5 Areas to Research When Buying Cars for a Company Fleet

Choosing the right vehicles for your company’s fleet is a highly important financial decision. At the same time, it is a difficult decision and one that requires careful research. As a result, we would like to answer some common questions surrounding company fleet vehicle purchases.

Hopefully, some of your questions will be answered as we delve into 5 areas to research when buying cars for a company fleet.

1- Tax Planning

The first reason on our list is an often-overlooked element in fleet vehicle purchases: tax planning. The main goal of most businesses is to maximize profits. The maximization of profits often comes with careful consideration of how taxes play their role in accomplishing this end.

Tax preparation is not the same as tax planning. Tax preparation involves preparing taxes after tax liabilities have already been incurred. Tax planning is a proactive approach to reduce tax liability throughout the year and to help business owners plan for retirement.

When it comes to the purchase of a company fleet (making many fixed-asset purchases at once), it may be beneficial to choose the timing of purchases wisely. In recent tax years, it has been more advantageous for companies to make most of their fixed asset purchases (such as vehicles) in January through September for depreciation purposes.

2- Operational Use

What will you be using your vehicle for? This question is an important one. It may seem obvious enough, but you should not be looking at sports cars if you need a vehicle with towing capacity. On the other hand, if you need a vehicle with many seats, you will want to spend time researching twelve- or fifteen-passenger vans.

If you need to haul a lot of equipment, you will want to research the differences between cargo vans and trucks. If you do not need the carrying capacity of a cargo van or truck, perhaps you would benefit from researching the trunk sizes of various cars.

3- Longevity

Fleet vehicles can take a beating. Unfortunately, fleet vehicles may not get taken care of as well as personal vehicles. Not only that, but they often get driven a lot. They can incur many miles in a short amount of time. Such an occurrence is something to plan for.

As stated earlier, the main goal of many businesses is to maximize profits. When expenses are high, profits take a hit. Thus, investing in fleet vehicles that will last is highly important.

4- Fuel Efficiency

Since fleet vehicles are used frequently, it is important to consider the gas mileage of vehicles before making a purchase. Some vehicles are gas guzzlers, but they may be strong and able to perform the work needed. However, through the advancement of technology, many of the stronger vehicles have been optimized for highway driving to save on fuel.

5- Employee Satisfaction

Finally, it could also be important to think about the types of vehicles that would make employees happy. While cutting costs can be important, maintaining morale and satisfaction within a company is also crucial. Thus, when purchasing a company fleet, you may want to ask some questions to those who will be driving them.