After my not so good news today ive followed up an offer of work and have an interview tomorrow. Its working on a self employed basis delivering cars over the U.K on trade plates. I know the basics of what is required but have no actual experience. Does anyone here have any knowledge or opinions on this type of work theyd like to share?
Even if it turns out to be a dreadful job its still work, and work pays the bills!
Got a friend doing this, long hours but he’s running around in all manor of top end motors including bentleys, ferraris, lambo’s as well as the usual mundane stuff. I know he doesn’t hitch at all, uses buses and trains most of the time and often picks up the next car from somewhere close by - mainly dealer to dealer transfers with the odd customer delivery as well. He seems to get most of his expenses back and the money’s not bad from what he says - paid percentage of each job i think - but like i say he’s doing some hours… think he’s working for a firm called PRO-Driver in leicester. Not sure he’d say he enjoys it but does keep a roof over his head.
I know he struggled getting between jobs to start with as I kept getting calls to find train times and bus routes etc so access to the net while you’re on the road will be a big help.
let’s hope it’s true what they say about every cloud having a silver lining.
Good luck.
if its UFD , good luck , you will need it !
Its a small company, not a big player anyway. I “kinda” know the gaffer, thats how ive had the job offer. He said if I ever find myself in this situation to give him a ring as hes usually after drivers. Does that mean nobody wants to work for him? Probably!
Ive already been told nt to expect anything flashy, apparently most of the cars that need to be transported are Chevrolets- Daewoo clones. Imagine the joy of driving to Inverness in a 1 litre Matiz!
It will do until something better comes along, you never know, I may really enjoy it!
Lankytim:
It will do until something better comes along, you never know, I may really enjoy it!
Exactly. If you’ve nothing better to do, give it a try and see what happens. I only started doing bulk tipper work cos I couldn’t find anything else, I really didn’t fancy it at all, and now it’s my favourite kind of work. You never know until you try.
Paul
i did that for a few months…you will need a good sat nav rucksak type bag to carry your food and drink …i took a lap top to get online to check bus or train timetables…oh yeah dont forget mobile phone in car charger…and dress warm even on hot days as weather can change at any time…
gie it a try, there has been some dodgy threads on here about it in the past, but if your mate is a gaffer there then you should be able to tap the best stuff out of him 
.
i think jays advice is good advice just cos its sunny in london dont mean its sunny in carlisle. 
please report back with how you find it.
Will do, turns out everyone at our firm has had the chop so im going to see if theres room for any other jobless lorry drivers. Its not nice to see your ex workmates looking so down in the dumps 
Im very lucky to have fallen on my feet for once (I hope)
Anyway, had the interview and all went well. The boss is a bit of a petrolhead so we had plenty in common. I get paid per car and they always try to get me a “backload” or return journey to save me hitchhiking with all you frightful lorry drivers . Money is between £250 and £400+ a week so not brilliant but enough to keep a roof over our heads. Hours are meant to be quite long but long is a relative term. To a lorry driver 15 hrs is a LONG day, but to these guys its more like 10-11 hrs. Some days will be much shorter though. Best of all its smart shirt and trousers. No more 5th wheel grease, no more toetector boots, no more HI-VIZ!
Ive got my red trade plates, a company manual, fuel card and reams of forms I have to fill in for each car I deliver. The paperwork is very important, you have to inspect each car and note down each dent and scratch, if you dont the customer could say you did it in transit. Its basically all an exercise in arse covering, which being lorry drivers we are ALL very used to!
I start Monday and ill report back on how brilliant/terrible the experience is.
good look mate,
7 weeks av been out of work
luck forward to hearing how monday goes
we’re all expecting a diary from you tim 
my dad does it as his retirement job (he was laid off but didn’t want another full time job) for a company in Goole. Plus - he calls them the week before and says what days and hours he wants to work and they arrange it. He normally does 2 days a week upto 16 hours long - at pretty much minimum wage 
Basically he has to get a car from a to b. They try to schedule it so that where he drops a car there is another one close by to pickup. He takes public transport from one to the other or they schedule another driver to ferry him - hitch hiking is not allowed and there is no incentive to do so.
Down side - can be lots of sitting about - take a book or something and stress from trying to get around on public transport.
Responsibilities - you have to make sure car is road legal. Often you have to colect a px or ex lease car and take them straight to the auction. You have to assess the condition of the car which the agent use to value it and pay the lease company / dealer before selling it at auction. If you miss something they can refuse the car and you have to put it right.
