When starting a new business, you might soon find yourself in a dilemma of whether to buy a company car. First of all, it may be necessary for your delivery or enable you to provide certain services you would, otherwise, be unable to offer. Second, it may provide you with a better cost-efficiency than any other alternative (something that we’ll come to discuss in a second). Finally, it’s good for your marketing and may make a good impression on both potential customers and potential employees.

Still, in order to get the most out of this purchase, as well as ensure that this is the right thing to do, you need to make some considerations beforehand. Here are five considerations that you should make when buying your first company car.

1. What are your alternatives

The first thing you need to consider is the cost of buying a business car, which you can then compare to other alternatives. For instance, some of your staff members could use their private cars for business purposes, while you get to reimburse them for this use. This is especially useful for non-essential staff members like consultants. Second, you get to outsource your delivery services and fleet management (if this is what the car will be used for), which might turn out to be more cost-effective. Nonetheless, if, after all of these considerations, you still feel like there’s the need to buy a company car, then, by all means, you should proceed with the plan.

2. Consult others

As the business owner, you’ll be the one in charge of choosing the vehicle, however, will you be the one driving it, for the most part? If not, it would be smart to consult other affected parties. Sure, this is a corporate car and you’re not there to abide by aesthetic preferences of your employees, yet, if they can give you a compelling enough argument it’s wise to consider it. Just think about it, there might be a business-specific criterion (in terms of size or functionality) that your car has to fulfill.

3. Doing your research on the cost

As soon as you know what kind of vehicle you need and intend to buy, you need to start doing your research. For instance, if you’re dead set on buying a Mazda, you should find a pricing platform and look into Mazda prices for the specific models that you have in mind. Needless to say, this will give you a basic idea of what you’re up against, as well as provide you with some leverage during the negotiation. The maintenance of the car, it’s fuel efficiency and add-ons that you might have to install are just some of the additional costs that you’ll be facing, so considering them, might also be worth it.

4. Visuals matter

Once you print the logo of your business on the side of your car (that is, if you decide to do it), your corporate vehicle will become a tool of business promotion. This is why the visuals of the vehicle matter more than you might think. They say that you shouldn’t judge the book by its covers, nonetheless, your audience is making presumptions on your brand based on the package of your products, your uniforms and your corporate vehicles. Bear this in mind prior to making a final decision.

5. How will you pay for it?

In the end, it’s also important to know an answer to the question of where the money for this car will come from. For instance, you could make a commercial hire purchase, finance lease, get an operating lease or a novated lease. Other than this, a chattel mortgage is also an option. Due to the fact that the source of the money might impact the size of your budget, this is probably one of the first considerations that you’ll have to make.

Conclusion

Even though there are many businesses that operate without having a vehicle (even without having an actual office) the benefits of owning a company car are simply too great to ignore. Nonetheless, doing some thorough research on this topic is always advised, seeing as how it will help you make the best deal possible when buying your first company car.