Car Transport Business

[Gman]

Been looking into different business ideas and i was thinking about a car transportation business. Does anyone have any experience in this business area? Going to start looking into costs envolved but any details of past experiences would be apreciated. I'm not much of an Entrepreneur but i would love to be my own boss.

[deanflowers]

do you mean a recovery type thing or large car transporters for garages?

a friend of mine started doing a recovery type thing about 6 months ago on the side and it has basically taken over his life, he does this full time now and paid the truck off within the first month and a half.

only trouble is he is now everyones best friend at at time of the day or night

[Gman]

I was thinking about combining the recovery aspect with transporting cars from one place to another for private customers. I thought i would have a bit of a head start being a member of a few forums and would see if i could approach some of the importers to work with transporting customers cars to their doors. If i specialise if performance cars i.e low cars then i hope it would be attractive enough to make a living.

I am also working on sorting some pukka car storage as an extra service.

[rmagictastic]

i have no answer for you but ive been sitting hypnotised by your bloody avtar for the last 10 minutes.

aagggggghhh!

Nick

[Gman]

My avatar is cool :yes

[RobbieRX-7]

My avatar is cool :yes

yep it is :Giggle it looks like a dancing weetabix..i bet he`s had his weetabix this mornin :mmmm

By the way graham..i posted your din pocket first class recorded today, so it should be with you 2moz :)

[Mims]

Theres a guy i know that does that. Auto Design Technics (the ppl that make kahn alloys) asked him to bring up an Aston Martin Vanquish from London to Bradford the same night coupla months back as it had no tax or somthing. They said they would pay £400 so he instead of wasting 5 hours driving the pickup down he got the train down for £40 put his trade plates on the Vanquish and drove it up to Bradford :eek: !

It is good money as you can make about £300 a day. But diesel is expensive as the pickups are 5L turbo's :2Confused! For the big ones anyway. I say go for it but its a bit tiresome so that guy keeps telling me.

Good luck anyway :Thumbs-up

Mims

[grinder]

right then - if you are SERIOUS about this you will need

1 - Low Loader thingy OR

1 - car trailor ( i MIGHT beable to get you one of these )
2 - BIG thing to pull it with

LOTS of insurance to cover the costs :)

i paid £150 to get the cab moved 250 miles ( round trip ) it was a friend of a friend - he had the trailor and uses a V8 Jeep Cherokee thingy - now this is the interesting bit - its got an LPG converion - he reckons that it only actually cost about 20-30 in juice and was going about 44MPG in real terms whilst pulling the trailor with the car on it

its a very good business to be in - IF you like driving :D

sounds like a good idea though matey :D

[banned advertiser]

I have been offering this service for a year and its not been popular, although to be honest Ive not pushed it as Ive enough to do.
A decent 2nd AA recovery lorry is approx £12-15K.
I have a good trailer for sale at the mo.
http://www.rotaryart.uk.com/acatalog/Trailers.html

[Ricco_04]

I must say, I did a 400 mile round trip to get my TII. Actually really enjoyed it - even more so if I got £300 profit from it too! :D

[Gman]

I think i would need the regular(ish) work recovery offers and then transporting private cars to top it up and make some good money.

[Gman]

Also the big issue would be the transition between stopping my normal secure job and having enough work to start up on my own.

It would be make or break as i can't afford to do it on the side to see if it will work.

[banned advertiser]

Just do all your homework, I have a friend who closed his business down as he could not get in with the aa, or police, it was dodgy handshakes and back handers. 3 of them put in, spent 100k on new low loader, hire warehouse and offered a repair service but could not the bread and butter reg work, the aa and police give out a lot of motorway breakdowns that can charge a fortune for, but around here it seems to be very tide up.
I will ask him if he minds talking to you if you wish, it may have changed slightly, he sold up about 8 years ago.

[jinx]

Gary is right about the dodgy handshakes etc -
Bodyshop I worked for tried for ages to get on the Police Approved Recoverer's list but it was clearly going to take more than a winning smile and willingness to go out at all hours. They eventally sold the truck on. You would need contract work to make it viable. They used to have a deal with Ford but when that ended, truck only paid for itself because on Friday and Saturday nights they'd go out and poach the odd breakdown off the licensed recoverer.

We thought it was a laugh but if we'd been the approved guy (who'd greased all the relevant wheels) we'd have been seriously p*ssed off - arriving to find the breakdown had left!

