UK wide car delivery - FREE

[Harry Bloomfield]

I'm now retired, love driving and travelling so I've been thing to offer a free service moving cars around the country. I was wondering if there might be some call for this sort of service?

I would obviously expect the 'client' to pay any expenses involved - the rail fares at reduced rates, fuel, a meal and etc..

I would also expect the vehicle to be taxed properly MOT'ed and fully fit for the road and the expenses to be paid up front.

I'm only considering this at the moment, but would this be of any value

- perhaps to those buying a vehicle at the other end of the country and too busy to collect it?

[Fredxxx]

I believe you can still get trade plates with insurance to go with them?

I don't see people holding trade plates on motorway slip roads as often as I used to, who were hoping to get a left from someone else in the trade.

Have things changed?

[Harry Bloomfield]

I wasn't thinking to turn it into a commercial service, using trade plates, nor thumbing lifts.

[Davey]

I know that this is a fully fledged business in the US, as my brother-in-law travelled from LA to Detroit driving a car for one of the companies offering that service, so there is a demand. Maybe.

For the other point of view, watch the film Vanishing Point.

[LumpHammer]

The Hitcher (1986) is also relevant. This appears to be a very perilous career.

[Bob Eager]

Someone else remembers that? I only remember the nude woman on the Honda. And the end.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I had a friend with trade plates a few years ago for his business. You will get very frequently stopped and checked by the police. I doubt you can use them for what the OP s intending anyway.

I suspect that your resposibility to ensure the car is roadworthy, insured by the owner/keeper (even if you are driving it on your insurance), taxed, MoT, etc would make this virging on the unviable.

[Andy Burns]

When I had a new car delivered 3 years ago, the garage used such an arrangement, a retired chap (relatively re-assuring that it wasn't a 17 year old who would have been tempted to thrash it) drove it up from Gloucester, said he'd used A roads instead of motorway as A) he like the scenery, B) not to just let the car sit at constant-ish revs while being run in.

I dropped him off at the nearest railway station, talking to him he did

2-3 jobs a week and it paid for his golf habit. There are plenty of "trade platers" who get cars from A->B on slim margins, there was a program on R4 a year or two ago about them, it seemed to be a line of work that attracted those at the margins of society.

Obviously mine was on the dealers insurance, they knew it was taxed as they had taxed it, and it was a new car so no MOT - could get tricky being sure you are insured to drive it on an given day.

[Andy Burns]

[Davey]

I have it on tape. I used to watch it on TV in the US, comparing how much of the nude woman on the Honda was shown. On network TV, even at night, none; on Cable TV, the merest hint. On UK TV, the whole lot! Cleavon Little, the Sheriff from Blazing Saddles, was really good in that film.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Andy Burns formulated on Friday :

I'm already covered 3rd party, providing there is other insurance on it and I can get full cover for £50 for a few days - but that and breakdown, would be up to the 'client' to decide to pay or not pay.

As said so long as costs are covered, I'm not out to make anything out of it - just a pass-time.

[bert]

In message , Harry Bloomfield writes

If I was doing it I would get a solicitor to draft a contract for me.

[Roger Mills]

An ex-colleague of mine - whom I usually see at annual re-unions - already does something similar. He works for a dealer, though, and drives new or fairly new second-hand cars. As far as I know, he does it mainly for enjoyment - and is free to decide whether to accept a particular assignment or not - and gets expenses plus a bit of beer money.

He lives just south of Birmingham, but there must be a demand throughout the country, I would have thought.

I think that you'd need to do it for a dealer rather than for private individuals. Then, someone else is responsible for making sure that the car is roadworthy and is taxed and insured. Also, I don't know how you would go about finding private 'customers'.

[Robin]

+1 given:

a. you'd be asking people to trust a lone stranger with their car. What sort of people would do that when there are plenty of car transporter companies with track records and insurance? I suggest mainly ones wanting a cheap service; b. so you are trusting people who are going for the cheap option to provide a roadworthy car, with an MoT, and pay for breakdown cover, not quibble about expenses, not to claim you damaged the car, etc etc And to pay your fee when you arrive.

But I can see it might make for a more "interesting" retirement than mine ;)

[greyridersalso]

I worked for a main dealer - roughly two lifetimes ago - and we'd buzz local cars 'round ourselves. For the long haul we had a couple of chaps we'd call in as needed. Your best bet would be to try any and all main dealers in or around your area.

[Nightjar]

On 18/04/2014 13:41, Harry Bloomfield wrote: ...

You might want to check the exclusions. I suspect this would count as motor trade work and not be covered by many ordinary car insurances.

Colin Bignell

[harryagain]

I had a mate used to do this. He worked for a car auction firm. Delivering cars dealers had bought These dealers might buy ten or twenty cars at one go.

Getting home was the problem, he used to hitch. Stand at the side of the road and wave his trade plate at passing motorists. Dunno if that'd work these days.

[stuart noble]

It used to be a cheap way to get round USA. My son and his mate did it

20 odd years ago. First assignment Manhattan to Chicago. Well scary? Apparently not

[Mr Pounder]

Brilliant! He can never die.

[Kevin]

I used to do some collecting and delivering, mainly classics, using a Range Rover and trailer. Three things killed it off: services like anyvan and shiply mean that transport is ridiculously cheap if you're flexible on timings; tachograph regulation (I know neither of these are strictly relevant to the o.p.); and insurance. Whatever the "customer" may promise about his own insurance, and about his attitude to mechanical problems on the way, things could change once money is at stake. The customer's insurer may decide to attempt to recoup costs from you, and even if ultimately unsuccessful, you've got the costs of defending yourself. It would also be a moot point whether accepting any form of consideration, even "expenses" might be enough to tip it into "trade" use. If it did, then you'd perhaps also have to admit to being a part-time driver in the motor trade for the purpose of your own car insurance, which does not go down well.

There's also a risk of being caught in crossfire: someone buys a car on ebay, unseen; you collect it, the buyer says it's knackered, the seller says it was OK when you drove it away.

I think I'd look for another way to use your PTs (which I don't think you're supposed to use for business purposes).