Welcome to Webwatch, a regular series in which we rate places on the web to buy used trucks. This time round, Derbyshire's CRS Trucks goes under the microscope.
Company: CRS Trucks
Address: www.crstrucks.co.uk
Homepage
The quick-loading, uncluttered CRS Trucks website has navigation bars along the top and the left-hand side; use either to find your way around.
To access the main categories in the stock list, there is a third option: click on one of the large images in the centre of the homepage labelled 'rigids', 'tractor units' and 'trailers' (shown below).
The homepage is also where you can find the first of CRS' little extras: sign-up boxes for the dealer's e-mail newsletter and free SMS alert service. The links for these can be found over on the right.
You aren't likely to become too lost while navigating around this website, but should that happen, click on the 'CRS Trucks' logo on the top left of any page to return to the homepage.
Product search
As well as the 'rigids', 'tractor units' and 'trailers' categories flagged up on the homepage, the CRS website has a section devoted to vans, although at the time of writing there were no vans or trailers in stock. The tractor units section is also subdivided by axle configuration, so you can specify a 4x2 or 6x2 unit, for example.
While the rigids section has a nice balance of all the major marques, the tractor units section is dominated by Dafs.
It is not possible to search the stock list by keyword, so if you are in a well-stocked category such as rigids, you will have to scroll through a few pages until you spot what you are looking for.
For each vehicle, the site displays a thumbnail photo, make and model, and - unusually for a dealer website - price (as shown below).
Click on the photo to see a slightly larger image and further details, including date of registration, mileage and full spec.
From this details page, select the 'Click for images' link to see more images of your chosen vehicle taken from a variety of angles.
It has to be said that the CRS website has some of the best in-cab photography Webwatch has yet encountered, with clear shots of the dash and seating (shown below) to help you make that difficult purchasing decision.
Other pages
Some of the other pages on the website, including 'Company History' and 'Staff', are currently blank; this makes the site feel very much like a work in progress.
However, there is a lot of useful information to be found: the 'Finance Info' section, for example, contains a downloadable document on the advantages of different types of finance. Be warned - this is a large document and may take a little time to download if you are using a slower internet connection.
In the 'Find Us' section is a link to a Google map, which shows the location of CRS' retail sales office. Contact details can be found in the deparate 'About Us' part of the site, should you need to find out more about the organisation.
We like
- Great in-cab photography
- Site is easy to navigate
- Useful downloadable documents
We're not sure
- A few pages on the site are blank
- Can't search by keyword
- No trailers in stock
Conclusion
A simple, functional website with a few nice surprises, such as the great in-cab photography, a price listed for every truck, and downloadable documents.
Web rating
Appearance: 6/10
Information: 8/10
Navigation: 7/10
Check out our other recent Webwatches, including:
If you would like your used truck website to be considered for a future Webwatch and appear on this blog as well as in Commercial Motor magazine, please email james.clark@rbi.co.uk
Appearance: 6/10
Information: 8/10
Navigation: 7/10
Check out our other recent Webwatches, including:
If you would like your used truck website to be considered for a future Webwatch and appear on this blog as well as in Commercial Motor magazine, please email james.clark@rbi.co.uk