Small business fleets make canny buyers

Small business fleets appear cannier than larger companies when it comes to purchasing their business cars.

Small businesses place a much greater emphasis on what the car’s future value will be.

That’s the finding in the latest annual Used Car Report, the 17th published by leading auction specialist group BCA.

A survey of 230 fleet and business car owners were asked to place a level of importance on future used value. Small businesses scored highest, placing it in the ‘important’ to ‘very important’ category.

“Smaller fleet owners are likely to feel the impact of used vehicle residual values on their bottom line more acutely than their larger counterparts,” the report’s authors noted.

Smaller business fleets were also more adept at selling their used cars more quickly – the majority managing to sell the car within a week.

According to the report, smaller fleets are more likely to sell privately or trade in
their old vehicle for a new car. While selling used company cars through auctions rises much in line with fleet size.