You may know that you need to buy a company car for an employee, but if that's all you know, don't beat yourself up about it.
After all, there are so many makes and models out there, not to mention amenities for automobiles, making it easy to feel stuck in park long before you start shopping around. And if you're any sort of conscientious employer, you're going to wonder: what do employees want these days, anyway? Power windows and power brakes are probably a given. If you don't realize a cup-holder is crucial, you might as well get out of the game. But beyond that, should you spend $15,000 or $45,000 on the company car? Does it matter what the color is? Or maybe this is too much trouble and you just get your new sales team a few bicycles?
Whatever you decide, it's helpful to remember that there isn't one way to buy a company car. Once you get your arms wrapped the various approaches and focus on a few important facets for your company car, then the car buying process begins to get easier.
Have someone else deal with the company car. If you're only in the market for one or two company cars, then this isn't a cost-effective option for you, but even if you have as few as five or 10 company cars, there's probably a service out there that you could employ, that wouldn't just help you pick out a company car but take care of the maintenance as well.
Talk to someone like Ken Margraff, the vice-president of Interstate Fleet Services in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and suddenly you'll see what issues there are, in buying a company car. "Should you buy or lease your commercial vehicle," wonders Magraff, "and if you're going to have more than one car, should they all be the same make and model? Will employees be jealous if another employee has a better car?"
But there's something else you need to be considering.
From the moment you buy your car, think about selling it. "You want to buy a car that has a good resale value," says Magraff, "because you probably don't want to try and drive the car into the ground. You want to get everything you can out of that car before it starts becoming a financial burden on the company."
If you're able, have your employee help you pick out a car. That's Magraff's suggestion, and it makes a lot of sense. You obviously need to have the parameters -- like your budget -- in stone, but if your staff is able to have some input, it increases the odds of getting a serviceable car that everyone's pleased with. Magraff adds that you can always have an option where your employees are able to purchase some amenities for the car that you don't feel the company should feel obliged to pay for.
Think: amenities. You may, of course, strongly want amenities for your company car. After all, you want your top salespeople, or whomever this is for, happy, and in that case, "driver comfort and productivity are key," says Daniel Gray, a car reviewer for MPGomatic.com, a web site devoted to reviewing and examining mileage-friendly automobiles. "A handful of features can make a big difference in the employee's overall satisfaction with the vehicle."
Gray suggests that anyone who wants to put a premium on comfort for their employees consider getting a car with:
-- Heated seats with lumbar support, "a blessing in colder climates and for those with back pain."
-- Hands-free Bluetooth: "keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road."
-- Power outlets: "two within the driver's reach."
-- iPod integration: "USB is better than a simple input jack."
-- GPS: "a must for folks that travel into uncharted territory."
Gray adds that a factory GPS that comes with the car is expensive, which is why he recommends having two power outlets -- the boss or employee can have their own GPS device. They might also want to plug in something else, like a coffeemaker. That's one of the gadgets on most business travelers' wish lists, according to Evan Sneider, the spokesman for LeaseTrader.com, which tracks trends in the auto industry through their customers, some of whom are business owners who are in the market for company cars.
LeaseTrader.com did a poll of the top gadgets that men and women want with them in a car, and after the coffeemaker was a sticky pad, which is usually placed on the dashboard (the driver can then attach their cell phone to it) and Wi-Fi. But Bluetooth is a must, agrees Sneider, as is GPS.
So if there's a theme here, it's comfort, and for good reason: NewCarTestDrive.com, a news portal full of automotive reviews of new cars, recently mentioned in one of their articles that "today, more than 10 million workers travel more than 60 minutes each way, and about 3.3. million travel more than 90 minutes."
And so give your employee a comfortable company car that makes their jobs and lives a little easier, and that commute a little more bearable, and you'll get back something fewer and fewer people feel exists much around the workplace these days: loyalty.
This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your car lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com