounts because of something written in the magazine- it has always fallen on deaf ears … as James said above editorial strongly protect their independence and do not allow sales to sway their opinion.
I know this for fact because on few occasions I have been the road tester- for one such report I completely slated a vehicle as totally unfit for task _ I came under no pressure to amend or tone down my assessment and its was printed in full- the vehicle in question was from a marque that probably has the largest advertising budget in the industry - the only effective outcome is from that day to this I haven’t received another invite to test drive their vehicles.
I also do know that a colleague once wrote a less than flattering review of a vehicle - the company threatened to pull all its advertising unless it was retracted - it wasn’t retracted and the advertising was lost- editorial independence is deemed more important than the revenue
In all the time I have been with this company I have NEVER been asked to “be kind” or “lenient” when reviewing vehicles or to bear in mind how much they spend with us - our honest opinion is asked for and given wether the advertiser likes it or not
i take it, you have never driven another Scania then Rikki