“I’ve seen how mistreatment of vehicles can lead to a significant loss in value at turn-in. … It’s not just about how the vehicle is used, but how well it’s treated throughout its life in the fleet.” — Debbie Struna, national account manager for Fleet Street USA.
When you’re ready to de-fleet a vehicle, you might spend some time reconditioning it to make it more attractive to prospective buyers. But that’s not the only way to achieve the highest resale value.
“As a fleet remarketer, I’ve seen how mistreatment of vehicles can lead to a significant loss in value at turn-in. From curb rash on wheels to minor dents and scratches, seemingly small issues can accumulate, diminishing the resale potential of fleet vehicles,” explained Debbie Struna, national account manager for Fleet Street USA.
“Taking proactive steps to maintain vehicle condition is key to maximizing resale value. It’s not just about how the vehicle is used, but how well it’s treated throughout its life in the fleet.”
If drivers can affect resale value, how do you motivate them to take good care of their vehicles? Fleet managers and remarketing experts offer these five strategies.
1. Set Expectations, Establish Guidelines
For drivers need to understand what “proper care” means, it’s important to set expectations from day one.
Nancy Murray, senior manager of general services & travel for Agfa, conducts in-person onboarding for new hires to review their travel systems and tell them what they’ll need to do to maintain their vehicle.
“Setting expectations is probably the most important step to take with drivers,” she said. “Tell them what you expect them to do, then give them the tools to do it.”
Holly Vollant, remarketing manager for Holman, recommends establishing guidelines for acceptable vehicle use that address behaviors like smoking, eating, drinking, and bringing pets in the vehicle.
“While many of these scenarios may seem like common sense, it is important to clearly outline expectations and behaviors that are prohibited,” she said. “For example, a lingering odor of cigarettes or stains from food or pets will severely diminish the vehicle’s resale value.”
2. Provide Maintenance Schedules
As fleet managers well know, consistent preventive maintenance is critical for keeping the mechanical parts of a vehicle in working order. While drivers may also know this, they may not be as motivated to get their vehicles serviced on time — or they simply might not be aware of the right intervals for their company vehicle.
For these reasons, giving drivers maintenance schedules to adhere to is one of the best things fleets can do to increase resale value. In addition to including maintenance requirements, your fleet policy should also include the consequences for not following PM schedules.
“Drivers should be trained on the importance of these PM services as well as the important role they play in maintaining their vehicle,” Vollant said.
Vollant added that fleet drivers should receive notifications via email or text to remind them to have their vehicles serviced. “You should not rely solely on in-car alerts, as these may not always align with your company’s maintenance parameters.”
Vollant also recommends including information on preferred maintenance vendors and the parameters for damage reporting in the policy.
“Damage, even if minor, or any change to vehicle condition should be reported and addressed as soon as possible,” she said.
Beth Cooley, CAFM, director of the Office of Fleet Management Services for the Virginia Department of General Services, said the state’s approved maintenance vendors play an important role in helping her department stay on top of vehicle condition.
The department’s policy requires preventive maintenance service every six months or 6,000 miles from a third party other than the driver or the work division. “Because of our relationship with vendors, the technicians are making observations and notifying us if additional work, like interior condition or bodywork, is needed,” she said.
If drivers are ever in doubt about how they should maintain their vehicles, Murray gives them this overarching guideline: “Treat your vehicles as if they’re your own.”
3. Sell Cars to Drivers
One way to help drivers treat vehicles like their own is by offering an employee purchase program.
“Offer drivers the option to buy their vehicle at 15% off retail value when the vehicle is remarketed by the company,” recommends Jason Rascoe, purchasing and fleet manager for Rose Pest Solutions. “This will influence better maintenance and care for vehicles throughout the company’s usage span.”
Murray employs this strategy for her fleet.
“A good number of my drivers have the ability to purchase their car when it comes off lease, so they are looking ahead and saying, ‘My kid is going to get their license, I may want to buy this one for them.’ Purchasing their vehicle upon replacement is an incentive to maintain the vehicle — and they do take care of it,” she said.
4. Monitor Vehicle Condition
While many drivers will take maintenance and acceptable use policies seriously, monitoring vehicle condition is a good way to identify those who don’t and take the necessary action.
Murray’s method of keeping track of vehicle condition is emailing drivers and asking them to submit photos of their vehicles once per year. She requests six photos: four of the exterior and two of the interior. Each driver’s manager also sees these photos and is asked to include vehicle condition in the employee’s performance review.
Murray or her managers often don’t get the chance to see the vehicle before it’s de-fleeted.
“I want to see what the inside of your car looks like, especially if you’re driving customers around in it,” she said. “It also reminds drivers I’m looking at their vehicles and to keep that in the back of their heads as they’re going through their day, which reinforces the fleet policy.”
In instances where more than one driver may operate a vehicle, like pool vehicles, Vollant recommends completing a condition report that includes vehicle photos each time a new driver takes the wheel.
“Any damage or change in vehicle condition should be reported as soon as possible,” she said. “When feasible, routine pre-trip inspections should be performed to help ensure minor issues are addressed before they have the chance to balloon into something bigger.”
Nancy Murray of Agfa has drivers submit photos once a year to document any issues and keep vehicle condition top of mind. Each driver’s manager sees the photos and includes vehicle condition in the employee’s performance review.
Source: Nancy Murray, Agfa
5. Encourage Safe Driving
The way drivers operate a vehicle can have a major impact on its condition, but those behaviors can be difficult to detect.
Telematics can bring aggressive driving to the surface before a mechanical breakdown or a crash.
“Fleet managers should monitor and train drivers on proper driving habits to mitigate high-risk behaviors such as speeding, harsh braking, and rapid acceleration,” Vollant said.
“These aggressive driving habits not only put your drivers at greater risk of being in an accident, but they also increase the wear-and-tear on fleet vehicles.”
Murray brought up other behaviors to monitor, like avoiding running into road debris, watching out for potholes, and parking in well-lit areas.
“You have to stress both sides,” Murray said. “Yes, it’s good for the company that you maintain this asset. But when you maintain this asset, it will also be safe for you to drive it.”
