How do I assess a pallet company’s fleet of delivery trucks and trailers?

Begin with a simple schedule: each unit, its year, its use and who is on the registration. Ask whether any trucks are owned personally by the seller or leased, because those may not transfer with the business. Where there is a loan or lease, ask what is owed and whether the lender must agree to a change of owner.

Maintenance records tell you more than the paint. Ask for service history, repair invoices and any inspection reports, and look for the same fault coming back. Pay a mechanic to inspect the trucks and trailers, and have the findings written down so they can inform your discussion of the purchase terms.

Then look at the people and the schedule. Ask how many drivers the routes need, whether they are employees, and how the shop covers a breakdown on a delivery day. Work out roughly what replacing the oldest unit would involve and whether the cash flow could carry it. Your accountant can help you read the ratios. Ask also about fuel use, insurance claims, driver licensing and any accidents. A fleet that is cheap to run on paper may be hiding deferred repairs, so compare repair spending in the books with what the mechanic expects the units to need soon.

Key takeaways

• Build a schedule of every unit, its use and who actually owns or leases it.
• Pay a mechanic to inspect, and read the service history for repeated faults.
• Ask how deliveries are covered when a truck or driver is unavailable.