Infographic: 4 Tips That Students in Mechanic College Should Know About Saving Fuel

Whether you’re servicing vehicles for individuals or businesses, fuel costs are likely to be one of your customers’ top concerns and most significant vehicle expenses. Being able to provide sound advice on how to save money on fuel will not only improve your customer service, it will also have a substantial impact on improving your customers’ fuel costs, creating a great long-term customer relationship and trust.

Read on to discover four helpful tips provided by fleet management software provider, Chevin Fleet Solutions, for saving on fuel costs that every good mechanic should know.

1. Graduates of Mechanic Colleges Can Suggest How to Choose the Right Vehicle

It’s difficult to keep fuel costs down with an inefficient vehicle that burns through large amounts of fuel. After graduating from a car mechanics training program, recommend that your customers choose a vehicle with good kilometres per litre figures. However, it’s best to inform them that the validity of official gas mileage figures are often up for debate. A graph produced by Emissions Analytics visually demonstrates the variance between manufacturers’ stated fuel mileage figures and real-world mileage figures.

2. Suggest Strategic Route Planning to Your Clients After Auto Mechanic School

Students in mechanic colleges should know that despite popular opinion, the shortest trip to get to a destination is not necessarily the most fuel efficient. For example, a shorter route with lots of hills and stops will use up far more fuel than a slightly longer route on a straight, level road with minimal stops.

3. Graduates of Mechanic Colleges Know to Advise on Fuel Purchasing Practices

If your client is a company with a significant fleet of vehicles and large fuel bill, they may be able to save by purchasing wholesale fuel and running it from their own fuelling station. For smaller companies that own a small to medium-sized fleet, using a fuel card has great money-saving benefits, which include:

• Discounts on pump prices
• Fuel reclaiming fraud becomes more difficult
• Electronic receipts can be produced, which saves money on paper
• Easy to see how much is spent on fuel

4. Changes in Driver Behaviour Can Help Improve Fuel Costs

Data collected by Chevin shows that arguably the most crucial factor that affects fuel consumption is driver behaviour. Data shows that compared to average driving, poor driving increases fuel consumption by 21 per cent, and when compared to good driving, by 31 per cent. Below is a collection of driving style tips that you can recommend to your customers:

• Drive in the correct gear
• Optimise routes
• Drive smoothly
• Keep tires inflated to the ideal level
• Remove unused external assets
• Reduce excess weight
• Refrain from idling the engine

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