Sammo
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,461
Club RR Member Number: 103
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New Business VentureSammo
@sammo
Club Retro Rides Member 103
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Hey everyone.
I am being made redundant in the next couple of months and I have been considering starting my own business for a while so this has presented me with the perfect excuse to get on and do it. I just wanted to get a few peoples opinions on whether its a good idea etc etc. So please share your thoughts and ideas.
The idea is to buy myself a recovery truck and basically start transporting cars. We have a guy at work at the moment that we use and I know he earns good money doing it. I was going to go to all the garages/ car dealers etc in the surrounding area and let them know I am available to transport or scrap vehicles. I have no problem with all the driving etc as I quite enjoy it and I used to drive a recovery truck when I was a mechanic.
So..... Is this a good idea or will I fall flat on my face?
Cheers
Sammo
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Follow Me On Instagram - @parttimecartinkerer
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I have no experience in this field, but as the old saying goes "nothing ventured nothing gained" so i say go for it, if it works awesome, if it doesn't atleast you can say you tried
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OAP drifta Volvo 340,Williams power 1960 Beetle twin 40's 1776cc
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sooty
Part of things
Posts: 447
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You need a clean, tidy, reliable truck if you are doing it for garages, so can't get away with a cheap snotter. Also, how much is the public liability insurance as well as the truck insurance? I guess it won't be cheap.
Not trying to put you off, just making sure you think about the set-up costs properly.
Also, the biggest money is surely made on the longer trips, but to make these profitable you need a good network of customers all over so that there is a chance of getting at least part of a return journey paid for as opposed to coming back empty.
Good luck with it.
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2016 Dodge Charger Scat Pack 2008 Jeep Liberty Limited
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one thing my mate learned when he did this was to buy the best truck he could afford also buy a slide bed with a spec lift attached as dealers usually want more than one moved at one time andy
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ozzy
Part of things
Posts: 745
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try to get a big truck mate so you can take big yanks as there is always imports comeing over here and people need them takeing home or to a sva place.
plus when people start seeing you have a truck outside they will be asking for a price to pic cars up they have won on ebay
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1985 GMC camper family wagon 1989 nissan sunny 1994 fiat cinq my boys car
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its like most things - not always a case of what you know, but who you know.
Do you have a network of contacts that you can go to and will get business from? If not, id go speak to your prospective customers (garages etc) before you invest in a truck.
Most garages will have a transort guy/company they use - will you be able to get a foot in the door?
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You could register yourself with www.shiply.com/ then you'd be able to quote on vehicle delivery jobs that people post on the site. How much is a decent flat bed? 6-10k? I've no idea.
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I worked for a big recovery/transport a few years ago. 11 ton Slide beds with additional spec lifts were by far the busiest! When you are starting out though you will be better going for a decent flatbed with ramps. Once you are established then go for slide and tilts etc. Avoid Spec lifts or anything over 3.5 tonnes as this brings about the need for operators licenses etc. Brand name bodied trucks genuinely last better (Dyson, D Swindley, Boniface etc.) than one offs or home builds (although I've always fancied having a go at making my own!) Make of truck not as important as the image it portrays. A clean D reg transit gets more work than a rough V reg Merc sprinter. Go for a pile of cheap business cards and give them to every potential customer you can think of personally. Including other local recovery and transport companies, no harm in getting fat off their scraps! Have a look at www.avrouk.com/ especially their membership criteria. Gives you an idea what you can make and what to aim for. If you are under 30 tell your local enterprise office. Dunno where you are but if you get a business plan together 3 months after your initial start up date and youre under 30 they give you £1000! Good luck!
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id say go for it. If it doesnt work out quite as well as you hoped then you can always just sell the truck and walk away from it. Recovery trucks seem to hold their money so i would say you more or less have nothing to loose.
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Do it! Going self employed is the best thing I ever did and would never go back now!
Fair play to you for wanting to give it a go - it's a bold step, but if you heed all the advice on here, you probably won't go far wrong.
It might sound petty, but get a nice & easy to remember name for the 'company' and make sure you design all your graphics & colour scheme to look the same (business cards, vehicle graphics etc...) it makes you look a LOT more professional.
Get a few thousand business cards made up (decent quality card) and give a handful to all prospective clients - they can then pass some on to others that might need your services. Having a few thousand doesn't cost a lot more than a few hundred, but you can then afford to hand out lots....this might be the tactic that gets you lots of work.
Any truck you buy - get it properly sign written.....might cost you a few hundred, but will convey the right image.
I can help you design the graphics (ex-graphic designer) and I can also help with getting clothing printed with your logo too...
Buy the best public liability insurance you can. You'll want at least £3million but ideally more. Sounds ridiculous, but trust me....the more cover you've got, the better off you'll be.
Mine PL insurance is £5million and only costs me £90 a year but it might cost you more because you're in a higher risk business?
Best of luck with it all.....
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You'll need 'goods in Transit' insurance plus insurance to cover any cheap runners you might acquire. Worth asking insurers to let you do scrap work (pays the bills nicely) as some will not cover you for that. As above (I think) slide beds rule because you can get anything on them including badly damaged stuff, three wheelers, trikes, motorcycles the lot. Spec lifts only a waste of time because you can't tow rwd automatics or 4x4s as you'll wreck the gearboxes/axles etc. Buy the best truck you can possibly get and do your homework on them. I've found Ivecos to be cheap, unreliable rubbish for example. Make sure it has a decent winch as a cheap nasty Chinese and/or low load strain one is a waste of time and will cost you money when you can't load broken down vehicles on board. Slide away ramps a God sent too: you try to struggle with ramps you have to tie on the bed and you'll curse when you have low cars on and worry about them getting nicked. Quality of equipment is everything: scrimp on winches, ramps, flashers and servicing for example and you're asking for trouble. Watch your weight limits, look how much modern estate cars weigh and you'll see if you buy a fairly heavy 3.5 tonner you could go overweight easily. VOSA are notoriously strict, operate all over the place 24 hours a day and will not take lightly to any faults. Go overweight or have anything deemed a serios defect and you're right in the mire big time. Don't believe 99% of people selling MOT exempt trucks because most of them are not and you have to ask how well they've (not) been looked after. Advertise on here and Thames300E's excellent forum, plus eBay etc and don't forget getting friendly with local garage and bodyshop owners. Be prepared to do long journeys at the drop of a hat, be totally reliable and don't cut corners. It's not at all easy but do it right and you should do ok. I'd advise doing auction work for yourself too: buy and sell a few to bring money in and once you get known round local auctions you'll find youself getting work shifting cars for punters. If you like long hours, getting dirty, doing lots of silly hours and working like a dog then you'll be ok I reckon but just remember Rome wasn't built in a day and you will certainly NOT get rich overnight. There's plenty of experienced hands on here but if you ever need any more advice/pointers or you see a truck you fancy and wondered if it was suitbale drop me a pm and I'll give advice if you like.
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Corsa Apology Champion 2014.
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