If you manage a fleet of cars, cabs, trucks, or other commercially used vehicles, you know that costs are spiraling up as fuel costs continue to be volatile and your fleet ages. Saving money becomes one of the most important parts of your job. Because your fleet acts as a mass representative for your company, you know you can't skimp on the vehicles, but you have to cut costs somehow. Here are three ways you can try to cut costs while keeping the fleet in great shape.

Timely Maintenance and Minor Repairs

Getting routine maintenance done and repairing issues like small paint chips is more important than you know. This is not just a matter of keeping the fleet looking clean or ensuring it doesn't break down. Minor maintenance in the present prevents much larger problems in the future. For example, if you find small chips in the paint on one of the vehicles and you let those chips sit untouched, they could start to rust and become bigger if they are exposed to rain or a lot of humidity. Repairing the bigger blotches will cost more and take more time than if you just had a small chip repaired as soon as you saw it. It might seem petty to devote time to small issues, but these really can add up in the long run.

School Contracts and In-Company Training

For most fleets, especially cabs and other passenger-car-type fleets, the drivers come to you already knowing how to drive, but many still need commercial licenses. When it comes to trucks, your applicants might not know how to drive a rig at all. Instead of sending the applicants out to find a school on their own, either make an agreement with a nearby school whose program you approve of, or institute a driver-training program of your own. This sounds like it would be really expensive at first, but having sound training that enables a driver to safely use the vehicle may save you so much in insurance claims and premiums that the initial cost would be worth it.

Fuel Cards

Fuel prices are so changeable that it's nearly impossible to predict what will happen in the next few weeks for your budget. Getting a fuel card for your fleet is the answer. These function like debit cards at fueling stations for your drivers. Many fuel card providers prepay for fuel, so it becomes a little easier for you to budget and look for good prices when you know you're going to have this stockpile that your drivers can access.

If it's time for some routine maintenance on your fleet or if you see some minor damage that needs to be fixed now before it gets worse, contact a repair shop like Nu-Look Collision that offers fleet services. The staff there will know how to care for the vehicles so that they remain in top shape.