OSU PaCS 307-07: Buying Vehicles

Purpose

To assist departments with the procurement of vehicles.

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Applicability

All employees.

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Background

Keep in mind: The University maintains the OSU Motor Pool and utilizes the State of Oregon agreement with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to maximize the use of vehicles and minimize the costs associated with maintaining vehicles.  Seasonal and long term lease agreements between departments and the Motor Pool can be arranged to accommodate a departments unique vehicle needs.

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Policy

All purchases of vehicles must follow the same purchasing rules and guidelines as outlined in PaCS 302-02: Bidding Process.  Available vehicles may also be purchased through State of Oregon price agreements.

Once a department has defined its need for a new or used vehicle, follow the appropriate guidelines below:

New Vehicle Purchase(s)

Once a department has defined the basic requirements for a vehicle (i.e. 1 ton, 4 wheel drive, crew cab, 4 door pickup etc.) and has submitted a Departmental requisition, the Office of Procurement and Construction Contracting (PaCS) can help perform research for comparable vehicles available on state contract.  If no comparable vehicles are available on state contract, PaCS will prepare a request for quotes and send to potential bidders.

Used Vehicle Purchases

Once departments have defined the basic requirements for a used vehicle (i.e. 1 ton, 4 wheel drive, crew cab, 5-7 years old, <50,000 miles etc.), the Office of Procurement and Construction Contracting (PaCS) can help a department locate a suitable vehicle through a request for quotes process or a department may choose to look for a vehicle by one of the following methods: 

1. A vehicle can be purchased at an Auto Auction which will fulfill the competitive bidding requirements.  The auction will normally require the department to have a letter of expenditure authorization, or some similar authorization document.  Departments should clarify what vehicle and options are needed prior to attending the auction.
   
   
2. Departments can check dealer inventories directly.  To meet the competitive bidding requirements departments will need a minimum of 3 choices.  Departments will need to record the various choices and prices being considered.  The lowest cost vehicle does need to be chosen because the choices are normally not identical.  However, departments will be asked to demonstrate that their selection is the best value based on cost, equipment features and comparison to the cost of a new similarly equipped vehicle.  Once a vehicle is located, ask the dealer to hold it for a day or two and PaCS will work with the department to expedite the requisition and generate the purchase order. 

Trade In

All vehicle trade-in proposals must follow the standard University policy located in PaCS 302-13: Trade-ins which requires approval from Inventory Control and the completion of a Property Disposition Request form (PDR).  Departments must provide the anticipated value of the trade-in to Inventory Control, who will work with Surplus Property to insure that the trade-in is a fair value.  If Surplus Property can sell the vehicle for a value greater than the vendor trade-in value, the trade-in will not be allowed. 

Vehicle Title

All vehicles will be licensed and titled to OSU Motor Pool, but can designate the department on the second line of the title.  For example: “Malhuer Experiment Station”.

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Cross Reference

See PRO 501: Vehicles in the Property Management Manual.

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