Car transporter job without experience

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
41

It’s piece work pay based, have you any idea how long its to learn this job, well the first time you load your own 11+ it might take you 3 hours and when you go to measure the height you realise you’ve made a schoolboy error and have to take em nearly all off and start again…ask me how i know this :unamused:

When you are fully skilled then its entirely possible to load and strap 11 in under half and hour, but going from 3 hours to that half an hour might take you 2 years, because almost never will you carry the same load twice unless you work solely out of a single factory.

The pay won’t be any less for a new bloke * but your productivity will mean your earn less.

Out on the road its the same, until you’ve had a modern transporter out you have no idea how they handle, which routes you can safely take, but more importantly how each delivery site or garage operates, and how the way you loaded turns out for delivery order, ■■■■■■■■ up the loading and you might have to find room for 6 mixed vehicles on the road in front of a garage whilst you dig down to the one car for them, and keys in such circs are a bloody nightmare.

Now factor in the odd flat battery, vehicles with not enough fuel, and in present weather frozen windows and locks, and by the time you’ve sat on 11 freezing cold seats your arse will be an ice block and you’ll be bursting for a pee…which will be a sit down pee because your old man will be shrivelled down to the size of an acorn and sit down pee the only option…again ask me how i know this :unamused:

All this adds up to time.

This, there is far more i could say, i should write a bloody book about it, might give you an idea why the drop out rate for new transporter drivers is so high in short order, the first year can be hell, some don’t even complete training, some leave soon as trained.

It’s also why the best payers will always recruit experienced transporter drivers if they possibly can, training cost a fortune, the cost magnified due to the certain knowledge that so many will have dropped out in no time.

  • i was the first driver, ever, to be paid for training at my first transporter job, can’t remember now if i got £100 a week for those two weeks or £200, but no one had ever been paid before, i went in and argued my case with the gaffer, he agreed.
42

harrawaffa:
The better you are at a job the more money you should be paid. Simple.

What do you class as better? I can understand losing bonuses etc but the basic rate should be the same.
If it’s 50k with all bonuses etc then that’s not the base rate is it. I’m just trying to figure out whats the least you could earn for someone like ecm, bca, carlson etc

43

Juddian:
It’s piece work pay based, have you any idea how long its to learn this job, well the first time you load your own 11+ it might take you 3 hours and when you go to measure the height you realise you’ve made a schoolboy error and have to take em nearly all off and start again…ask me how i know this :unamused:

When you are fully skilled then its entirely possible to load and strap 11 in under half and hour, but going from 3 hours to that half an hour might take you 2 years, because almost never will you carry the same load twice unless you work solely out of a single factory.

The pay won’t be any less for a new bloke * but your productivity will mean your earn less.

Out on the road its the same, until you’ve had a modern transporter out you have no idea how they handle, which routes you can safely take, but more importantly how each delivery site or garage operates, and how the way you loaded turns out for delivery order, ■■■■■■■■ up the loading and you might have to find room for 6 mixed vehicles on the road in front of a garage whilst you dig down to the one car for them, and keys in such circs are a bloody nightmare.

Now factor in the odd flat battery, vehicles with not enough fuel, and in present weather frozen windows and locks, and by the time you’ve sat on 11 freezing cold seats your arse will be an ice block and you’ll be bursting for a pee…which will be a sit down pee because your old man will be shrivelled down to the size of an acorn and sit down pee the only option…again ask me how i know this :unamused:

All this adds up to time.

This, there is far more i could say, i should write a bloody book about it, might give you an idea why the drop out rate for new transporter drivers is so high in short order, the first year can be hell, some don’t even complete training, some leave soon as trained.

It’s also why the best payers will always recruit experienced transporter drivers if they possibly can, training cost a fortune, the cost magnified due to the certain knowledge that so many will have dropped out in no time.

  • i was the first driver, ever, to be paid for training at my first transporter job, can’t remember now if i got £100 a week for those two weeks or £200, but no one had ever been paid before, i went in and argued my case with the gaffer, he agreed.

Thanks for that, I can understand its a hard job which is why I’d like to do it, I don’t want to just go back driving, I’d like to do a job where I have to learn and progress my knowledge over the years and this sounds a good way to get back into it and do something slightly different at the same time.

44

Class2ldn:

harrawaffa:
The better you are at a job the more money you should be paid. Simple.

What do you class as better? I can understand losing bonuses etc but the basic rate should be the same.
If it’s 50k with all bonuses etc then that’s not the base rate is it. I’m just trying to figure out whats the least you could earn for someone like ecm, bca, carlson etc

The quicker you can get cars loaded and unloaded and doing it without damage I class that as better. Apprentices aren’t on the same money as time served people. Starting specialized work is the same.

