During the 2016 calendar year (CY), passenger car maintenance expenses, on average, declined 2.2% compared to CY-2015.
This decline was primarily driven by a 6.4% reduction in replacement tire expenses, says Steven Janke, a consultant in strategic consulting services for Element Fleet Management Corp.Another factor exerting downward pressure on passenger car maintenance costs was lower rental fees for replacement vehicles while the company car was in the shop.These declines, however, were partially offset by other increases in fleet maintenance costs, such as the ongoing shift by OEMs to mandate more expensive, but longer-lasting, synthetic motor oils.
While longer drain intervals may decrease preventive maintenance (PM) costs, there is concern that drivers may become complacent and may not be as diligent in regularly checking motor oil levels.
The forecast is that costs will remain flat for fleet car maintenance expenses for the balance of the 2017 calendar year. ■
Mike Antich is the editor and associate publisher of Automotive Fleet, a sister publication of Modern Tire Dealer. Both magazines are published by Bobit Business Media Inc.
Element Fleet Management provided the data for all the charts on pages 26-27. The charts first appeared in Automotive Fleet’s March 2017 issue.
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