44
OCTOBER 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO MOTORING
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Cutting out van
servicing could be
a false economy
British Car Auctions (BCA) data shows
a service history can add up to 10% on
used light commercial vehicle values
New research from BCA,
the UK and Europe’s leading vehicle marketplace,
underlines the importance
of a service history when it
comes to selling used vans.
or even ignore the recommended
servicing schedules. However,
regular servicing on even the
oldest vehicles will make them
more saleable when it is time to
change.
BCA researched price performance for a ‘basket’ of 5,000
LCVs that went through its sales
earlier this year, comparing the
price achieved against industry
guide values for vehicles sold
with a full service history to
those without. Up to 10% price
improvements were recorded for
vehicles with a full service history, with this factor increasing in
importance on older vehicles.
For lower mileage vehicles,
(sub-50,000 miles) BCA saw a
3.5% uplift in performance. This
rose to nearly 4% for vehicles
that had covered 50,000 to
100,000 and rose again significantly to a 10.4% uplift on
vehicles that had covered over
100,000 miles.
Duncan Ward, BCA’s Head
of Commercial Sales explains:
“A van is a working tool so it
makes good sense to maintain it
properly, but if further evidence
was needed, a service history
will also add to its value when it
is sold.”
He added: “With many small
businesses and sole traders
typically running used vans there
may be a temptation to extend
“Our research shows that if a
service history is missing, the
seller coul d be potentially sacrificing up to 10% off the value.
On older vehicles that may have
been resold several times, even a
partial history is better than none
at all and can help to improve
the price achieved.”
He continued: “A service history
shows the vehicle has been well
maintained by the previous owner and confirms that a warranted
mileage is correct as declared. It
is the latter that can have a real,
tangible effect on the potential
price a vehicle might achieve.”
93.04
96.89
100.86
103.46
Source: BCA 2015
101.13
97.49
100
95
50K - 100K
Over 100K
90
sub 50K
% vs guide price
105
‘A service history
shows the vehicle has
been well maintained
by the previous owner
and confirms that a
warranted mileage is
correct as declared’
wi thout hi s tory
wi th hi s tory
Carrying
Britain’s
TM
Business
Van Guard, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of commercial
vehicle accessories, is celebrating two years of impressive
sales growth for its popular ULTI Bar roof rack system.
Within the first year the
company saw its roof bar
sales double, and this
success continued into
year two with sales almost
doubling again. The ULTI Bar
has also been revealed in a
survey, carried out by Van
Guard at a recent tool exhibition, as the roof bar of
choice by builders, plumbers and electricians when
considering which product
is most suited to commercial use.
The family-run company
commissioned a survey to find
out how the product compared
on a like-for-like basis to its
nearest competitor – the results
were very positive, with 58% of
participants saying they were
most likely to buy the ULTI Bar
for its strong, durable, long-lasting, quality build and ease of
use, while this figure rose to 76%
when they found out that Van
Guard’s ULTI Bar is on average
60% cheaper.
Another popular feature identified by the survey was the ULTI
Bar’s state-of-the-art T-Track
system, which supports a range
of affordable and useful accessories such as load stops (each set
of ULTI Bars also comes with two
free pairs of these), eye bolts and
beacon brackets.
Managing Director, Barry
Woodward, comments: “It is
good to know that our current
strategy, both from a product
development perspective and the
major investment we have made
in state-of-the-art Bystronic laser
cutter and press brake to ensure
we stay ‘Made in Britain’, is paying off.”
The Van Guard team places the
utmost importance on innovation, and the ULTI Bar is proof
of this. In 2013, the company
spotted a gap in the market for
a premium roof bar offered at a
competitive price, so seized the
opportunity to launch ULTI Bar
to the market. Not only is the
product aesthetically pleasing, it
is also quality-built, aerodynamic
for fuel efficiency, non-corrosive,
lightweight and, importantly,
easy to fit.
Van Guard’s innovation is
underpinned by comprehensive
crash and safety testing. The ULTI
Bar has been crash tested to 20G.
All of Van Guard’s systems and
processes are externally accredited via ISO 9001 & ISO 14001.