ANDREW Burton, managing director at Thrifty, believes rental is still very much focused on low rates. But he said fleets should evaluate key steps before agreeing on a rental provider.

‘Fleet managers always ask about the rental company’s fleet size, locations and price. These are the most common questions but they need to ask a lot more.

‘It is only once the deal has been done with the rental provider that fleets realise there is a problem.’

Chasing the lowest rate could be the most costly mistake according to Burton, who says that only after the rental provider has ticked all the boxes should the fleet operator then look at rental rates.

He said: ‘The key point is that daily rental is a service industry and while price is a critical part of the evaluation process, the criteria for choosing a rental provider should be much more than choosing the company with the cheapest prices.

‘Fleets think that it is difficult to differentiate between rental companies as they see them as a commodity product but looking at the checklist like the one on the left will show exactly where rental providers differ.

‘It also helps fleets ask the right questions.’