Do Car Shipping Companies Offer Rental Car Relocation

Although it might seem easy to manage a fleet of rental cars, the truth is that they don't always go where you want them to. Your fleet is an expensive asset that will depreciate over time. It is crucial to get the best mileage from it. It is important to move your cars from the places they are currently sitting to the areas, hubs, and airports where you plan to rent them out.

It is not difficult to know where your fleet should be located in order to get the best return on your investment. It is not easy to get the cars there. There are four options for rental companies when it comes to moving their fleet. They can either work with car shipping companies or pay employees to move the cars one by one. Or they can hire freelance drivers. You could also entice renters into moving your fleet by offering low-cost rentals in certain cities. Each method of renting a car can have its pros and cons. If you don't take the time to consider them, you could end up spending a lot moving cars from one branch to another.

Why You might need to move cars

You may be simply moving rental cars to branches that require them, as we have already mentioned. Many renters will often rent cars in large cities or at airports, and then return them to smaller branches where they are less in demand. So that you can keep up with demand, it is important to have the majority of your fleet available at high-demand locations. Car rental companies face daily challenges in coordinating their fleet availability.

This is not the only reason to move your fleet. You might be adding cars to your stock and want to move your newer vehicles to high-demand areas where they will generate the highest return on your investment. You might also want to move cars to a branch that has experienced a boom in sales and is now able to meet the demand. You might also consider retiring some of your fleets. In this case, you will likely work with a reseller or manufacturer to find older cars new homes. Car shipping companies are usually able to handle bulk shipments.

How do car manufacturers fit into rental car relocation

Although it might appear that manufacturers are receiving the short end of the stick with these buyback agreements, it is actually a solid marketing strategy. People will often eventually buy a car that they used to rent. Selling vehicles in bulk to rental companies can help keep vehicle sales high.

Even if you purchase new fleet cars, you will still have to deal with manufacturers. You'll also need to ship the cars to your branches. You may be able to get your cars delivered if there are already contracts between manufacturers and car shipping companies. It may be worthwhile to establish a relationship with a car transport company.

Timeline for fleet replacement

Some surveys show that most car rental companies keep their cars for between 4 and 2 years. This may seem like a large range but cars in major cities will get more driving time, and cars with maintenance issues will be out of rotation much faster. A car that reaches a certain mileage limit will be removed from the fleet. However, your rental company might have an age limit that limits the car's useful life expectancy. The mileage cap could be reached before the vehicle reaches its age limit. There are also market forces. If a vehicle is in high demand, it might be removed from your fleets and sold on the used marketplace.

The industry's biggest players, Enterprise Holdings and Hertz buy approximately two million vehicles annually and sell more than 90% of their inventory each year. This means that many car shipping companies move a lot for rental companies in the US.

There are many options available for fleet relocation

You might be able to see that shipping requirements will vary depending on whether you are replacing entire branches with new vehicles, or if you are moving cars between cities. It's not enough to rent a car. We will be describing the various relocation options and highlighting the pros and cons of each.

Employers should be able to move cars

If your employees have the proper licenses and are able to travel a reasonable distance, you can give them the responsibility of moving vehicles around from one city to the next. These employees are already being paid for their time so you can reasonably expect them to drive safely and take care of your vehicles. Because they are familiar with the logistics of managing a fleet, they will also appreciate how important it is to follow a schedule. This is not an option for bulk car rental. Your employee will also be away from their normal working hours, leaving your staff scrambling for help.

Hiring professional freelance drivers

There are many people who make extra money ferrying trucks and cars from one city to another. Many of these drivers, often retired people, will continue to work for the same car rental company. Professional freelance drivers are often very affordable. There are cons. You may not be able to vet freelance drivers properly and they might not always be available when you need them.

Working directly with car shipping firms

Car shipping companies are more experienced than solo drivers and can manage vehicles within a set time frame. Working with an auto transport company is a great way to move cars within your fleet, or replace inventory. You can transport cars on large trucks, which is helpful when replacing inventory. It will be easy to know that your trucker has insurance and is licensed. The safety of your vehicle will be guaranteed by car shipping companies. There may be discounts for bulk relocation ( Contact Us for more information). Your vehicles will not be damaged, which allows them to stay longer in your fleet. You'll face two major cons: price and departure timing.

Renters can be used to move vehicles

You can also offer very low prices for certain cities to city rentals to encourage renters to use your vehicles to make a quick trip to the branch in need. Partnering with one of these services can help ensure that your vehicles are safe. Renters are able to move cars along the same route they would travel otherwise, which is a pro. There are no guarantees. Relocation service drivers may not disclose criminal records or falsify their records. If there aren't any drivers available, you will be out of luck.

Do you need to partner with a car shipping business?

It all depends. Are you trying to move many cars from one branch to another? Are you using up all the employees who are qualified to drive cars from smaller branches to larger ones, or back to your airport location? You can answer yes. It can be a time-consuming task to create a long-term agreement or a partnership with an auto transport company that can assist you with rental vehicle relocation. All you have to do is know where the vehicles are going and when. The rest will be taken care of by your car shipping company, allowing you to concentrate on growing your business.