New Rates for FY 24

The FY 24 vehicle rental and class-based lease rates are posted on our website. Rates will take effect 7/1/2023. For assigned vehicles, the Administrative Contact has received FY24 rates for individual vehicles through the Assigned Vehicle Portal.

Annual Contact and MFK validation for the New FY

An automated message will be generated on July 1 by the Assigned Vehicle Portal asking Admin Contacts (and/or Delegates) to review the contact names and MFKs for the new fiscal year. If they are accurate, please confirm them, and if not, update the contact name and MFK accordingly.

Pro Tip - New Fleet Services Requisition

The new Fleet Services requisition went live to customers on June 5 and so far so good! We plan to have a running feature in our newsletters for the foreseeable future where we share a tip, suggestion, or a bit of info to help you get the most out of our new requisition.

Pro-Tip #1: If there is an MFK added to your form that you need to change you will find that there is no option to edit, only the option to delete. So, if you need to change an existing MFK, start by highlighting and copying the MFK that is already on the form. Then click to add a new MFK. Click so the cursor is in the Fund Box and paste the old MFK. The system is smart enough to ignore the copied dashes and should populate each MFK field. You can then make any necessary changes to relevant fields and add the new MFK to the form. Then all you need to do is delete the old MFK and you will be all set.

Fleet Services July 4th Holiday Hours

Just like the rest of the University, Fleet Services will not be open on the 4th of July.  If you need to leave on a trip on the 4th or before we open again on July 5, you may pick-up your vehicle after 5pm on Monday, July 3 and you will not be charged until you leave for your trip.  Please note your departure time in the comments section of the requisition when you make your reservation.

You're Probably Sitting In Your Car Wrong

Finding the proper driving position is not just a matter of comfort, it’s also a matter of safety. Most drivers tend to sit too far away from the pedals and steering wheel and do not have enough bend in their arms and legs. You don’t want your arms or legs fully extended and locked at any time, locked limbs can lead to the force of a crash going straight into your joints potentially causing more damage and injuries to your arms and legs. Positioning yourself with some bend in your legs and arms helps so you don’t take an impact to a locked limb. Check out this article from Jalopnik that includes a video where racing driver Josh Buchan takes you through the steps to get in the correct driving position. Here is the basic procedure to set yourself up in the correct driving position:

• Start from the bottom of the seat – you want to sit as low as you can allowing you a better angle to look further down the road. Sitting too high tends to angle your eyes downward to the front of your vehicle.
• Next, you want to bring your seat forward so that your legs have some bend at the knee. Enough bend that you can push against the firewall/dead pedal with your legs and brace yourself into the back of the seat without touching the wheel.
• Hands should be at 9 and 3 on the steering wheel. Adjust the tilting of the wheel so that when your hands are at 9 and 3, your hands are level with your shoulders. You should have enough bend that you can push against the steering wheel and brace yourself into the back of the seat.

Fleet Services No Longer Receives Faxes

If your first thought was, what’s a fax machine? Then you probably understand why the service is being discontinued. Beginning July 1, we will no longer be able to accept faxes at the office. All information previously faxed can be emailed to us at: fleet-services@uiowa.edu.

Fleet Factoid

The average car loses 22.5 percent of its value after 3 years, but have you ever wondered how color effects that? This article from iseecars.com breaks down depreciation rates by color for many different vehicle classes. Overall, yellow cars win! They hold their value best, depreciating at a rate of 13.5% over a three year period, 9% less than the average.