45

Well not sure I agree, obviously it’s a job you perfect or improve at least as time goes on and experience does say a lot but someone doing the same job, should be on the same money. Yes they will be slower but a new person will be, you shouldn’t be penalised financially because of it

46

Class2ldn:
Well not sure I agree, obviously it’s a job you perfect or improve at least as time goes on and experience does say a lot but someone doing the same job, should be on the same money. Yes they will be slower but a new person will be, you shouldn’t be penalised financially because of it

But your employer should because they have to pay you 12 hours pay to do a job that another driver could do in 10?

47

If they take on trainees then what do they expect?
Ok less pay while training, fair enough but once you’re upto the job then you’ve shown you can do it.
So basically they are just compensating themselves?

48

Class2ldn:
If they take on trainees then what do they expect?
Ok less pay while training, fair enough but once you’re upto the job then you’ve shown you can do it.
So basically they are just compensating themselves?

No it doesn’t work out like that.

Under piece work pay your rate of work governs your earnings, you will be paid the same rate for the job and the same bonuses for cars and multi drop if they apply, your work rate governs your earnings.
A few years ago when really short of drivers Autologic offered a minimum earnings of, i think, £120 a day for the first 6 months, this was to allow new drivers to learn at their their own pace without their pay dropping too low due to them not being the quickest to pick it up.
I have no idea if this still applies now BCA are the operator (its been Stobarts in between), i thought it eminently sensible so chances are its long been ditched.

49

So what would someone at say ecm expect to take home? They are advertising now but for experienced drivers as obviously they just want people to crack on and get it done but trying to find out what bonuses etc are paid. Night out money etc seems difficult to find out. I’m not in a position to apply which is why I’d like to find out before i did apply for a job doing this.
You always hear 40-50K being thrown about in relation but is that top whack working all hours and busting balls or is it you can earn on a regular occasion.
Not trying to come across arsey to anyone so apologies but it’s a big step for me so just trying to find out as much as I can beforehand to make the best choices possible.

50

Class2ldn:
If they take on trainees then what do they expect?
Ok less pay while training, fair enough but once you’re upto the job then you’ve shown you can do it.
So basically they are just compensating themselves?

I agree totally. However read juddian’s post a couple up and see that training could be a couple of years.

I am only 35 and have been driving for 6 months. In time I want to get some more specialized. Both for the extra pay and longer term security compared to the fridge work I do now.

I took the job I did at a firm that is knocked on here for low pay. Its ok, especially for the area but can be some very long weeks to earn it (day rate). Even though there are some short ones as well.

I have both a copart and a bca close to me but I think it would be better to start at copart as overall bca is probably the better job overall and I can do my training and make my mistakes at the other job before moving on to the better one.

This will probably mean like now, lower pay or longer hours for the same money but thats the investment I am happy to make

51

kcrussell25:

Class2ldn:
If they take on trainees then what do they expect?
Ok less pay while training, fair enough but once you’re upto the job then you’ve shown you can do it.
So basically they are just compensating themselves?

I agree totally. However read juddian’s post a couple up and see that training could be a couple of years.

I am only 35 and have been driving for 6 months. In time I want to get some more specialized. Both for the extra pay and longer term security compared to the fridge work I do now.

I took the job I did at a firm that is knocked on here for low pay. Its ok, especially for the area but can be some very long weeks to earn it (day rate). Even though there are some short ones as well.

I have both a copart and a bca close to me but I think it would be better to start at copart as overall bca is probably the better job overall and I can do my training and make my mistakes at the other job before moving on to the better one.

This will probably mean like now, lower pay or longer hours for the same money but thats the investment I am happy to make

Now that’s what i’m talking about, some common bloody sense, doesn’t expect to run before walking nor expect to waltz straight onto the cream without putting in the ground work first.

As for the time to get up to speed, that’s an open ended thing, i’ve known blokes take to it like a duck to water and 3 months after starting they’re throwing the bloody things on like they’ve been doing the job 10 years, others are slower getting there but turn out just as good, i was probably somewhere in the middle.
What buggers you up is when you have a body you know intrically and then they give you summat completely different, back to square one.

If anything the new lads now have it worse because almost all the vehicles are a much more complicated design that when i started, not sure as i’d have cracked it starting out now :blush: , so i take me hat to any bugger who can.

