Leicester-based truck rental company Alltruck offers autonomous R&M contracts for operators who don`t necessarily source vehicles through the company. “We offer tailor-made maintenance packages tailored to the operating needs of our customers and their vehicles," says Alex Rees, Fleet Engineer. “We would try to offer competitive prices compared to manufacturers, and we would create incentives for a customer to sign a repair and maintenance contract with us through preferential pricing, proactive account management (service scheduling, etc.), priority/flexibility of workshop spaces and reservations." LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced a deal with Tesoro Corp. earlier this month. , which they say aims to preserve California jobs, protect consumers from gasoline price spikes, and demand a green upgrade to the state`s largest oil refinery. In a letter (see attachments below) to the chairman of the California Energy Commission, Harris shared details of the agreement between the state and Tesoro, including: Our agreement makes it easy to maintain control and keep your family warm all year round. Most contracts, whether basic service contracts or full F&M packages, are based on eight safety inspections per year. This results from the average safety inspection interval of six weeks. However, the long-standing VOSA directive on this subject states that the inspection interval can vary from four to 13 weeks, depending on the application of the truck and the annual distance. With the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS), which gives VOSAs and traffic commissioners an overview of an operator`s technical inspection compliance records, it may be possible to demonstrate that safety inspections at intervals of eight weeks or ten weeks, for example, are appropriate. Does this justify a lower R&M rate? The difference may not be as big as you can imagine. John Davies, Head of UK Service and Support at MAN Truck & Bus, said: “There is virtually no price difference in an R&M contract for trucks that can perform a six-week inspection compared to a 10-week truck. With a truck with five inspections a year compared to eight with six-week inspections, the real advantage for the driver is less inconvenience if a truck is on the road longer.

A recent industry survey found that 40% of trucks on UK roads are covered by some form of repair and maintenance (R&M) contract and the proportion of new trucks is even higher at around 60%. It`s not hard to understand why R&M contracts enjoy such market penetration these days. Many operators feel that in-house workshops are either overhead they can do without, or that they are ill-equipped to handle the complexity of modern trucks, especially their electronic diagnostic systems. And if you don`t have a workshop, an R&M contract seems like a logical choice: service and safety inspections take place according to a planned schedule and are more suited to a contractual agreement than ad hoc agreements. Our company will respect your agreement and ensure that your HVAC equipment works well throughout the year. Contact us at 562-286-6624 or contact us online to conclude your agreement without delay. Does the shop have access to all diagnostic equipment, service information, and special tools and equipment needed to meet the standards of the franchised dealer network? When you sign an R&M contract with your new truck, are you really sure what you`re buying? We cut and roll contracts to see what is covered and what is not. The monthly fee for the above R&M offers seems high as we have requested that replacement tyres be included in the contract. This is a contentious point: our monthly fee would likely be reduced by £120 to £150 if tyres were not included, so operators would be well advised to see if they can manage this large part of the cost more efficiently by entering into a tyre management contract independently (see CM`s Buyer`s Guide to Managing tyres in www.commercialmotor.com). Another major draw of comprehensive R&M contracts is that they smooth out your maintenance expenses so that your fifth-year costs are the same as the first year. This can be handy for budgeting, but of course, there are costs associated with it. By paying too much for the quotas in the first few years to subsidize the expensive years towards the end of the contract, you are effectively lending money to the R&M provider.

In short, no two R&M packages are the same, so a thorough comparison of what`s included and what`s not is absolutely essential when comparing alternative contracts. Annual testing is included in most broader R&M contracts, but it needs to be clarified exactly what this covers. Daf and Mercedes-Benz, for example, take this two-step approach to their service programs, but other manufacturers prefer to offer more choices. Volvo Trucks, for example, offers three levels: blue, silver and gold. Blue is essentially a service contract, while silver and gold are both R&M contracts that offer different levels of inclusivity. MAN goes even further with four stages of maintenance contracts. All of them include failure and recovery. Iveco is at the top of the tree: its Elements range offers no less than five levels, allowing operators to refine their coverage.

. For the maintenance of auxiliary units such as tail lifts, it should be checked whether you can independently benefit from a special service before including it in the R&M contract of the truck. Payments are a fixed monthly payment, so all maintenance and repair costs are easily traceable. With the most trained and responsive dealer network, DAF is able to offer the most efficient, productive and cost-effective services available everywhere, including: If you think today`s trucks are more reliable and durable than their predecessors and therefore you can`t understand why R&M contracts should be so expensive, Mercedes-Benz agrees with you. It has just revised its trucking service contracts, reducing the cost of this operation. The two new contract levels are called Complete – a complete R&M package – and Managed Service, which includes safety inspections and planned maintenance. “An operator who enters into a three-year contract for an Actros tractor with a duration of 120,000 km per year would now pay 15% less than last year," says James Ostridge, head of service contracts at Mercedes. He stresses that this is not at the expense of reduced coverage. “We looked at all the data and found that we could lower the price." First, Ostridge explains, Mercedes` records show that it now has to deal with fewer component failures — “and when they do, they come later in the life of the truck." Second, Ostridge believes that Mercedes is now better at analyzing and evaluating its customers` operations to evaluate R&M contracts. “It was a pretty brutal instrument, but now our targeting has improved a lot." Although this is an entirely new truck that has more emission-reducing equipment to meet the Euro 6 standard, the new generation of Actros tractors will result in a further reduction in R&M contract costs, with Ostridge suggesting it will be 2-3% cheaper than the previous model. He estimates that about a third of all new Mercedes trucks will be sold with a full R&M contract, but expects that share to increase as operators react positively to the new pricing.

Nevertheless, it is wise to test this hypothesis by evaluating separate service contracts for ancillary equipment before deciding on the convenience of a one-stop shop and ticking the option boxes in the truck manufacturer`s R&M contract. If the vehicle in question is rented, it is worth going through the BVRLA (British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association) “HGV Fair Wear & Tear Standard". This will likely serve as a guide to determine what is an acceptable condition when trucks are returned at the end of their rental period. Operators must identify wear parts that do not fall within the scope of the contract and budget accordingly. Now, when he buys a new truck company boss, Tim Wigham, he negotiates a two-year repair and maintenance contract as part of the purchase price and only pays for the annual truck tests. Daf can also monitor the truck so I can fix the problem in case of problems or errors," says Wigham. Parts Policy: Do the specifications and quality of parts and consumables match those of the original equipment that would be used by a franchised dealer? Are the warranty conditions of the vehicle at risk? DAF MultiSupport Uptime Plus combines optimal vehicle performance with DAF International Truck Service`s most comprehensive breakdown service. Powertrain, chassis and cab repairs, including wear parts, are included in the contract and give you peace of mind that everything can be repaired and your vehicle will be returned to you in excellent condition. Even the best R&M contract will depend on the quality of the local dealer or repair shop that provides you with the service. As the old saying goes, sales sell the first truck, after-sales service sells the next. There are four essential ingredients you should look for with a service provider.

First, is the standard of treatment up to date? Second, is the dealer/repairer convenient in terms of location and hours of operation? Third, is it easy to do business with the company and its employees? Finally, are parts and labour costs appropriate for work that does not fall within the scope of the Treaty? The computerized service inspection and registration systems behind most F&M contracts are capable of generating a large amount of additional information about your vehicles. .