You could try it out for the cost of a trailer and the insurance - offering a weekends-only service? That's got to be when most people outside the trade want a car moved? Trailers hold their price well and if you got one and tidied it up a bit you could sell it on at a profit if the service didn't work out.

Best of luck but what's wrong with the day job? :)

[20B_boy]

There are LOADS of companys doing specialist transport if you check the net - I spammed about 30 compaiones in 10 minutes with google to get my coupe recovered from the other end of the country. Quotes ranged between 250 and 1250 lol, 250 was fine, nice guy with a hi-lux, thingy james trailer and a large choccy labrador :)

[alban1973]

Hi gman. I have been moving cars around for over ten years, I have a 20' brian james trailer with a 16' bed with a winch and all the goodies, it is maintaied regardless of cost, 1. because i want to be able to stop, and stop without the trailer apearing in my side window. 2 the ministry and police absolutly love you, and want to talk to you when ever they can make an excuse to.

I started while using a volvo 740 intercooled turbo auto, one of the best towing vehicles with being an auto and turbo, I then realised a few years ago this was not big enough as the cars i was buying, and the cars other poeple wanted you to move were mostly in bits, so get yourself a nice clean 190 lwb transit,3,5t max veh wieght, 5.5 tons max with train weight. nice and stable, good on fuel, you can get all the bits in the back, all the gear to get the car out of where they have been stuck for years, compressor always usefull at this point. ofcourse nobody tells you this before you go to collect, and sound suprised when you tell them you could not actually get to the car, so on that note always let them know A PRICE FOR COLLECTION AND DELIVERY, but if it takes longer to extract there will be an extra fee, photos are usuallly a good idea at this point just to get the point across. you can move mini's to jags quite easally. If I were you i would start off like this in your spare time, As mentioned above there are loads of people doing it, I do not do it as a job, I mainly buy my own cars and collect, but i do get quite a bit of trade when people know you can do it. the main thing is to do it well and better than others, you need the right gear, and able to drive it, or with it, the amount of people who drive with trailers who cannot back them is appauling. insurance is an interesting one, I can drive a transporter with a trailer, as long as it does not exceed 2 cars, but you must remember when you get a normal trade policy about £800, ( you do not need to insure any of your other cars as they will be insured as well) the cars you are moving will only be 3rd party insured if anything goes wrong while on trailers etc. I'm sure you gan get specific insurance but will be a lot more.... if it all goes well from that, then go for a transporter. On the trailer front, register the van in your own name, and make sure you are only moving your own cars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, if you see what i mean, or you will be into tachograph country.......... hope this helps.

[deanflowers]

ive got a 740 gl volvo saloon for sale with tow bar on a h-plate going to put 12 months mot on it next week, 107,000 miles and its a 2.3 auto looking for £500-£600 pounds in white :D :D :D :D

it has been maintained by an old man regardless of cost.

[shaunwil]

Its surprising, I can see the market for trailers increasing in the next few years as well due to the crackdown on speeding. All the decent performance cars will become just for trackdays and trailers will be the only real option.

I would say reading all the posts the other major question is do you have the room to actually keep all the bits safe. Do you need a lockup somewhere as well just to have enough room to keep the neighbours resonably happy !

Shaun

[michaelb]

Hi

I think that the first thing you should consider is getting a “flat bed” RAC new recovery track. Flat beds can transport cars as low as 4” of the ground. My RX is 5” off the ground and only after 2 RAC contractors send to recover my car they finally send their new “flat bed” recovery track. The whole thing came down practically to the ground…

Regards,
Michaelb

[Gman]

I should have the room and security for the rig. I would be looking at a flat bed rather than a trailer as mentioned about transporting low perfomance cars.

As for the my current job - its just soooo boring. The people i work with are great but what i do is so boring i don't have the enthusiasm for it anymore. I would love to have a job to do with cars but as my skills are ltd there isn't much available. I'm aware the prospects aren't great within transporting cars but i would hope the business would grow to somthing reasonably sized.

[banned advertiser]

If you do seriously think about doing this and want to test the water first you could always hire my trailer on the days you need it, that would keep expenses lower.
http://www.rotaryart.uk.com/acatalog/Trailer_hire.html

[Gman]

Now thats somthing i will seriously consider, thanks :yes I have access to a hi lux pickup through work also so i could start it up part time after all.

[MikeLMR]

beware of the laws though, they have changed recently and I'm not sure what you need and don't need an operators license for nowadays ... even if you hire a van over a certain size as business you need one for example (I know it stopped a local motorclub hiring a larger van for stage setup last year .... and that was only for a weekends hire !!)

