How would I buy several cars for a fleet?

dynamick

I don't know anything about fleet sales but I've been asked to buy 10 passenger hatchbacks for the company I work for. How do I go about this? Should I go to a dealer or directly to the distributor?

R.O.R

I'm sure Drummerboy08 would be able to help you out here.

Otherwise, just head in to a dealer and you'll get a decent discount for 10 units. Fleet discount as well fo 10 vehicles.

Saab Ed

It really does depend on your buying power. Also do you need to buy or do you need contract hire. Do you need service contracts . Do all the cars need to be the same. Its my line of business so if you want to pm me then I can go through more. Ed

NiSmO

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helimachoptor

NiSmO wrote: »

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Probably their year!!

R.O.R

helimachoptor wrote: »

Probably their year!!

If it's Saabs he's after, then definately their year - if it's Focus or Astra he's after it's not a massive deal, but no-one is going to turn their nose up at that sort of business.

-Chris-

www.mfm.ie
www.leaseplan.ie
http://lombard.ie/lombard/ireland/business_customers/vehicle_management/index.html

I'm sure there are more, others may have more suggestions.

Saab Ed

R.O.R wrote: »

If it's Saabs he's after, then definately their year - if it's Focus or Astra he's after it's not a massive deal, but no-one is going to turn their nose up at that sort of business.

PS I dont sell Saabs. :cool:

07Lapierre

you could also try wwww.avisfleetservices.ie for leasing/fleet management

R.O.R

Saab Ed wrote: »

PS I dont sell Saabs. :cool:

Does anyone anymore?:D

Saab Ed

R.O.R wrote: »

Does anyone anymore?:D

tut tut

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

dooardbhoy

Try Ian in Premier Fleet nice guy and good to deal with

biko

Say that you want 11 for the price of 10, then keep one.

dynamick

AudiChris wrote: »

www.mfm.ie
www.leaseplan.ie
http://lombard.ie/lombard/ireland/business_customers/vehicle_management/index.html

I'm sure there are more, others may have more suggestions.

OK, so are fleet purchases usually done through a leasing company rather than a dealer?

R.O.R

dynamick wrote: »

OK, so are fleet purchases usually done through a leasing company rather than a dealer?

Fleet companies already have very good discounts agreed with manufacturers. One of the above may be willing to buy the cars on your behalf at their rates, keeping a bit for themselves.

If you were to go directly to a dealer it's possible you won't be able to negotiate as good a deal as you would with a fleet company. Although, at the moment manufacturers will take business from wherever they can get it.

tony cochrane

Pm me and I should be able to sort you out or least give you some advice.

-Chris-

dynamick wrote: »

OK, so are fleet purchases usually done through a leasing company rather than a dealer?

As R.O.R says, fleet companies will have their discount pre-agreed. They can also normally operate countrywide.

What I'm saying is that, if you need 10 Audis in Dublin, give someone like me a call (not a plug) and negotiate the pricing and specs for those cars.

If you need 3 Audis, 4 Fords, 1 Merc and 2 Nissans, six of which are for the Dublin HQ and the rest will be spread between the Limerick and Galway sub-offices, then a fleet management company will help you better.

By putting together your fleet proposal and sending it to two or three suppliers you can get the best deal.

-Chris-

dooardbhoy wrote: »

Try Ian in Premier Fleet nice guy and good to deal with

I don't believe he's there anymore, unfortunately.

dynamick

thanks for all the replies and will pm those who asked.

07Lapierre

Leasing companies can get you a better deal as they get more discount off the price of the car. I suggest you talk to, or look at the leasing websites for more info. I deal with Avisfleet Services..

Car-dealer

hi

ive sent you a private message - drop me a line and we can chat about the above!

Drummerboy08

R.O.R wrote: »

I'm sure Drummerboy08 would be able to help you out here.

Otherwise, just head in to a dealer and you'll get a decent discount for 10 units. Fleet discount as well fo 10 vehicles.

How many guys are in Fleet sales in here?! I've never seen people move as fast in here!

If you want the support go to a fleet company, if you just want cars, try dealers too.

Oh, PM sent......:D

R.O.R

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

How many guys are in Fleet sales in here?! I've never seen people move as fast in here!

If you want the support go to a fleet company, if you just want cars, try dealers too.

Oh, PM sent......:D

You's are all sniffing around trying to make some money off the someone just looking for help. You can tell the boys on comission!

PM Not sent - if you want some independant advice from the professional, PM me OP

conlonbmw

You could always contact the Idiot who purchased 600 new cars for the gardai ...... at full price, no discount.

Drummerboy08

R.O.R wrote: »

You's are all sniffing around trying to make some money off the someone just looking for help. You can tell the boys on comission!

PM Not sent - if you want some independant advice from the professional, PM me OP

:rolleyes::D

crosstownk

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

How many guys are in Fleet sales in here?! I've never seen people move as fast in here!

If you want the support go to a fleet company, if you just want cars, try dealers too.

