The price was right at Bristol

The Durston Group, due to its relocation, supplied much of the equipment for the Bristol sale, including a selection of clean muckshifting, compaction plant and commercial vehicles. Other vendors joined in the auction with considerable numbers of power tools and other industrial equipment.

Although the sale was not billed as an international event, there were a number of overseas bidders registered and at least half a dozen UK buyers nosing around for foreign interests. Butcher's Will Hancock got the show underway, and dispatched the first 100 lots of mainly builders tools and equipment in the first hour.

Items such as saw benches, small gensets, pumps, pokers, heaters and dehumidifiers, all reached better than expected prices. 'The reason for the demand for this type of kit is because there are so many ex-construction workers going into business on their own,' reported a bidder. There were plenty of lots carrying 'unused' tags. Hancock pointed out that auction houses are not allowed to use the word 'new' since although the particular item may be exactly that, it carries no warranty or guarantee.

Gensets are still commanding good money and Butcher had plenty to offer from a well-used but clean little petrol Honda 3.6kW that went for œ340, to œ3,500 for a similar condition 200kvA Rolls Royce-Oxford Diesels set. Interestingly, a whole rake of Hydrovane, Ingersoll Rand and Consolidated Pneumatic two tool trailer mount compressors, all with low hours - from 600 to a maximum of 2,654 - averaged only œ1,100.

A trio of MBU Schied 1.25m wide DV30 ride on vibratory tandem rollers created a flurry of activity. The first unit, with 704 hours, went for œ4,600, the second, with 923 hours, fetched œ3,800 and the third, with just 100 hours on the clock, was knocked down for œ4,300. Three Case Vibromax 800mm wide W102 ride on tandems with similar hours and in similar condition to the MBU's fetched œ3,700, œ3,200 and œ2,200 respectively.

Moving on to the later lots of earthmoving equipment, it was obvious that perceived quality is more important than hours on the clock and visual condition. For instance, a pair of Kubota minis, a 1987 KH90 and 1988 KH66, both well used, but well maintained were knocked down for œ4,000 and œ6,600 respectively. A surprisingly high price of œ8,750 was achieved for a 1986 Hitachi UH073 in reasonable condition. 'I was prepared to go up to œ7,500 maximum for that, but somebody thought it was worth a lot more,' a Midlands contractor told me.

The Belle of the Ball was a 1990 Case 888 CKB that topped the auction with a very healthy œ18,000. 'Very lucky even though it is in good condition,' said my Midlands advisor. Although there was not too many Cat machines, a tidy 29-year-old 47J D6 with angle blade went for œ8,000, a price I thought was quite handsome considering the condition of the running gear, but was only average, according to another 'advisor'.

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