DOES YOUR BUSINESS RELY ON CARS OR TRUCKS TO SERVICE YOUR CUSTOMER?

Thousands of small and large businesses world wide have fleets which are used to provide a service. If one of these vehicles goes out of commission, it could cost your business thousands of dollars to get back on the road. More than that, the lost revenue could reach well into the tens of thousands depending on how long the truck is out for. Granted, you may have back up trucks waiting to catch the slack, but then again you may not.

Did you know most major repair costs could be avoided with a strict maintenance program?

What about the costs of the vehicle itself?

You buy a truck, maybe it’s new, maybe it’s used…either way the vehicle is pretty good condition when you make the purchase. After a few years, the truck has been pretty good to you, but the mileage is starting to get pretty high, the seats are worn, the body has a few dents and dings. What do you with it? In most cases, you’re going to try to sell the car or truck to get some of your money back out of it. After a few years of abuse, it can’t be worth much, right?!

Did you know you keeping accurate records of vehicle maintenance can raise the value by thousands of dollars?

Would it help if you could sell or trade your well used fleet vehicle for a few thousand dollars more? Of course it would.

In an effort to help small business owners to increase their revenue and save costs, I have created three service plan options. Below I’ll share with you what comes with each level of service and the benefits of each items. Additionally, not all fleets will have the same needs. Some companies run their vehicles a little bit and some companies drive their vehicles A LOT.

***PRICING IS PER VEHICLE WITH DISCOUNTS ON LARGER FLEETS***

Let’s talk about the features of each package and how each will benefit your fleet.

Our Membership and Membership Plus packages both come with all your necessary oil changes, this is our starting point for all fleet vehicles and is based on the need for simplicity in vehicle care. The national average is 15,000 miles so we schedule your oil changes to accommodate.

At manufacturer recommended intervals, you can rest assured that your car or truck will get an oil change. **There are very few exceptions to this, for example one customer drives 3,000 miles  week, this will require a custom plan.

Both levels of service come with Monthly Vehicle Inspections. Diesels and other work vehicles can leak, knock, smoke, or choke. Each month, a technician will come onsite to perform a vehicle health check ensuring everything is in proper order and that means you save money… lots. Your vehicle’s inspection will cover brakes, belts, hoses, fluid levels, fluid quality, leaks, filters, driveability, lights, wiring, drips, drops, and more. If necessary, we can even accommodate DOT inspections.

Both of our monthly fleet service packages cover tire inspections. Many fleet vehicles invest in excess of $800.00 of tires alone. We want that $800.00 to last you as long as possible, and the only way to do that is to keep your eye on it. No matter how many times you tell your drivers to look after their vehicle, I can assure you, they don’t. Not unless you have the proper systems in place to ensure that they do. Even still how can you be sure they are thorough with their inspections? A flat tire can cost you money on lost jobs, pay roll for wasted time, and of course new tires. Knowing your tires have a problem is one thing, finding the problem is another thing, that’s why we have included the next service item as well.

Tire rotation. After we’ve inspected your tires for irregular wear patterns, we will rotate your tires as needed. If there are no problems with tire wear or conditions, the rotations will happen according to manufacture recommendations.

Front end shakedown and suspension inspections, included in Both levels of service. Not only can suspension problems be unsafe, but they can contribute to irregular or excessive tire wear. Suspension and front end issues are extremely common with heavily used vehicles and work trucks. The loads being carried by these trucks and the rough terrain encountered can and does contribute to these problems.

Everything beyond this point is included with Membership Plus service plans ONLY!

All fluids, YES, that’s right, all of them. Your vehicle requires regular servicing of all the fluids, not just the engine oil, there is fluid in the radiator, transmission, differentials, transfer case, power steering and your brakes. These fluid changes are included, parts and labor.

 Wiper blade replacement. This is a major convenience item. All too often we wait until our wiper blades are hanging on by a thread, literally. With both our silver and diamond plans, your fleet vehicle will receive new wiper blades as needed.

1 Complimentary service call per month. Outside of your normal service plan, you will eventually find a need for diagnosis or repair. When you are a part of the silver or diamond service plans, you will receive a complimentary service call to address a problem with one of your vehicles. If you have 5 vehicles, you will get 5 service calls. Each of the other service items are specific to one fleet vehicle, these service calls however can be applied to any of the vehicles in your fleet. If for instance you have one truck that’s always giving you trouble, we can apply unused service calls to that troublesome truck.

Fluid top offs. We all know diesels can be leak buckets. During monthly health checks, low fluids are topped off, noted, and documented so we know whether that costly repair is truly necessary or if adding a quart once a month can save you thousands.

Carfax documentation on all maintenance and repairs. The single most valuable digital asset for your fleet vehicles. When it comes time to sell, trade, or settle an insurance claim, every detail of your fleets service records are interfaced with Carfax, meaning the potential buyer will be more inclined to purchase your vehicle, even for a higher price!

Full synthetic oil changes. Your vehicles are held to a higher standard and should be treated as such. The use of fully synthetic oil with each oil change will allow for better overall engine performance. Additionally your vehicles will be able to travel longer distances between each service. This is Performed by request only.

Freon top offs. It’s true, your fleet vehicle will travel just fine without the air conditioner. If however you want your employees to like you, it’s important that you keep their comfort in mind. In the event that your fleet vehicle isn’t blowing cold air, we may need to top of the freon. Also, it’s important to keep your A/C system charged to prevent larger more costly repairs.

Trailer troubleshooting. It’s not uncommon that your fleet may use trailers to move equipment and tools. The last thing you need is your trailer to lose a tire or have the wiring go bad. Both of these will cost your company money, so I decided to include troubleshooting of trailers and select equipment in this Membership Plus level service program.

All external filters. (parts and service included) AS A GOLDEN RULE, fuel filters must be changed every 15 thousand miles or once per year. By not remembering to perform this service, you could be costing yourself a sets of injectors. If you run a diesel fleet, I’m sure you’re aware that this can cost upwards of 4 to 5 thousand dollars. Leave a fuel filter in past due and you take a good chance at hurting or destroying a set of injectors. There are a lot more filters under your hood, even the Allison transmission has an external filter which requires replacement, that standard service is included.

Air filter replacement. (parts and service included) Air filters should be changed every 15 thousand miles, and sometimes a lot more often in dusty, dirty environments. Some diesels air filters cost upwards of $75 dollars!! Replacing your air filter is included.

Fleet 101. Under the Membership Plus level, you are a VIP, this is where our business and your business become one, every quarter our team looks at various metrics as they pertain to your fleet vehicles. From this data adjustments can be made and put big bucks back in the bank.

Some of this data may include abnormal repair intervals, premature wear, trailer load distribution analysis, fuel economy diagnostics, vehicle lifetime value (which is where we analyze the average repair costs, condition of vehicle, future repair insights, and current market value of your vehicle). From this data we can coach you or your fleet manager on getting the most out of your vehicles. For example, you have one truck in particular needing a lot of attention to tire wear patterns. Using the data we collect during inspections and services, we are able to tell you that your driver is being rough on your vehicles and could pose a risk to your company. This is just one example out of many of the things we can expose from our metrics.

Lastly when it comes time to for major repair, we will be able to advise you on the risk of repairing your vehicle vs. purchasing a new or Diesel David Inc. certified used vehicle.