Oh, PM sent......:D

Not surprising - that damn recession out there has folks swarming around the slightest sniff of a sale

Most dealers/fleet providers would kill for an extra 10 sales/registrations in this climate.

OP - I worked in the Fleet game for over 7 years (left it over a year ago) and if you like you can PM me and I'll give you some advice. Compare all the advice you get and make your decision based on that.

Buffman

conlonbmw wrote: »

You could always contact the Idiot who purchased 600 new cars for the gardai ...... at full price, no discount.

They can't accept discounts, in order to remain impartial.
Do you remember all the trouble with the tyre freebies a few years ago.

Drummerboy08

If your buying several of the cars, Look at manufacturers that provide a fleet discount - Ford, Opel, Volvo. If you want a few different cars, then you really are better contacting a fleet management company - saves ringing around to all the dealers.

If you are only thinking of buying the cars straight, have you considered contract hire? Have you looked at maintenance contracts for these cars, or do you want to service them yourself? There is a good bit to think about, the above is the main bulk of it. Feel free to PM me if you want ome advice on it, even if you dont want a price.

Wheresmejumper8

Might be worth trying a lease company called alphabet in the UK. Seems to be the done thing these days!!

bbability

I know its not the cheapest for the ordinary joe soap on a trade in but BelgardFleet are very hard to beat. A friend of mine got a great lease deal on 3 different cars last year. Two of the weren't even under their brand. All in all do your homework because they will all be looking for the work.

galwaytt

tbh, and I wish all ye traders luck :P , but OP, I can't think of any company that actually BUYS fleet cars at all. Most/all, are leased, etc, to include maintenance, etc.

Have you been asked about any BIK issues for the users ?

Just be careful, and make sure someone else, senior - director/manager - in your co is in on the decision - this is a big pot of money, and the wrong decision could see you too close to the door.........

L-M

Jaysus, the only other time i can't think of that you would be offered this much help is if you looked like this


And you had a flat tyre.

Fair play to all the fleet lads lurking around

galwaytt

.......sigh.........I think I'll just stare at this post for a while..........sigh...........

L-M

:pac:

Drummerboy08

I demand you take that photo of my girlfriend down!

*Ah, now i remember that dream i had last night *

dynamick

galwaytt wrote: »

tbh, and I wish all ye traders luck :P , but OP, I can't think of any company that actually BUYS fleet cars at all. Most/all, are leased, etc, to include maintenance, etc.

Sorry, when I said buy I meant long term rent (3 yrs). I can't imagine actually buying cars and taking the risk on depreciation and having the trouble of selling them on later.

Have you been asked about any BIK issues for the users ?

Yes, this has been covered.

I presume it's impossible to contract hire from a UK company as the cars would have to be reregged and VRTd??

The cars will likely be from a single manufacturer so I'm going to contact the distis today.

Drummerboy08

It would be tough to lease cars thru a UK based company - from a finance point of view. A UK finance compnay would not accept Irish banking details, Irish VAT numbers etc. If you have a UK base with bank details for it, then maybe it would work.

I have this problem in reverse - A UK based company with drivers over here but no Irish base is a nightmare to get passed for finance.

The other thing that could be a problem is the maintenance element. If you were taking maintenance contracts with the vehicles - a UK based fleet company would not have accounts set up with irish garages to service cars. I would strongly think about maintenance contracts too - what miles will the car do perannum? The fleet company will often take a loss on maintenance - and remember many have discounted rates with tyre centres and service centres. Most also dont make any profit on a maintenance contract.

R.O.R

dynamick wrote: »

Sorry, when I said buy I meant long term rent (3 yrs). I can't imagine actually buying cars and taking the risk on depreciation and having the trouble of selling them on later.

Yes, this has been covered.

I presume it's impossible to contract hire from a UK company as the cars would have to be reregged and VRTd??

The cars will likely be from a single manufacturer so I'm going to contact the distis today.

What you are looking at is 3 year contract hire without maintenance. No point contacting the distributors, you are best off going to a leasing company and getting figures.

-Chris-

Other than the inability to set up a direct debit etc., I'd be pretty sure you'll have issues with VAT on the leasing costs too.

Also, how will a UK company set a residual on an Irish car - they'll be buying it there, shipping it here, registering it here, then in 3 years they'll have to try and dispose of it here through a trade network they're not familiar with.

I wouldn't bother with the UK tbh. More hassle than it's worth.

R.O.R

AudiChris wrote: »

Other than the inability to set up a direct debit etc., I'd be pretty sure you'll have issues with VAT on the leasing costs too.

Also, how will a UK company set a residual on an Irish car - they'll be buying it there, shipping it here, registering it here, then in 3 years they'll have to try and dispose of it here through a trade network they're not familiar with.

I wouldn't bother with the UK tbh. More hassle than it's worth.

Most of the major UK leasing companies have a tie in with an Irish counterpart so it would end up over here anyway. Can't be done via the UK.

-Chris-

Good point!