Your long term view is pragmatic, damaging a Copart car worth £1750 is a bloody sight better than writing off a £50k Jag, it’s a skilled and hard job they can’t just replace you at the drop of a hat, and you won’t be handing over to any bloody robot in your lifetime either :smiling_imp:

I urge you to reconsider the Copart job for an immediate application, but understand if you want another year under your belt first :sunglasses:

52

Class2ldn:
So what would someone at say ecm expect to take home? They are advertising now but for experienced drivers as obviously they just want people to crack on and get it done but trying to find out what bonuses etc are paid. Night out money etc seems difficult to find out. I’m not in a position to apply which is why I’d like to find out before i did apply for a job doing this.
You always hear 40-50K being thrown about in relation but is that top whack working all hours and busting balls or is it you can earn on a regular occasion.
Not trying to come across arsey to anyone so apologies but it’s a big step for me so just trying to find out as much as I can beforehand to make the best choices possible.

If I’m reading this thread correctly, I think Class2ldn is possibly trying to find out what the minimum hourly rate would be if he lost all his bonus’s earned - per load/per car/multi drop etc due to damage or poor performance i.e removing the piecemeal element from the pay structure.

53

Pretty much, I mean what would you stick down on a mortgage form for example, your bonuses etc probably wouldn’t be counted as they aren’t guaranteed.

54

Hi ladies/gents

This is my first post so please be gentle with me. Ive been on the cars (TE +11) for three and a half years. We dont really rely on car bonus so we dont have to rush around trying to get has many loads as legally possible. As previousley been stated it is a marmite job, once you get over the wrecking phase the job is good. If you dont like the outdoors then i wouldnt bother applying as the wind, rain and cold mornings can put you off from doing the job.

We are paid by the hour, get average holiday pay and also get private medical cover. I took home last year £45000 plus your night out money on top of that, £28 per night. Dont get me wrong you do work hard for your money but it is rewarding when you load and deliver 11 cars without damaging any of them.

If you require any further info then drop me a pm.

Thanks

55

It’s one of the few jobs that I’ve had where you can pick your own start and finish times.

If I remember correctly the sick pay at BCA is about £365 a week. I would forget Copart and go straight there. If you can force yourself not to quit the job in the first six months you can earn a lot of money. I earned almost 40k in my first year, wages not night out/lunch,but I will start at 2 or 3 in the morning to max my hours out if the work allows it. Sometimes I am finishing work at 9.00am on a Friday.

Some new drivers at BCA are put on a semi-trailer.

It is a difficult job but it is worth persevering with.

56

I do like the sound of it, I love a challenge and its obviously not your normal driving job so keeps you on your toes.

57

quote Wigan Al: “it is rewarding when you load and deliver 11 cars without damaging any of them”

How often do both a novice and an experienced transporter driver damage vehicles?

58

BCA drivers can and do earn a hell of a lot more than that once up to speed, there is no salary in most transporters jobs, it’s either hours (rare) or a combination of hours, car money (increases daramatically with bigger cars vans etc), drop money, distance, multi load bonus etc.

Quite where someone picks a £30k figure from thin air i’m buggered if i know :unamused:

You have the right attitude about such things Andrejs, you don’t expect running money whilst walking :sunglasses:

This figure is not from thin air i used to work their years ago and wages were not great then either and i got that figure last week when enquiring about transporter job which i turned down so from the horses mouth.
The only bonus is £200 a month for no damage is included in 30k if that floats your boat fill your boots.

59

listen to what the experienced drivers tell you, its a specialised job that takes a good year to get up to the efficiency of the old hands. 11 cars all different lengths and heights and 4 or 5 different drops, all has to be worked out where to put what. The nearest car is 100yds away and the last one 11cars lengths beyond that and its blowing a gale and pouring with rain but there is only you to load the truck. Don’t forget the slightest damage on a car can amount to a grand(especially if its a roof) and the dealers check the cars with a fine toothcomb. As for wages when I retired 10 years ago some of the flyers could do £40,000 that was working out of the car factories and return loads from the ports which was the best way to make big money. A lot of the companies mentioned today were “subbies” in those days but they had to pay a similar rate or else they weren’t allowed to load in the car plants. I had over 30 years on the mobile car parks and would recommend but it can be hard graft. It was strictly all union in those days so we had excellent sick pay and pensions, only you can make the decision to have a go at it.

60

hook:
BCA drivers can and do earn a hell of a lot more than that once up to speed, there is no salary in most transporters jobs, it’s either hours (rare) or a combination of hours, car money (increases daramatically with bigger cars vans etc), drop money, distance, multi load bonus etc.

Quite where someone picks a £30k figure from thin air i’m buggered if i know :unamused:

You have the right attitude about such things Andrejs, you don’t expect running money whilst walking :sunglasses:

This figure is not from thin air i used to work their years ago and wages were not great then either and i got that figure last week when enquiring about transporter job which i turned down so from the horses mouth.
The only bonus is £200 a month for no damage is included in 30k if that floats your boat fill your boots.

Well I can’t believe they pay that as I get more for fridges which is far easier.

I saw an ad on a Facebook jobs page for £38k for 12 weeks training and then £45k ongoing.