Van factory options pay dividends

Well specified vans fitted with additional factory options are enjoying ever increasing levels of demand from buyers. With more potential buyers there are more bids, both online and in the hall, and as a consequence sale prices reflect this. At a recent Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles closed van sale at Manheim Coventry vans with metallic paint, air conditioning, climate control, satellite navigation, front and rear parking sensors and electric packs including windows, mirrors and seats were in very strong demand. Representatives from industry guides who were present at this sale noted that, when factoring the sale values achieved against the list prices of the options, they repaid themselves pound for pound. In several instances the financial uplift exceeded the original cost of the options.

Commenting on this trend, Alex Wright, Commercial Vehicle Sales Director at Manheim said: “The CV market often takes its cues from trends within the car market. The self-employed market is always focused on vans with ‘kerb appeal’ as these visually project a sound and credible perception of their businesses to potential customers. There is an increasing requirement for their daily workhorses to ‘cross-over’ into lifestyle usages; acting as a second ‘car’ for family trips and leisure breaks. The demand for these lifestyle vans is growing considerably and benefits can be measured both in terms of enhanced sale values and a faster speed of sale. In addition to ‘kerb appeal’ there are factory options that aid with flexibility and usage, such as twin side loading doors.” Wright continues “Twin side doors as a factory option are currently adding between £500 and £1000 to sale values depending on the make, model and other factory options fitted. Accurate vehicle descriptions are key and Manheim ensures that these are captured so we can market our vans to the best possible audience.”

James Davis, Group Commercial Vehicle Manager at Manheim added “CV Live, our industry leading service that links online buyers to our physical auctions, enables our buyers to log on, bid and buy one or two specific vans without having to travel long distances and spend a day at the sale. Instead they can stay back at base and focus on their core activity of selling stock. All 7 of our dedicated CV centres now offer this service. CV Live has been instrumental in opening up the audience for every van we offer. An average of 21 incremental buyers have logged onto each CV Live sale we have held in 2008. A growing number of traditional car buyers, in addition to our CV buyers, are using CV Live to buy “lifestyle” vehicles to fulfil orders. Vans with rare factory options truly enjoy even greater levels of interest from within our entire UK buyer base.”