Your business can only perform as well as your fleet. If there are frequent breakdowns, excessive downtime, or high repair costs, it can significantly impact your bottom line and your company’s overall reputation.
Fortunately, preventative maintenance can help you avoid those issues and keep your fleet operation running smoothly. To help you get started, here’s an in-depth look at how to care for your fleet vehicles mile after mile.
What is a Fleet?
A vehicle fleet refers to a group or collection of vehicles, typically owned or operated by a company or organization. These vehicles are utilized for various purposes such as transportation of goods, delivery services, public transportation, or any other transportation needs specific to the company’s operations.
Fleets can consist of different types of vehicles, including cars, trucks, vans, buses, motorcycles, or even specialized vehicles tailored to specific industries like construction or emergency services. The size of a fleet can vary significantly, ranging from a small number of vehicles to hundreds or even thousands, depending on the scale and requirements of the business.
Fleets can be seen across various industries, including transportation and logistics, delivery services, public transportation agencies, rental car companies, construction firms, and government entities, among others.
By effectively managing their fleets, organizations can enhance efficiency, increase customer satisfaction, improve safety standards, and achieve better control over their transportation operations.
Common Fleet Maintenance Services
Preventative fleet maintenance services are usually the same as those recommended for personal vehicles, just done much more frequently. That’s because the mileage on fleet vehicles is likely much higher than your own cars, trucks, and vans. Fleet vehicles may also need more frequent maintenance if they’re used for hauling heavy loads or driving in harsh conditions.
The services your fleet needs depend on your vehicle types and usage. Common types of preventative maintenance for fleets include:
- Oil change
- Tune-up
- Fluid service
- Battery service
- Tire rotations
- Wheel alignments
- Brake pad and rotor replacement
- Air conditioning service
- Replacement of commercial tires
Regular diagnostics is also an important part of preventative fleet maintenance. When a skilled auto technician inspects your fleet vehicles, it’s possible to halt minor issues in their tracks, saving you time and money in the long run.
Why Create a Maintenance Plan for Your Fleet
Every fleet has different needs regarding preventative maintenance and service intervals. However, it’s easy to ensure you’re on the right track by partnering with our team at Whitley Automotive. Our service advisors will help you determine just when to bring your fleet vehicles into the shop for inspections, oil changes, and all the other services they need.
Many benefits will come your way from creating and following your personalized preventative fleet maintenance plan, such as:
Save Money
Timely maintenance helps prevent minor issues from getting worse and resulting in the need for major repairs. Regular service visits help preserve the engine’s life, reduce excessive tire wear, and more. You will not only save money on your auto repair bills but also extend the life of your vehicles, so you can avoid having to replace them prematurely.
Reduce Downtime
Maintenance helps prevent excessive wear and damage to your car’s vital systems, so your vehicles stay on the road much longer between major service visits. The resulting reduction in downtime allows you to keep your operations running smoothly, which helps protect your bottom line.
As a bonus, your drivers won’t have to worry about getting stuck on the side of the road, resulting in higher job satisfaction overall.
Boost Driver Safety
When fleet vehicles stay well-maintained, they’re much safer for drivers to maneuver around town.
The tires provide the optimal amount of grip. The brakes slow and stop the vehicle as expected. And the engine has enough power to get up to speed and go with the traffic flow.
All these things add up to help ensure your drivers’ safe travels through every workday.
Ready to Get Started? Let’s Create Your Fleet Maintenance Plan
Whether your fleet needs a tune-up, inspection, or tire service, our team at Whitley Automotive is here to help. As your leading fleet maintenance shop in Marshville, NC, we offer all the care your vehicles need to run and drive at their best.
When you come to us, we’ll help you get a personalized service plan in place and then work with you to find convenient times for all your maintenance visits. To get started, dial (704) 624-6616 to speak with our team at your convenience. You can also stop by our shop at 7006 East Marshville Blvd., Marshville, NC 28103.
