The Benefits of Tire Retailers Providing Fleet Services

Tire retailers are a great alternative to in-house fleet servicing for many routine maintenance issues. That’s because these days, many tire retailers have ASE certified technicians on staff who are able to perform much more than just the installation, replacement and rotation of tires. In addition, tire retailers offer their fleet services in more places (some have over 80 locations) so company cars and light trucks can be taken care of in the field instead of having to return to a sometimes inconveniently located central garage.

More than Just Tires
Unless an individual company has a very large fleet, it many not be cost effective to have ASE Certified Technicians on staff five or six days a week. Tire retailers on the other hand, have mechanics and technicians who can perform manufacturers’ preventative maintenance and corrective repairs six days a week, often with extended business hours. The list of services they can perform include:

* Lube-Oil-Filter
* Charging and Starting Systems
* Tire Service
* Battery Service
* Transmission Service
* Radiator Service
* Brake Service
* Air Conditioning Service
* Steering and Suspension
* Fuel System Flush
* Windshield Repair and Replacement
* Coolant System Flush
* Brake Fluid Flush
* Steering Fluid Flush
* Alignment Services

Fleet Friendly
As stated before, many tire retailers have multiple conveniently located garages, some boasting a total of over 300 ASE certified technicians and 750 service bays chain-wide. That would be hard to duplicate for even the biggest of fleet owners. In addition, some of the bigger tire retailers can have over 250,000 major brand name tires in stock at any given moment and ready for immediate installation, not to mention thousands of other service items that a fleet owner would otherwise have a hard time paying to warehouse.

A few of the bigger tire retailers have specialized fleet services programs that offer easy and convenient centralized billing, no out-of-pocket expenses for the driver, and are national account providers subscribing with ARI, GE Capital Solutions, PHH ARVAL, MAP, Voyager, Wright Express, Dolen Fleet Management Systems, Enterprise, Wheels Inc. and Lease Plan.

No Long Term Commitment
Because there is no up-front investment to be made, fleet service managers can integrate a tire retail facility into their fleet service program without risk. If for some reason the fleet program they pick doesn’t work out for their particular company, the relationship can be ended with no loss of resources.

Talk to a Professional
Joining a tire retailer’s fleet service program is usually fairly easy. Simply call the headquarters of a tire chain with a large number of outlets in your geographic or operating area and ask to speak to the Fleet Sales representative. The number should be on their website. Or simply click on the website’s fleet services tab -- if they don’t have a fleet services tab, chances are they’re too small to be of real help to most fleet operations. While you’re on the phone or on the website you can check the retailer’s history, warranties and billing options.

About Belle Tire
Allen Park, Mich.-based Belle Tire was founded in 1922 when it opened the first Belle Tire location in Detroit, Mich. Today, the company has expanded to 80 locations across Michigan and Ohio. Belle Tire offers discount tires and variety of car care needs, ranging from auto glass repair, auto glass replacement, brakes, alignments, batteries, shocks and struts, exhaust system repair, batteries, and oil changes. For more information about Belle Tire, visit http://www.belletire.com/. Join the Belle Tire Advantage today, http://belletireadvantage.com/.