Unreliable vehicles cost a fleet manager more sleep than money — and yet the money usually loses too. Quantifying the real cost of downtime is the first step to fixing it.
What downtime really includes
- Lost revenue per vehicle per day
- Driver pay during VOR (vehicle off‑road) time
- Subcontracted recovery to plug the gap
- Customer SLA breaches
- Reputational impact you can't directly invoice
Common drivers of avoidable downtime
- Reactive maintenance instead of preventative
- Cheap servicing that misses underlying issues
- Multiple suppliers, none coordinating with each other
- Older vehicles past their reliable lifespan
How OptiRent reduces VOR
OptiRent puts modern, fully maintained, in‑house‑serviced vehicles on your operation at a fixed monthly cost. When something goes wrong, replacement and repair are part of the deal — not separate phone calls.
How our site capability changes the maths
- Eight full‑size HGV service lanes
- DVSA‑accredited ATF MOT
- Tachograph calibration and laden brake testing on site
- Specialist tooling and diagnostics in‑house
That's not a marketing list — it's the difference between two days off the road and two hours.
What to track in your own fleet
- VOR days per vehicle per quarter
- Average time from fault to "back on the road"
- Repeat failures of the same type
- Total cost per VOR day (revenue + indirect)
When you see those numbers, the case for switching to a fully maintained partner usually makes itself.
Want to put numbers on your downtime? Talk to SVH about a fleet review.
