Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Vehicle for Your Business
If you own a business, why not buy a vehicle for it? You can write some of the expenses related to buying a vehicle off on your taxes, so owning a vehicle is a great way to use as much of your money as you can before paying it to the Australian Taxation Office.
However, before buying a vehicle for your business, there are a few things that you need to know. This post plans to tell you what they are, explaining some of the key factors to consider when choosing a vehicle for your business.
Find a Reliable Car Manufacturer
The first thing to do if you want to buy a new car for your business is to try and find the most reliable car manufacturer you can actually buy a car from. A lot of people make the mistake of rushing the selection process, but you mustn’t. Make sure that the car you ultimately buy is manufactured by a company that’s committed to delivering the highest quality vehicles they can.
A good way to determine a car manufacturer’s commitment to excellence is to take a look at what people are saying about them on car forums and magazines. Once you have found a reliable manufacturer, you can go ahead and start looking for dealerships to physically visit and buy cars from. Also take time to research specific makes and models, as some manufacturers have certain cars that are better than others.
Look for Approved Dealerships
Finding a dealer to work with is a lot easier than a car manufacturer. The main thing you need to ensure is that the dealer you ultimately settle for is one who’s approved, meaning they are partnered with the company whose cars they are selling. An example is the dealership that’s offering this VW Golf for sale in Brisbane, as they are an official partner of Volkswagen.
The reason you should look for approved dealerships is that they offer much more attractive purchase packages, i.e., free petrol, lengthy warranty periods, and free returns for up to 30 days from the date of purchase.
An approved dealership will also be able to repair your car for you in-house, saving you the hassle of having to go to a private dealer’s personal mechanic if you have to use your warranty. Repairs should always be made by manufacturer garages.
Consider the Car’s Professionality
If you are buying a car for work, it needs to look the part. If you are a landscaper, you need a truck that screams professionalism. If, on the other hand, you work mainly in offices and spend most of your time dressed formally, you need a car that’s a reflection of the type of business that you do, i.e., a luxury car or a saloon of some kind.
Most manufacturers have saloon cars suited to businesspeople, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one, no matter who you’re buying a car from, be it Volkswagen or BMW. If you are unsure if a car is professional or not, speak to a dealer. They will be able to properly advise you and help you find the car that’s the right fit for you.
Make Sure to Insure the Vehicle
Once you have purchased a vehicle, you need to make sure that you get a proper insurance policy. There are insurance plans made for business vehicles. The best way to find out which one’s right for you is to get in touch with a car insurance company and ask them for their support. Alternatively, you could use a comparison site.
A comparison site will weigh the pros and cons of many different policies, helping you to figure out which one is right for you. If you plan on using a comparison site, try to use one that does not accept sponsorships. Sponsorships mean that the information given in ranking guides is biased.
If an insurance company sponsors a review site, the review site will usually give overwhelmingly positive reviews, even if they aren’t warranted. Validate the authenticity of the guide sites you use by reading their reviews to see if customers have anything negative to say about them or think they are biased.
Instruct Employees to Drive Well
The next thing you need to think about is the way that your work vehicles are driven. Your main priority should be to make sure that employees drive safely at all times. Even if you have an insurance policy, you will still have to foot the bill for any damages caused, since your premiums will go up. Make sure that you only let the most experienced drivers use work vehicles.
Some companies institute a policy forbidding employees who’ve had licenses for less than a certain amount of time from driving work cars. A good way to make sure that employees don’t drive recklessly is to fit dash cameras inside work vehicles.
Dash cameras can be used to monitor employee driving and behavior. It also allows you to make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to, preventing them from being able to make personal trips or use your work cars for errands.
Look for Gadgets and Features
Finally, try to find a car that has lots of gadgets and features. Modern cars typically have a lot more gadgets than older ones do. However, you can get better deals on older cars than you can on newer ones. If your budget does not extend to the cost of a new car, you may want to consider buying one on finance.
Finance is when you break the cost of a car purchase down into monthly installments. Interest is charged on top of car finance, though. You should therefore only consider it if you actually have enough money to be able to afford to make repayments (and you aren’t getting a bad interest rate). You will need to put a deposit down if you are buying a car on finance.
Buying a new car can be very exciting. It can also be stressful if you have never had to before. You can use the guidance given here to get a better understanding of how to approach a new work car purchase. Read each point and incorporate this post’s guidance into your strategy toward picking up a new vehicle.
