What a vehicle really costs you to run

Ask most fleet owners what a vehicle costs to run and they will name fuel, and perhaps a repair or two. The real number is almost always higher, because costs are paid at different times, by different people, and nobody adds them up. Knowing the true cost of each vehicle is the first step to deciding which ones earn their place and which are quietly costing you money.

List every cost, not just fuel

• Fuel.
• Maintenance and repairs, including servicing, parts and labour.
• Tyres.
• Insurance.
• Licences, roadworthy certificates and any permits.
• Driver pay, if you want the full picture of the operation.
• Repayments on the vehicle, or a fair yearly amount for how much it loses in value.
• Everything else: parking, tolls, washing, fines and small repairs.

Use a full year where you can

Some costs arrive once a year and others every week, so a single month can mislead you. Add up twelve months of costs for each vehicle, and note the distance it drove over the same twelve months.

Work out the cost per month and per kilometre

Divide the yearly total by twelve to get the monthly cost. Divide it by the kilometres driven to get the cost per kilometre. Suppose a vehicle cost 60,000 cedis over a year and drove 40,000 km: that is 1.50 cedis for every kilometre. Cost per kilometre is the number that lets you compare a small saloon with a minibus fairly, because it takes the work each one does into account.

Compare like with like

Compare vehicles of the same type doing similar work. If one of three similar vans costs far more per kilometre than the others, find out why. It could be repairs, fuel use, the route, the driver or simply the age of the vehicle.

Look for the biggest slice

For many fleets, fuel is the largest single cost, followed by maintenance. Knowing the split tells you where effort pays off first. If repairs are the problem, a preventive maintenance routine helps. If fuel is the problem, start with a fuel log and regular checks.

Use the number to make decisions

• Which vehicles to keep, repair or replace.
• Whether a route or contract still pays.
• What to charge for the work you do.
• How much to budget for next year.

Keep the records as you go

The hardest part is not the arithmetic, it is finding the numbers. Keep receipts and invoices sorted by vehicle, record every fill, and write down every repair. Add them up at the end of each month. If you wait a year to gather them, some will be missing.

Where we can help

Our free running cost calculator does the sums once you have the numbers. Fleet Command Hub records fuel, maintenance and incidents for each vehicle as they happen, so the cost of every vehicle is ready when you need it. Our fleet management service can also set up your records and review your costs with you.