FEATURE - The Value of Experience
Like many aspects in life, experience matters. It applies just as much when buying a truck, too. From your own point of view, experience means that buying your second, third, fourth or fifth truck will be handled differently to when you bought your first. And just as your own experience is valuable, so is experience in who you’re buying a truck from.
You’ve probably seen shiny, new dealerships with fresh-faced staff and spotless showrooms that look great, but do they have the experience to understand their own stock, those of rival brands, the industry in general and, more importantly, what you need?
At the other end of the spectrum, there are dealerships that may not have all the gloss and razzle dazzle, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re doing. The old adage of never judging a book by its cover applies here, as a dealer without the best facade may actually have the best content within.
Experienced operators will usually focus on what’s in the yard, rather than how it looks and will be keen to get an understanding of your needs before steering you towards a truck they think is the most suitable. They may sit you down and discuss what you want in detail, or walk you through the stock before making suggestions. A dealer that points you toward one model straight away (usually the one with the biggest profit margin!) and wants you to sign the paperwork ASAP can be a red flag.
That said, experienced dealers aren’t always experts, especially if your own needs are quite niche. But if dealers have been in the business for a long time, it usually means they’ve encountered customers with similar requirements to yours in the past, so can either pinpoint what best suits your needs, or offer valuable advice.
So, how do you pick an experienced operator from a newcomer? Some things are obvious, like the dealership façade, online presence and so on. But you often need to dig a little deeper and the internet has made this so much easier.
If a truck dealership has experience in the field, they’ll be pretty proud of it and say as much in their advertising. Conversely, if a business was only founded a year or so ago, they won’t promote that. New dealers aren’t an instant red flag, but they can be cause for concern. Same goes for address and/or phone contact details that are hard to find on a website. Moreso than any other kind of vehicle, a truck is an “in person” decision and requires direct, person-to-person communication, too, so dealers need more than just an email contact on their website.
When looking to buy - be it a truck or anything else - the default option for many is to go online and, if you can’t find what you want on the first page of google, give up. But logging off and looking at other avenues, like advertising in newspapers and magazines, as well as mail-out flyers, in-store catalogues and even attendance at events (like trade shows, field days and community gatherings), can deliver results. Yes, the internet is essential for any business these days, but it’s not the only choice when it comes to advertising and promotion. Dealers that have a presence beyond the digital world are more likely to be experienced and have an understanding that customers can be found through alternative means.
Experienced operators understand their customers and the best way to reach them, whether it be online, through social media, in print or other avenues. As a sidenote to this, the internet can offer answers to anything these days, but it doesn’t necessarily have the answer for everything. Long-running dealerships would have started out using print advertising, so if they’re still using it today, it shows that it works and is an effective way to reach customers. It also shows they have enough customers who find their stock via print advertising to warrant continuing with it. So, searching print options is another avenue, and potentially a very effective one, when you’re doing research around the best truck dealer for you.
Ultimately, if a truck dealer has been in the game for a decade or more, they’re doing something right (they wouldn’t still be around if they weren’t), so it’s safe to assume they can be trusted. This applies whether they’re selling new trucks or used trucks, but is particularly applicable to the latter. An experienced second-hand dealer will have seen many trucks pass through their yard over the years, so will know which ones users hang onto longer, pointing to greater reliability, while a make or model that passes through the yard frequently can suggest it’s problematic. Same goes for trailers and accessories.
There’s plenty to think about when purchasing a truck, so one of the first areas of research - after working out your budget and financing - is to look for an experienced dealer who’s more likely to understand your needs and supply the truck that best suits.
Maryborough Machinery was founded in 2004, so are on the eve of 20 years in business, but the founders have been selling trucks, trailers, industrial machinery, tractors and farm equipment for even longer.
Family-owned and operated, Maryborough Machinery has vast experience in the field of second-hand vehicle sales. They have a wide range of stock that’s constantly changing, they accept trade-ins, buy used trucks and have vehicles for wrecking, too. While Maryborough Machinery deal exclusively in used vehicles and second-hand trailers, implements, accessories, etc., some stock has been refurbished, so is near-new, but without the new price tag.
