Top Tips for Getting More Cash for Your Retired Business Fleet Trucks

It’s time to get rid of some of the old fleet. What do you do? You could take them to auction, but you know the game there. You’ll likely get offered wholesale pricing. You don’t want to lose more money than you have to, so you decide to sell it privately. Here’s what you need to know:
Understand The Value Of Your Vehicle
Check guidebooks to get a good understanding of how much your vehicle is worth. The only problem you’ll run into is that, unlike a passenger vehicle, a truck can be configured a thousand different ways. You may have made alterations to the vehicle for your own business needs. These alterations may not be accurately reflected in the “book value” of the truck, van, or car.
Truck Blue Book, Black Book, and NADA all provide online valuation guides for heavy and medium-duty trucks. It includes additions for common equipment, though there’s no brand specificity and they do not include custom packages for obvious reasons.
There is a cost to subscribe to Truck Blue Book, Black Book, and NADA – $340, $174, and $300, respectively, per year. However, if you’ll be regularly turning over vehicles, you should make that money back on your first sale.
Check The Online Marketplace
Online sales channels aren’t official guides, but they do give you a “real-world” idea of what you can expect for your vehicle. They’re also free to research, which is nice if you make infrequent sales. Craigslist, eBay, and Commercial Truck Trader are all great places for you to check out. Ritchie Bros also has an online Fleet Valuator at rbauction.com. It’ll give you actual auction results from all of the company’s six worldwide regions – useful for knowing what trucks actually sold for.
Find The Right Sales Channel
If you want to arrange a truck fleet sale, you need to find the right sales channels. You can sell direct to dealers, but you won’t always squeeze all of the money out of the vehicle that you could if you went straight to auction. Unlike passenger vehicle car auctions, most truck auctions are open to the general public.
Just as you would research dealers in your area, it’s a good idea to know the local auctions, the fees they charge, and what types of equipment they sell and on which days. You don’t want to show up with your heavy-duty truck on a day when they’re only selling paving equipment.
Sell Vehicles To Employees
It’s not the first place you might think to sell your vehicle, but selling to employees can really boost your profits, and it’s a simple proposition. Offer a closed auction to all staff at your company. Set strict payment policies on the auction (i.e. pay within 3 days or the employee loses the auction price).
Many companies find that they can increase the resale value of the fleet vehicle by 100 to 150 percent over a dealer or even an auction.
Marcus Anderson ran his own business for several years before retiring. He now likes to spend his time outdoors, but when the weather won’t allow that, he likes to share his experiences online.