If you’re the owner of a car dealership, the vehicles you sell are your bread and butter. Few things are worse than having a car break down when a customer takes it for a test drive. That’s why maintaining your vehicles should always be of the utmost importance.
Learn what to include in your dealership’s inventory inspection checklist below.
Tips for Making an Effective Inventory Inspection Checklist
If your dealership hasn’t been using an inventory inspection checklist, your vehicles could be ticking time bombs with hidden mechanical problems brewing under the hood. Here’s how to make an inspection checklist and when to use it.
What Should Your Inventory Inspection Checklist Include?
When drafting a vehicle checklist, ensure it covers every part of each vehicle from top to bottom, inside and out. This may seem like overkill, but your future self will thank you when your checklist uncovers minor issues before they turn into expensive repair bills.
So, what should an inventory inspection checklist include? Basically, if it’s part of the vehicle, it belongs on your checklist. The following are some things to put on your inventory inspection checklist:
- Vehicle interior: Seat, seat belts, mirrors, wipers, horn, defrost system, and heating/AC
- Vehicle exterior: Bodywork, lights, washer fluid, windshield, tire pressure
- Brakes: Rotors, brake pads, brake fluid level
- Transmission: Shifting and fluid level
- Engine: Hoses, belts, and condition/level of coolant and engine oil
- Other points of inspection: Power steering fluid, suspension, battery, driveshaft, spark plugs, and electrical system
When Should You Inspect Your Inventory Vehicles?
Always inspect your inventory vehicles as soon as they arrive on your lot. This is especially important if you buy and sell used vehicles with potentially unknown histories. When a customer wants to sell their old car, you can’t necessarily take their word that it’s in good condition.
Inspecting your vehicles before driving them for long distances is also a good idea. For instance, if you’re delivering a car to another lot or driving it cross-country to a customer, you must ensure the vehicle won’t break down on the side of the road.
Regular maintenance is necessary for cars that sit on the lot for a long time. Some vehicles can languish on your lot for weeks or longer, leading to problems like:
- Flat, warped, or decayed tires
- Fading and peeling paint
- Dead batteries
- Dried-up fluids
- Rusted gas tanks
- Bad spark plugs
Regularly inspecting your inventory does wonders to help you avoid potential problems like these.
Slash Inspection Times With SafePoint GPS
You know it’s important to inspect your vehicles, but doing an in-depth inspection every day takes time that busy dealerships don’t have. While it’s not a total replacement for regular inspections, outfitting your inventory with SafePoint GPS units can reduce the time you spend fretting over your cars.
Our GPS tracking device for car dealers can monitor your inventory’s health and automatically alert you when it’s time for maintenance. This cutting-edge system keeps tabs on your inventory’s batteries, oil levels, wipers, and more. You’ll get alerts delivered straight to your computer or phone.
SafePoint GPS codes problems by severity, so you’ll instantly know whether an issue can wait or needs a mechanic’s immediate attention.
Our GPS systems also provide real-time location alerts that can help you track down cars with pinpoint accuracy. Sick of traversing your lot looking for vehicles? Has a thief run off with one of your cars? With our inventory tracking system, you’ll never wonder where your vehicles are.
Learn More About Our GPS Solutions
As a car dealership, keeping your inventory vehicles in good working order should be your top priority. If keeping up with your inventory inspection checklist has become a real hassle for your dealership, installing GPS for car dealerships in your vehicles can be a very smart choice.
To learn more about maintaining your vehicles with the help of GPS, reach out to SafePoint at (833) 723-3764 or book a demo today.
