Buying and managing a fleet of vehicles for your business is a little bit more complicated than just one or two vehicles. With this in mind, it’s essential to understand and make informed decisions in several key areas to make sure you’re getting the most when procuring and managing your fleet.
Are you buying all the vehicles at once?
Are you looking to purchase a whole fleet at once or are you looking to add to your existing vehicles? If you are buying a whole fleet, it’s very likely your going to need an asset finance provider or loan from a commercial bank/entity to finance the purchase. This will usually allow you to obtain a decent discount from the supplier and for a fleet of vehicles that suit your particular needs (unless your able / it makes sense to use retained funds to make the purchase).
Be mindful of fleet insurance
Are you aware that one of the most significant cost advantages of having a multi-vehicle fleet is that you can usually get a significant discount on insurance over buying individual vehicle insurance policies by purchasing a fleet insurance policy (you might also consider business van insurance).
You can also often make life easier by having these policies be for any driver within specific parameters, for example, the drivers need to be at least a certain age and have fewer than a certain level of penalty points.
Financing a fleet
If you are buying many vehicles, it may not always be possible to buy them all up front and so looking at financing them is a good idea. It’s straightforward these days to compare car loans online, or you can go direct to insurers to find deals.
Are you going to place company signs on the vehicles?
One way of taking advantage of having a fleet of vehicles is to be sure that you have the company details plastered all over your cars and vans. This way, as your vehicles are doing their work, then you can be sure to be getting some free advertising. It’s very simple to get done and compared to the years of promotion you will receive compared to outlay will worth it. Be sure to not put too much info on the signs though or it could become confusing as many people will only see the vehicle for a matter of moments.
How are you planning to look after the fleet?
Fleet maintenance is essential. Any breakdowns or issues will mean costly time off the road, with staff being stuck and costing you money when other work could be getting done. It is crucial that you have a system in place for regular vehicle maintenance; there are even schemes where you can pay to have all of your servicing and maintenance taken care of.
It’s also essential to make sure that employees have a system for checking the vehicle they are driving and are obliged to report any issues promptly to keep maintence costs down.
