One company saw an 18% hike in residual values by offering a clear guarantee that the mileages registered on vehicles were genuine, because buyers were prepared to bid more aggressively for stock.
Although offering the warranty on every single car might not work, Manheim Auctions believes it can produce a healthy increase in price for the right car.
By warranting mileage a fleet is confirming that the vehicle's mileage reading is correct. Once sold at auction if a buyer is able to prove the car's mileage has been tampered with within a specified time then Manheim's agreement says that the vehicle is returned, the buyer's money refunded and the car is resold with the correct mileage.
This accounts for just a handful of cars each year, but offers a confident message to buyers that they are buying a quality vehicle.
Martin Potter, Manheim Auctions' corporate sales director, said: 'Some auction houses do not recommend that finance companies take this route, but we have seen it work time and time again.
'In one recent pilot sale for a finance company, Manheim saw an uplift in prices of 18% just by warranting mileage on its cars.
'Over a period of a year where a finance company disposes of a few thousand cars this can make a big difference to the company's bottom line.
'But fleets should adopt a commonsense approach so that if an individual car's service history or condition looks out of the ordinary we would advise against warranting its mileage.'
Last week, Manheim Auctions revealed that simply having a car valeted could improve its chances of selling at auction first time under the hammer.
It highlighted a sale at Manheim Coventry where 283 cars were sold, with a full valet and warranted mileage, for an average of 103.7% of CAP clean.
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