If demand stays at current levels,
then it could be tempting to think this disparity will be of little
consequence. But what if supply and demand become unbalanced, or
the economy takes another turn for the worse? Hoping for the best
is not a strategy, but addressing the five basic, but vital
elements of vehicle remarketing will give any seller a head
start.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Condition: Some
minor damage at the end of a fleet contract is perfectly
acceptable. What is not acceptable is in-service damage that is not
reported by the driver and deteriorates over time. What can
you do? Make it part of the driver’s duties to report any
damage in service. Why not introduce a mid-lease/mid-service
inspection by a third party?
History: One of the
reasons buyers seek out fleet cars is they generally come to market
with a good history – one owner in the log book and a fully stamped
service book. All this counts for nothing, of course, if the
documents are not present with the vehicle at the time of sale.
What can you do? Use your administrative controls
to ensure vehicles are properly maintained. BCA’s research
indicated that – on average – up to 10 percent of documents are
likely to be missing compared to the known live fleet and a similar
percentage of documents would be mismatched. Up to 50 percent of
documents are likely to contain minor errors.
Age: According to
some commentators, changes in the registration plate have blurred
the age issue because fewer motorists seem to understand the
system. That aside, age should be commensurate with mileage, so
three years/60,000 looks right, but one year and 40,000 miles looks
wrong. What can you do? Compliance to your fleet
policy must be adhered to and this will ensure vehicles come out of
service in good time.
Mileage: Motorists
still think mileage matters. In fact it is usage that matters more.
Generally the lower the mileage for the year the better in
remarketing terms. What can you do? For leased
vehicles, ensure drivers face a penalty if they are returned over
the mileage in the contract. Also be aware that bigger cars carry
high mileage much better – a three-year old supermini looks
high-mileage at 60,000, whereas it feels just right for a
upper-medium sector car at the same age.
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By GlobalDataPreparation: Dirty,
unprepared cars are a missed profit opportunity for sellers.
What can you do? Make your used vehicles look like
new. If there is damage to body and paint, then cold metal dent
removal and localised paint repairs may be the cheapest and
quickest option.
Tony
Gannon, communications director at BCA
Fleet vehicles: residual
values
|
1 year old |
2 year old |
3 year old |
||||
|
Aug 09 (£) |
Sep 09 (£) |
Aug 09 (£) |
Sep 09 (£) |
Aug 09 (£) |
Sep 09 (£) |
|
|
Ford: New |
8,000 |
8,750 |
5,200 |
7,000 |
4,000 |
4,750 |
|
Mondeo 1.6 Zetec/1.8 LX 5dr A/C |
9,400 |
10,000 |
4,800 |
7,500 |
3,750 |
3,750 |
|
Galaxy 2.0 Zetec |
12,000 |
12,750 |
9,600 |
10,000 |
7,300 |
7,600 |
|
Land |
23,500 |
26,500 |
20,000 |
21,750 |
16,500 |
18,000 |
|
Vauxhall: |
6,300 |
7,000 |
4,600 |
5,400 |
3,600 |
4,250 |
|
Astra 1.6 Club 5dr |
6,600 |
7,400 |
4,800 |
6,000 |
3,750 |
4,400 |
|
Vectra 1.8 Design |
6,800 |
7,800 |
5,250 |
6,000 |
4,000 |
4,500 |
|
Citreön: |
7,000 |
7,600 |
5,750 |
6,000 |
4,400 |
4,750 |
|
Peugeot: |
5,800 |
6,600 |
4,700 |
5,300 |
3,600 |
4,000 |
|
407 1.8S Multimedia/407 S 1.8 |
6,000 |
6,800 |
5,000 |
5,400 |
3,600 |
3,800 |
|
BMW: New |
16,800 |
18,000 |
12,500 |
14,000 |
10,600 |
11,500 |
|
Mercedes: |
16,700 |
17,500 |
10,400 |
14,000 |
8,750 |
9,750 |
|
Audi: A4 |
11,600 |
13,400 |
9,600 |
10,500 |
7,600 |
8,000 |
|
Source: BCA |
||||||
