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Firms Pay the Price for Driver Complacency
Company car misfuelling, windscreen damage, illegal tyres and vehicle downtime are the major cost burdens revealed by the study, which highlights the need for firms need to work harder to tackle unnecessary costs hitting the bottom line.
With the weather due to take a turn for the worse in the months ahead, firms will be interested to learn that the average cost of a windscreen repair is even more than pumping the wrong fuel into the vehicle.
Lex Autolease’s research shows that it costs, on average, £435 to replace a windscreen against £341 to correct a misfuelling error. In contrast, drivers spotting a window chip or crack early on could save their firm money with the average repair costing only £68.
Tyres too, are a major business headache with almost one in three (29%) vehicles running on illegal tyres that needed to be replaced immediately. This, combined with other general repair and maintenance jobs, means that the average company car is off the road for almost seven days during its rental period.
Steve Osborne, Head of Fleet Management at Lex Autolease, comments: “These are common, but very preventable driver error and maintenance issues that can either be eradicated or minimised in terms of the cost burden.
“Company cars are one of the most popular employee benefits, but it’s important that drivers don’t abuse the privilege and shift unnecessary costs onto their employer due to lack of concentration or absent mindedness.
“Firms should encourage drivers to treat their company car like their own property. Some of our customers disclose their repair bills to drivers to demonstrate the importance of looking after their car to ensure it spends more time on the road than in the garage.”
For further information, contact the Balance team at Lex Autolease on: 0800 085 4128 or download the Cost Best Practice Guide from: www.ltsba.co.uk/cost
