Blog · Fleets
Fleet Downtime: How We Schedule Body Work Around It
For a company truck the real cost of a repair is days off the road. How we set a return date, what pushes it, and how to keep a fleet running.
A body shop estimate for a personal vehicle is a dollar figure. For a fleet unit it is a date. A crew truck that is out for two weeks costs the company more in lost work than the repair itself, and every fleet manager knows it. Here is how we think about downtime, how we set a return date, and what a fleet can do on its side to keep units moving.
The date is part of the estimate
When a company truck comes in, the first question we ask is when you need it back. Not because we can always hit the date, but because we would rather tell you before the keys change hands that we cannot than surprise you a week later. If the date is not realistic, we say so and give you the one that is. If it is realistic, it goes on the sheet next to the dollar figure. That is the approach on our fleet page, and we mean it.
What actually sets the timeline
Three things decide how long a unit is down:
- Teardown. The panels come off and we find whatever the outside was hiding. This is a day or two and it is the step that makes or breaks the date, because everything after it depends on what we find. There is a longer explanation in what happens during teardown.
- Parts. For a common half-ton, most body parts are a day or two away. For a service body, a specialty bumper, or a newer model with sensors in the bumper cover, it can be a week or more. We order what we can from the estimate before teardown so the common parts are already here.
- Approval. On an insurance job, the supplement from teardown has to be approved by the carrier before we order the extra parts. On a company-paid job, that is a phone call to your fleet manager, which is faster. Tell us which it is at drop-off.
Paint and reassembly are the predictable part. Once the parts are on and the panel is straight, the booth schedule is ours to control.
How to shorten it on your side
- Send photos before the truck comes in. Three photos texted to (432) 220-3243 let us write a preliminary estimate and get common parts moving before the unit arrives. Here is what to send.
- Bring the whole list. If the unit needs maintenance, a light, a step, or a second panel fixed, tell us at drop-off. Doing it all while the truck is apart is faster than a second visit.
- Name the approver. Give us one person who can say yes to a supplement, and their cell. A supplement that waits on an email chain is a truck that waits in the lot.
- Decide on parts up front. If your company has a policy on aftermarket versus original parts, tell us before we order. See OEM vs aftermarket parts.
Staggering a larger fleet
If you are running a lot of units and several need work, we would rather take them one or two at a time than all at once. That keeps the rest of the fleet on the road and keeps our booth from becoming a bottleneck. Tell us how many trucks need attention and what order matters to you, and we will build a schedule around it. No fleet is too big and none is too small.
Drop-off and pickup around your dispatch
We are open 7 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and 8 to 6 on Saturday. A truck can be dropped before the crews roll out and picked up after they come in. If a driver is dropping the unit without the fleet manager, that is fine; we write the estimate with the driver and send it to whoever approves.
When the date moves
Sometimes it does. A part comes in damaged, a carrier sits on a supplement, teardown finds a bent core support behind a bumper that looked fine. When that happens you hear it the day we know, with the new date and the reason. You will not find out by calling on the day you expected the truck.
What a fleet unit gets
Same process as a personal vehicle: estimate, teardown, repair and paint, and a walk-around before the driver signs. The paint gets matched off a spray-out card and blended, because a fleet truck with a panel in a different white is a truck that looks wrecked, and that costs money at turn-in or resale.
FAQ
Can you give a firm date before teardown?
We can give a realistic one based on what we see and what parts are involved, and we tell you which parts of it are firm and which depend on teardown. Firm, after teardown.
Do you work with our insurance carrier or with us?
Either. Company-paid jobs are invoiced to the company. Insured jobs go through the carrier with your unit number on every document.
Can you fix a unit that is still drivable while we keep using it?
Sometimes. If the damage is cosmetic and the parts have to be ordered, we can order them while the truck stays in service and bring it in only when everything is here. Ask.
What if the truck cannot be driven off the lease?
Call and tell us where it is. We cover the tow from the site to the shop.