Just a thought. As well as the trade plates, maybe another plate with ZB on it. 
Square one in green comes to mind so folk on here know that your a TNUK member -
might get you that lift a bit quicker. 
Stan
ive done this job and earned a lot of money doing it ,met a lot of nice people had a good laugh
ive also had weeks when ive earned very little met some aholes got pee wet through and stood at the side of the road for an age
all i can say is its a experiance and well worth doing
Is this for a company in Longport by any chance■■?
If so do you still have to pay them a “deposit” for trade plates and fuel cards??
I like the idea of having a TNUK symbol on my plates, its a great idea infact. Ill have to look into it! 
(bet it gets me splashed more than picked up though- lol)
No the company isnt in Longport, its based next door to RAF Cosford. Theres no deposit for the fuel card or plates. I do have to pay the insurance excess if I have a bump thats my fault though- £500! Simple answer, dont have a crash!
Anyway, on Monday im being picked up from home and taking a car to Corby, then getting a lift to Ford Dagenham and taking a Transit to Hixon in Staffordshire. After that, I dunno! Not far to the A34 and a quick hitch to Stoke though,
Ok, end of the first week!
Monday,
Start at 7.30. Get a lift to Corby with another “plater” then another lift down to Dagenham. The firm has about 20 drivers and we all have to help each other out to get here we need to go.
Four of us collect brand new Transit vans and take them home to deliver to Hixon near Stafford on Tuesday morning. Finish 17.30
Days earnings before tax= approx £42
Tuesday,
Start at 08.00 Deliver Transit to Hixon then get a lift to Burton from another drver to collect a Nissan Quashqai thats going to Cosford. Find out the Quashquai is infact in Lichfield. In the event the car gets collected by another driver but im still paid for the Burton job as its classed as an “abort”. Finish at 13.30
Days earnings before tax £20
Wednesday,
Im off due to Doctors appointment.
Thursday,
Start at 07.30. Driven to Chesterfield by another driver to collect an O6 reg Mondeo thats going to Whitchurch car auctions. After that im driven to Aldridge to collect an 06 reg Vectra thats also going to Whitchurch Auctions. Some drivers are collecting new Alfas from Stoke so I get a lift home from them. Finish at 18.00.
Days earnings before tax £40
Friday,
Didnt work due to dentist appointment. (wisdom tooth removal- cost £42!)
So far im a little dissapointed at the money aspect- its crap and unlikely to sustain our mortgage for much longer. Of course this industry is just as affected as any other in this credit crunch. Its a job however…
Ive been promised that on busy weeks its easy to earn £400 a week. I wont hold my breath. On monday im taking a new Alfa to Newcastle then taking the “scrappage” car to Bristol via an overnight stop at home . Should get half decent money for that.
I havent had to hitchhike anywhere yet, apparently its not nearly as common as I thought it was. Good chance ill have to plate out of Bristol on Tuesday though.
I have to say im enjoying the job so far. The guys im working with seem decent fellas and the job itself is a doddle. No tachos, no VOSA waiting to stitch me up. Basically its just much less stress than driving a lorry, I didnt realise hopw stressful trucking was until I started doing this. Everything is easy going. Plus im spending much more time at home with the wife- thats a real bonus.
The other platers im working with come from all walks of life, One is a journalist, one is a mechanic, one is something else… None seem to be plating because its what they want to do. Although we all come from different professions and backgrounds we all share one common factor, Weve fallen out of our trades and need to make ends meet- were all doing it just to pay the bills and keep a roof over our heads.
Ive decided that plating alone wont earn me enough money so ive gone back on Driver Hires books. They say work is very slow at the moment but if they could just provide a couple of days work for me a week the rest could be taken up with plating. Im not sure how its going to work out but wel see.
Spot on Tim, can’t beat getting the facts first hand.
Is my maths correct as I make that 25 hours for £102 
before any deductions
Good luck with the new job lets hope it all works out, you may find its better than driving trucks. Meet 2 guys from Manchester way last week doing delivery of cars on a car trailer pulled by a ford ranger and he was telling me more and more are doing it on trade plates due to tacho regulations when towing above 3.5 tons. That was the reason they had 2 drivers to go from Manchester to Torquay with a Ford Focus so that their could get home without a night out.