[Gman]

There is a sticker actually in the pick up the says if you are towing check the weight as you may need a tacho!

[banned advertiser]

Double check but Im sure this is under weight and dont need a tacho.

[MikeLMR]

http://www.stagesafe.co.uk/goods%20licence.html

some info there (looks up to date to me ... best to check) but that weight (1525Kg unladen) covers most decent size tow waggons I'd guess !

[oldone]

Build yourself a strong pickup,buy a police scanner radio....and listen where the accidents are bud...arrive first and tow them away...cops will be to happy to see you at the scene to clear the mess.... :rollin ,breakdown cars in the morning on the A roads are a menace,weekend car buyers 'and need to fetch it now' are popular....your flat bed trailer can convert into a furniture mover for the weekend mover....stop.
Giving myself some idea's now LOL :wiggle

[Gman]

umm just had another thought, as i passed my test in march 98 i think i may need to do a course so i can tow a trailer legally :3Confused

[oldone]

Why ??????? :xconfused

[banned advertiser]

You might be right, only us old uns got all automatically, now days you have to pass varrious steps to add to your ticket, but that would also apply to a transporter.

[Gman]

Some strange rule change in the type of standard license you get given.

[Gman]

Just checked and i'm ok, so long as the two don't weigh more than 3500 kg

[oldone]

****e that the weight of two Fiesta's...... :yes :rollin

[Gman]

umm, the Hilux weighs just under 3000kg :2Rolleyes

[jinx]

Sorry bit of a delayed response - but, as I understand it, you only need an operators licence if the material you carry in van (even a rental) is NOT your property. If it is - no op licence required but I don't know where that leaves a car on a trailer behind it. (Renting a trailer can be alot more complicated than it used to be BTW - declaring ownership of the towing vehicle etc etc etc. Some renters claim they are obliged by law to make number plate up themselves and will not accept a trailer board ready to go.) In fact, what about that as an alternative strategy? Local guy here has a 'fleet' of 6-8 trailers for rent and does some of the towing work on request. (Big diesel 4x4) Obviously I don't know the ins and outs, but he is not starving!

Arriving first at the scene of the accident will get you nowhere - except into trouble-unless Essex police have changed their policy on clearances. :) The bodyshop I mentioned tried it a few times in desperation but after a couple of small wins all it got them was grief. Local thefts of lead suddenly had to be investigated by regular visits to their workshop and huge amounts of 'interest' in everything that was going on there. (Not to mention the fake phone calls from the registered contractor) They got the message and sold the truck.

A good insurance broker would presumably be able to put you in the way of all the information you would need - an insurance company would have a vested interest in you doing it by the book..(it's more expensive that way.)

And if you really do need a special licence to tow things...someone should go round and have a word with the caravan club :)

[alban1973]

On regards to operaters licences, If the total layden weight of the vehicle is over 3.5 tons, not including a trailer then you need one and a tachograph, but only if it is commercial weather you are moving your own stuff or someone elses. you can have large campers etc which do not need them and willbe down rated as a camper. you can also get larger vehicles down rated to 3.5 tons, as long as they are not more than that unladen. If you have a 3.5 ton van full and also a trailer full, as long as the total weight ( train weight ) does not exceed the weight stamped on the weight plate, (which shows, unladed weight, max vehicle weight, max train weight, seperate max axle weights which is another issue.) you also do not need an operaters licence. however, if the same vehicle with the trailer is used for commercial, then it does. that is the grey area. To get an operaters licence then all you do is go on a course, which is usually at cambridge to get the trade recognised CPC qualification, then you can apply for an operators licence, you have to put an add of a certain size in the paper tell what you are intending to do, how many and what type of vehicles you are going to use and who will be using them so people can see it, and send a copy with your application a bit like a planning application. if you go to VOSA all the info is there. If you have a transit type recovery vehicle, 3.5 MVW then usually the van its self is around 2 to 2.1/4 tonnes, so you can get smaller cars on up to about 1.5 tons or more if you are feeling lucky. on regards to turning up to accidents with the police there, they will not be happy as they all have contracts with local firms, they have to have correct impounds for the cars, and have to arrive at the scene withinn 30 minutes. if you turn up. you will cause problems for your self. So if you are thinking of doing it full time then have all the correct commercial red tape in order. if part time, you will get away without to a point. its like any law, it is so bloody complicated not suprised people get caught out. :3Confused