HERE AT NICK MURRAY ACCESS PLATFORMS WE OFFER THE BEST CHOICE OF VEHICLE MOUNTED PLATFORMS AS WELL AS GREAT SERVICE.  

Driving licences 
 
Many MEWP operating firms who want to buy a used platform face the same problem. You want a 3.5T MEWP for your younger drivers who don’t have the driving licence that older (pre 1997 car licence holders) have. Us older drivers, we can drive up to 7.5T, the younger drivers simply can’t unless they take a different test - and that costs money. Usually your money.  
 
This has led to a shortage of 3.5T van mounts on the used market, with everybody chasing the same MEWPs, and firms reluctant to release them as they need them for their younger drivers. Every year, the problem gets worse, as not only are there fewer of “us” older drivers and more of “them” each year, but the older guys are getting promoted to office jobs or foreman positions, and are therefore less likely to be out on the tools. 
 
The increase in demand for used 3.5T van mounts over the demand for used 5T van-mounts means two things – the used 3.5T units, due to supply and demand, are rising in value much faster than the 5T units. Choose a used 5T unit and you’ll get a bigger van, more payload, wider choice of machines and a bigger platform. But importantly, you’ll get all of those benefits, and a LOWER price to boot. 
 
For example : A 3.5T van mount that costs £49,000+VAT brand new will be nearly impossible to find on the used market. It’ll have limited payload, limited interior space, a restricted height of platform, and the chances of finding a 5 year old with 50,000 miles on it are slim to none. An equivalent 5T unit with larger payload (4 or more times larger!) and a larger lift, more interior space in the van, and costing £60,000+VAT brand new will, after a few years and a few miles, cost about £16-17,000+VAT - and the choice on the used market will be plentiful. You’ll be able to pick from a wider choice of vehicles at a range of mileages. And given that MEWPs are tacho exempt and ‘O’ licence exempt, they won’t give you the same headaches that switching to a “normal” 5T van will give you. PLUS – don’t forget, you’ll have saved a few grand over the equivalent (and pretty much non-existent) used 3.5T unit so you can pay for your younger drivers to take the 7.5T test and STILL be in profit. Add in what you save from being able to off-hire the 3.5T unit you may be renting now, and the savings really begin to mount up. 
 
That’ll give you a workforce you’ve invested in (an employment contract that claws back training costs if they leave within a year is pretty standard stuff nowadays) a sizeable van you can actually carry stuff in (many 3.5T Transits have 250KG of payload after driver, 1 skinny passenger and fuel – stick a chunky third person in and some light racking and you’ve pretty much hit 3500KG – those driver and passenger weights are predicated on 75KG too, and we all know that not every worker is under 12 stone these days) so my advice, for what it’s worth, is to invest in driver training and reap the rewards in a bigger, better, cheaper, higher reaching MEWP that’ll pay dividends in terms of usability and cost effectiveness. What you pay in training is easily returned to you in how much less the 5T MEWP will cost you. 
 
Think big, buy cheaper, invest in training, and reap the rewards. Driver training can be had from £800+VAT each, you’ll get a nice warm feeling inside from investing in your staff, and you’ll be able to steal a march on the competition, all of whom are queueing up and waiting for the very rare 3.5T van mounts that are seldom available. 
 
Think about it. 
 
Another option is to Contract Hire the very best Brand New 3.5T machines from us for less than £200+VAT per week. 
We welcome you to come and visit us to see the platforms we have for sale and to discuss your requirements, and you can be given a demonstration of the MEWP you're interested in by an IPAF trained Demonstrator.  
 
Please call in advance to avoid coming on a day when the MEWP you're interested in is not available on site. Alternatively you can order online and have your MEWP delivered to your premises, or directly to a work site. 
 
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