I’ve been wondering for a while now, where do dealers buy trucks that they resell to fleet owners afterwards? Is it the auctions only? What auction houses specialise in trucks/trailers/plant? Or is there another type of sellers that, for some reason, are unwilling to post their used trucks online and prefer to sell them through dealers? If so, who are those sellers? Where can I find them? What motivates them to sell to a dealer (presumably cheaper) than to post online and sell direct? I’m looking to buy a few used trucks, trailers and some construction plant. Thanks in advance for any answers.
Your question is a bit misleading , main dealers ie volvo scania etc usually only sell secondhand trucks that they have supplied from new and have come to the end of a lease/contract hire deal at 3 or 4 yrs old , over 3 or 4 yrs old they will move them on to a general second hand truck dealer ( Walkers/Evs for example) where you will get a mixture of different manufacturers , im not quite sure what you are getting at
chaversdad:
Your question is a bit misleading , main dealers ie volvo scania etc usually only sell secondhand trucks that they have supplied from new and have come to the end of a lease/contract hire deal at 3 or 4 yrs old , over 3 or 4 yrs old they will move them on to a general second hand truck dealer ( Walkers/Evs for example) where you will get a mixture of different manufacturers , im not quite sure what you are getting at
I understand about the main brand name dealers (Volvo, Scania, etc.) who sell out-of-lease vehicles, but I was asking mainly about trucks that you would find on trucks.autotrader.co.uk, for example, or other similar sites. It seems that most of the dealers on those sites sell a random mixture of different trucks, not just one brand. And similarly for plant on plant.autotrader.co.uk. You would never find a fleet-owner or driver-owner selling his trucks on those sites, it’s all dealers. So, I’ve been trying to figure out how and where they get them. Are those trade-ins? But many of them don’t sell new vehicles. It seems that all they do is take some photos and post them on those sites. So how come the original owners don’t do that?
vicden:
chaversdad:
Your question is a bit misleading , main dealers ie volvo scania etc usually only sell secondhand trucks that they have supplied from new and have come to the end of a lease/contract hire deal at 3 or 4 yrs old , over 3 or 4 yrs old they will move them on to a general second hand truck dealer ( Walkers/Evs for example) where you will get a mixture of different manufacturers , im not quite sure what you are getting atI understand about the main brand name dealers (Volvo, Scania, etc.) who sell out-of-lease vehicles, but I was asking mainly about trucks that you would find on trucks.autotrader.co.uk, for example, or other similar sites. It seems that most of the dealers on those sites sell a random mixture of different trucks, not just one brand. And similarly for plant on plant.autotrader.co.uk. You would never find a fleet-owner or driver-owner selling his trucks on those sites, it’s all dealers. So, I’ve been trying to figure out how and where they get them. Are those trade-ins? But many of them don’t sell new vehicles. It seems that all they do is take some photos and post them on those sites. So how come the original owners don’t do that?
Probably get them from Auctions, contacts at haulage companies and through the main dealers, who only really want to sell new and nearly new. So move anything older down the chain so to speak.
If you’re an owner driver or small fleet owner, do you really want to spend the time and effort selling your truck. We’re selling some of our trucks and trailer at the moment and I can tell you it takes a lot more of your time than just sticking an advert on a website.
auctions,for the seller,instant cash with no comeback,no hassle.same as company cars and main dealer cars/trucks…some traders will underwrite the trucks and sell them on behalf of the companies,as will some auctions,hence you get run up by the auctioneer against invisible back wall bidders till they find a suitable victim.i.e you…the bargains will always be at the auction if you know what your doing.go to the same one a few times and you will see 70% of the same vehicles there ,week in ,week out.go early,pick it to bits,ask the drivers if it drove in,or how it arrived.if it doesent make its reserve,then thats when to do the haggling and have a poke around in it.offer a tad over the previous max bid,and haggle from there.even if you need to spend a few quid on it to put it perfect,then you will still save thousands instead of buying from some up their own backside main dealer.if its cars,theres masses of tricks to put others off from bidding against you…you just need to be switched on after having went a few times to know the score. 
dieseldog999:
auctions,for the seller,instant cash with no comeback,no hassle.same as company cars and main dealer cars/trucks…some traders will underwrite the trucks and sell them on behalf of the companies,as will some auctions,hence you get run up by the auctioneer against invisible back wall bidders till they find a suitable victim.i.e you…the bargains will always be at the auction if you know what your doing.go to the same one a few times and you will see 70% of the same vehicles there ,week in ,week out.go early,pick it to bits,ask the drivers if it drove in,or how it arrived.if it doesent make its reserve,then thats when to do the haggling and have a poke around in it.offer a tad over the previous max bid,and haggle from there.even if you need to spend a few quid on it to put it perfect,then you will still save thousands instead of buying from some up their own backside main dealer.if its cars,theres masses of tricks to put others off from bidding against you…you just need to be switched on after having went a few times to know the score.
Thanks a lot dieseldog999, this will take me in the right direction. Do you know any weekly auctions that specialise in trucks and construction plant? I’ve found some but they are not weekly, they are hardly even monthly. Thanks again.
just google commercial truck vehicle auctions uk…manheim,and protruck have them as well as bca and all the rest…just call manheim and they will be able to tell you who else does them.theres a big one near Sheffield/leeds whos name escapes me just now…they wont have them every week as theres not enough stock. these guys are only moving metal and they will give you a walk round appraisal for you if its already went through and not made the reserve…the truck could go through several times without making it,then after so many times the reserve drops,or they bundle the shortfall into another truck from the same co that’s been over bid and shove it out that way.if its already been through,then it can be haggled independently but they wont sell it before its went through at least 1 sale. a half bottle of whiskey filed with old oil can help influence some other bidders,especially if you empty some into the stacks,header tank,and drop the rest under the engine before the sale…works just as well with cars,with going round it and scoring it like you were vandalising it with a candle will look like someones keyed it…buy it cheap,then polish the wax score away.point out to your pal when other interested parties are there and walk away…job done. every dealer that sells 2nd hand trucks,or cars,buys them from the auctions,not rocket science working out where the cheapest option is,but the hard part is not becoming a victim from the auctioneers.go to car auctions,or any auctions,and watch the way it works,half the time nobodys bidding and there just running up the price to see if anyone bites at the end.GOLDEN RULE…only buy something thatscame in from a main agent as a trade in…that way the owner wont be standing behind you running you up.
A lot of dealers buy part ex and ex hire trucks from main dealers,these dealers have over a number of years built up good relationships with the firms they deal with and don’t mess about but will say buy 10 trucks at once no quibble,no inspection,no warranty,this is one method of disposal you will find almost impossible to break into for no matter what you bid you will never own one of these trucks.Its a closed shop. 