[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Test/development vehicles are typically loaded with content for the legitimate engineering reason that you would like to test all the interactions between options.

PEP vehicles are typically loaded with content...well...because management folks like cushy rides, and they are not paying for it.

One other thought:

Test vehicles are typically contented and ordered by the fleet coordinator.

Individual drivers were allowed to content and order their own PEP vehicles when I first became a company car driver, but the policy was changed at some point and vehicles were ordered by some third party and randomly assigned (being weighted towards your product line of responsibilty but not 100%). The motivation for this change, I was told, was driven by an interpretation of an IRS requirement to make it look less like an outright "benefit" and more like a legitimate business expense. The mileage/time in service also got adjusted over a period of years as the corporation tried to fine tune their investment or based on workload in the company car garage (if they get backed up doing vehicle swaps then you could stay in a car longer) but the 3 month/3000 mile interval is most famous.

Employees can "tag" and buy used company vehicles in a couple ways. You can choose a development vehicle that is coming out of service and buy that at a discount. Or - you can order a specific vehicle and options, have it driven as a company vehicle (either by you if you are a driver or by someone else if you are not) and then buy it when the assigned miles or timeframe is achieved. Stacking the discounts (Option 1 aka "Class 'A'") plus the mileage discount plus "past model" - if you can get it - can result in substantial savings. You had to retain the vehicle for a certain length of time when purchasing in that way; the retention period also was adjusted over the years as the policy evolved.

K