Starting and growing a new business can be a stressful time in someone’s life. Finding employees to work at the company can induce sleepless nights, as can seeking out office spaces to rent for your company or organization.
Now imagine you have enough business to entertain clients on the road. You may think your own car is good enough to squire clientele around, or you may want to consider use of a company car.
Driving a company car isn’t necessarily a status symbol. Most businesses use at least one car to drive around and conduct vital company transactions. Use of the car can be deducted on the corporate taxes by accountants, meaning the car investment can often be used as write-downs (or even write-offs) in the future.
One question remains for companies that wish to purchase these cars. What type of cars are the best fit for your business, and which are out of place in your corporate headquarters?
The first thing to do is research. Obviously, if the clients you are entertaining are not high-end, multimillion-dollar businesses, then you don’t need to pull up to the company offices in a Chevrolet Corvette. The same is true with a corporation that has opulent settings. If the CEO lives in a $10 million home and you pull up in a Chevy Aveo, then there might be issues.
Aggregation websites are a good place to go to search for vehicle buyers, like the TrueCar Channel on YouTube.com On websites like this one and others, you can get news on certain vehicles, what others around you in the same area paid for the car and things to watch out for when you buy vehicles.
Determine what you want in the car or cars you buy. You should be able to get a discount if you buy the cars in bulk, like a fleet rate that rental-car companies often pay to get vehicles for their businesses. Do you want satellite radio? Maybe you need a GPS device to get around in unfamiliar cities. You may not need a GPS, especially if your smartphone is equipped with a navigation program, but if the GPS comes with the car it doesn’t hurt to take it as a feature.
If you will buy a company car or cars in 2013, you might be able to take advantage of some popular models coming out. Dodge’s Dart is stylish yet practical for the open road or for heavy city traffic. Hyundai’s new Veloster brand is inexpensive enough for businesses yet stylish enough so that it will impress your clients. If you are looking for something slightly bigger, go with a play-it-safe car like the Ford Taurus or Chevrolet Malibu.
In the end, the right price, the right features and the right look will go a long way toward deciding what is right for you. It may even save you a few dollars in the pocketbook.
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