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If your business is to be profitable, it will need to be able to manage and minimise its costs. Certain assets, like vehicles, impose a cost in the form of maintenance. And if you’re running an entire fleet of vehicles, then the cost of this maintenance can multiply.
Anything you can do to lower the cost of looking after your vehicles is therefore worthwhile. But exactly which actions are more effective in driving down maintenance costs? Let’s consider a few.
Preventative Maintenance
The most effective kind of maintenance, in most cases, is the pre-emptive kind. If a vehicle is taken in for a regular service, then problems are more likely to be identified while they are just developing – and before they have actually influenced the way that the vehicle responds to the driver. By investing in this preventative maintenance, ideally with the help of a rigid schedule, the cost of a sizeable repair bill can often be avoided, further down the line.
Technology to Track Vehicle Performance
In some cases, a clue as to the vehicle’s condition and performance can be obtained without a mechanic actually looking at the vehicle at all. Telematic data can be used to monitor how the vehicle responds to acceleration and braking – allowing problems to be identified instantly.
Technology can also be employed in other ways. Digital records of past services, and automatic lane assist and braking, can help to drive down the cost of overseeing the fleet, and the rate at which accidents are suffered.
Ensuring Adequate Insurance Coverage
Of course, even if you are monitoring your vehicles stringently, there’s still a chance that something will go awry. This is where insurance comes in. Third-party insurance is a requirement for all vehicles being driven on public roads. But for companies, vehicle repair insurance makes more sense – it will allow your fleet a predictable budget for repair work, allowing you to make decisions with less uncertainty. If you’re running a very large fleet, then you might also be able to benefit from economies of scale when it comes to your insurance costs.
Evaluating Long-Term Fleet Costs
Running a fleet involves paying for repairs, fuel, and insurance. Only when all of these costs are factored in can you budget for the long term. Running a fleet can be expensive – and so its vital that costs are forecasted as accurately as possible.
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