Business Strategies for Handling Aging Company Vehicles

Businesses spend a lot of time assessing the right vehicles to add to their fleet. There are decisions on whether or not there is demand, the cost of the vehicle, if it’s financially worth it, and the reason why they need to expand their fleet. All decisions are made conscientiously and with the right figures and triggers in place to warrant such a decision, as is appropriate.

But what can often be overlooked, especially for newer fleets or smaller businesses, is what happens to aging vehicles. Now, if you’re leasing, then this won’t be as much of a problem. But if you own your fleet, knowing what to do when they become older and start reaching end-of-life capacity means you can reduce waste and excess for your business and ensure your fleet still works for you.

Let’s take a look at some strategies you can put in place for aging vehicles.

Set a Mileage or Cut-Off Repair Cost Point

One of the fastest ways companies lose money in their fleets is by running vehicles that are constantly off the road for repairs or have exceeded the recommended mileage for the vehicle.

And while it seems logical to keep it on the road while it’s still moving, at some point, the cost of keeping it on the road will exceed its value.

What you need to do is step back and look for common patterns in repairs or maintenance. How often are certain things being repaired or replaced? How often is the vehicle off the road or experiencing breakdowns?

From here, you can put triggers in place that render a vehicle past its functional point and save you money. It might be hitting a certain mileage, or having a part replaced more than once, or being off the road for a certain number of days. Exactly what the trigger is is up to you, but find a reasonable one, set it, and commit.

Measure Downtime, Not Just Repair Bills

Some vehicles will automatically have more costly repair bills. Does this mean they’re failing or at the end of life? Not necessarily. You might find the parts are just more expensive, or they need expert skills you don’t have on-site or use for your other vehicles.

Looking at repair bills only gives you part of the picture, so look at them combined with downtime for more accurate data. How long are certain vehicles off the road in a 3-month period or 6 months? Is the downtime planned or unplanned, as this matters too. Aging vehicles might experience more frequent unplanned time and repairs over newer ones, just starting to succumb to wear and tear.

Audit Vehicles That Rarely Leave

All fleets contain vehicles that don’t really pull their weight. They might be backup units or now are surplus to requirements. But when they’re sitting there in your lot, they’re costing money, and if you want to handle aging vehicles well, you need to look at these too.

Because while they might not be as heavily relied upon as other vehicles, they will still be aging, and they’ll still need servicing and minor repairs.

Can you swap older vehicles out of rotation and put these in? Are they in good enough condition to keep around? Check it out, ask the questions, and don’t overlook the money just sitting there losing value.

Know Your Disposal Routes

Knowing how to get rid of aging vehicles is as good as knowing when to get rid of them.

This is why it moves from an operational task to an administrative one, and you need to get the right company in to deliver a resolution to end-of-life vehicles and get as much money for it as possible.

You can choose normal resale routes, work with operators that buy old fleet vehicles, es or repurpose or sell to other businesses. You can go to an auction if it still has life left in it and is in good condition. Or if it’s no longer fit for purpose, you can sell to a company like Cars 4 Cash, who buy vehicles of this nature for a fast and easy sale.

Run Scheduled Fleet Reviews

Scheduled fleet reviews are a great way to indicate any vehicles coming up to the end of life or those that aren’t performing as they need to be.

Look at repair records, frequency of utilization, and you want to note driver concerns or complaints about certain vehicles and overall age, mileage, and cost of manual repairs. All of these patterns and the data you collate can allow you to make better decisions on your fleet at regular intervals and plan for the future instead of being held hostage by unexpected breakdowns and vehicles being off the road.