It found that simply giving a defleeted car a quick wash rather than professional preparation before it is disposed of could mean the differrence of £180 on a car worth £5,000 at defleeting time.
For fleets disposing of a number of vehicles the extra money raised will run into thousands of pounds.
Remarketing giant BCA analysed more than 1,100 fleet and lease cars offered for sale and found that the conversion rate for Smart Prepared vehicles leapt to 95% across the board against 83% for those that didn’t undergo the process.
It calculates that the extra revenue generated for a Smart Prepared car equates to about three or four more bids.
Customer affairs director Tom Madden said: ‘The importance of preparation in the remarketing chain just cannot be over-estimated, particularly when the market is a little tougher as it is in 2005.
‘After three years and about 60,000 miles, a fleet car deserves more than a quick wash with a mop and bucket. If it is to realise its potential at remarketing time then fleet managers should be considering every tool in the remarketing preparation box – that might mean repair to trim and paint, dent removal and a machine operated polish.’
The company’s research also highlights the most common type of damage that cars have when being defleeted.
Scruffs and scratches to the bumper are the most common followed by car park dents, stone chips and scratches to the paintwork.
More than half (56%) of vehicles repaired by the company receive paint and dent work, with 29% requiring just dent removal and 13% only having paintwork attention.
The remaining 2% include work such as interior renovation and repair to headlining.
In a warning to fleets which do not repair vehicles before disposal, Madden said: ‘They are potentially losing money in terms of best bid achieved and running the risk of their vehicles taking longer to sell and depreciating further.’
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